Comma Rules
#1. Use commas to separate 3 or more
items in a series.
• Use commas to separate words in a series.
– We have read poems by Longfellow, Teasdale, and
Dickinson this week.
NOTE:
Suzie, Zack and I are going riding.
Suzie, Zack, and I are going riding.
• Use commas to separate phrases in a series.
– We found seaweed in the water, on the sand,
under the rocks, and even in our shoes.
#1. Use commas to separate 3 or more
items in a series.
• Use commas to separate subordinate clauses
and short independent clauses in a series.
– We worked, we played, and we rested.
• If all items in a series are joined by and or
or, do not use commas to separate them.
– Have you read Huck Finn or Tom Sawyer or A
Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court?
Practice
1. Carolos and Anna and Frankie ran across the
park climbed over the fence and hurried to the
bus stop.
2. The three states that have produced the most
U.S. Presidents are Virginia Ohio and New York.
3. The school band includes clarinets saxophones
trumpets tubas flutes and drums.
#2. Use a comma to separate two or
more adjectives preceding a noun.
• An Arabian horse is a fast, beautiful animal.
NOTE: When the final adjective is so closely
connected to the noun that the words seem to
form one expression, do not use a comma
before the adjective.
Training a frisky colt to become a gentle,
dependable riding horse takes great patience.
#2. Use a comma to separate two or
more adjectives preceding a noun.
• A comma should never be used between an
adjective and the noun immediately following
it.
Incorrect: Mary wrote a tender, suspenseful,
story.
Correct:
Mary wrote a tender, suspenseful
story.
Practice
1. They made a clubhouse in the empty unused
storage shed.
2. This book describes the harsh isolated lives of
pioneer women in Kansas.
3. What a lovely haunting melody that tune has!
4. A group of proud smiling parents watched the
nervous young musicians take their places on
the stage.
#3. Use a comma before and, but, or, nor,
for, and yet when they join independent
clauses.
The musical comedy originated in America, and
it has retained a distinctly American flavor.
Compound Sentence:
Margo likes golf, but she doesn’t enjoy archery.
Simple Sentence with Compound Verb:
Margo likes golf but doesn’t enjoy archery.
Practice
• Human beings must study to become architects yet
some animals build amazing structures by instinct.
• One kind of male gardener bird builds a complex
structure and he decorates it carefully to attract a
mate.
• This bird constructs a dome-shaped garden in a
small tree and underneath the tree he lays a carpet
of moss covered with brilliant tropical flowers.
#4. Use commas to set off an
expression that interrupts a sentence
A) Non-essential participial phrases and
subordinate (dependent) clauses.
B) Nonessential appositives are set off by
commas.
C) Words used in direct address are set off by
commas.
D) Parenthetical expressions are set off by
commas.
Nonessential clauses and phrases
Use commas to set off nonessential
phrases and clauses.
• My aunt, having been in school for five
years, is now an architect. [nonessential
phrase]
• Those years that she spent in school have
prepared her well. [essential phrase]
Use commas to set off participial phrases and
adjective clauses that are not essential to the basic
meaning of the sentence.
Participle—a verb form that can be used as an
adjective
Two kinds of participles:
1. Present participles—end in –ing
2. Past participles—end in –ed, -d, or –t
The horses trotting past were not frightened by
the crowd. [Trotting (a form of the verb trot)
modifies the noun horses—trotting horses.]
Participles continued
Buried by pirates, the treasure lay undiscovered for
centuries. [Buried (form of the very bury) modifies
the noun treasure—buried treasure.]
1. Records, cracked and warped, were in the old trunk.
2. Shouting loudly, Becky warned the pedestrian to
look out for the car.
3. Cheering and clapping, the spectators greeted their
team.
4. The children, fidgeting noisily, waited eagerly for
recess.
Participial Phrase
A group of related words that contains a
participle.
Seeing itself in the mirror, the duck seemed
bewildered.
Waiting for the bus in the rain, we played in
the puddle.
Standing in line, we waited twenty minutes for
the tickets.
Subordinate Clauses
Another word for a dependent clause.
Dependent clauses cannot stand alone in a
sentence.
If a dependent clause is not essential to the
meaning of the sentence, a comma is needed
before and after it.
Example:
Jimmy Carter, whose full name is James Earl Carter,
prefers to be known as Jimmy.
Appositives
A word that means the same thing as the noun it follows. It
usually explains or identifies the noun.
Nancy, my best friend, is studying ballet.
We’re out of vanilla ice cream, our most popular
flavor.
NOTE: When the appositive is essential to the meaning of the
sentence, no comma should be used.
White House spokesman Larry Speakes issued a statement.
The blues singer Bessie Smith wrote the song “Backwater
Blues.”
Words Used in Direct Address
When someone speaks directly to another
person, using that person’s name, commas
precede and follow the name.
Examples:
Mrs. Clarkson, I just want to get to the beach.
Can you tell me, Hazel, when the next bus is
due?
Parenthetical Expressions
Words that are not grammatically related to the
rest of the sentence (like words used in
PARENTHESES).
EXAMPLES:
To tell the truth, in my opinion, in fact, for
example, however, etc.
What, in her opinion, is the best closing hour?
#5. Use a comma after certain introductory
elements.
A.)Word such as well, yes, no, and why when
it begins a sentence.
• Why, you really should know that!
• Well, I don’t.
Note: Words such as well, yes, no, and why are not
followed by a comma if they do not interrupt the
sentence; that is, if no pause follows them.
Example: Why is Rebecca early?
Rule #5 Continued
B.)Use a comma after an introductory phrase or
clause
1. Prepositional Phrase—use a comma after a
long prepositional phrase or if two or more
phrases appear together at the beginning of a
sentence
In the darkening attic room, the girls
searched for the box of old photos.
At night in the desert, the temperature
falls quickly.
Rule #5, Letter B Continued
2. VERBAL PHRASES—a comma is used after a
participial phrase or infinitive phrase that
introduces a sentence.
1. PARTICIPIAL PHRASE—Signaling the referee for a
timeout, the coach gathered her players for a pep talk.
2. INFINITIVE PHRASE
INFINITIVE—A VERB FORM THAT CAN BE USED AS A
NOUN, AN ADJECTIVE, OR AN ADVERB. MOST INFINITIVES
BEGIN WITH TO
To keep your bones strong, be sure to get regular
exercise.
Rule #5, Letter B continued
3. Adverb Clause—when an adverb clause
begins a sentence, the adverb clause is followed
with a comma.
An adverb clause tells where, when, how,
why, to what extent, or under what condition
• Because I had a sore throat, I could not audition for
the school play.
• When March came, the huge ice pack began to melt
and break up.
Practice
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
When I saw the jewels I thought the kings were rich.
On the wall of his tomb a picture shows the king hunting.
Signaling carefully she changed lanes.
When the artists painted they followed several rules.
Hoping to be chosen for the team Andy practiced very hard.
Determined to succeed in life John set strict goals for
himself.
7. To ensure that he received a good grade, Shaun studied for
his science test six days in advance.
#6. Use a comma in certain
conventional situations.
A. Use a comma to separate items in dates and
addresses.
The delegates to the Constitutional Convention signed the
Constitution on September 17, 1787, in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania.
Passover begins on Wednesday, April 14, this year.
My friend has just moved to 6448 Higgins Road, Chicago, Illinois.
NOTE: If a preposition is used between items of an
address, a comma is not necessary.
He lives at 144 Smith Street in Moline, Illinois.
#6. Use a comma in certain
conventional situations.
B. Use a comma after the salutation of a
friendly letter and after the closing of any
letter.
Examples:
Dear Aunt Margaret,
Sincerely yours,
Yours truly,
Practice
1. 11687 Montana Avenue Los Angeles CA
90049
2. Monday December 2 1995
3. Dear Joanne
4. From December 1 1995 to March 15 1996
5. Dresser Road at North First Street in
Lynchburg Virginia