9 Grammar
Commas
RULES FOR PUNCTUATION
Commas (12f)
1. Use commas to separate items in a
series – words, phrases, or short
clauses
 Pears,
apples, peaches, and plums grow in this
climate. (words)
 My favorite breakfast is milk, biscuits and gravy, and
fruit. (words)
 She ran up the stairs, down the hall, and into her
room. (phrases)
 Joe cut the grass, I raked it, and Ed hauled it away.
(short clauses)
Commas (12g)
2. Use commas to separate two or more
adjective modifiers
I
arrived at my new school on a sunlit, windy day.
 My studious, well-read cousin is a National Merit
Scholarship finalist.
 Check
yourself by imagining the word and
between the two adjectives – if it sounds
correct, you need the comma.
Commas (12g)
2a. N.B. – When an adjective modifies an
adjective-noun combination, omit the
comma. Check yourself by imagining the
word and between the two adjectives – if
it doesn’t sound correct, you do not need
the comma.
 She
wore a dark red dress to the prom.
 Not – She wore a dark and red dress to the prom.
 The
red brick house was sold.
 Not - The red and brick house was sold.
Commas (12h)
3. Use a comma before a coordinating
conjunction (FANBOYS) when they
join independent clauses
 Many
students took this course, but few have
kept up with the work.
 Some people know how to hide their nervous
habits, but I do not.
Commas (12i)
4. Use commas to set off nonessential
(or nonrestrictive) phrases or
clauses
 This
lamp, which we bought yesterday, is
defective.
 They snack on trail mix, which is a wholesome
blend of nuts, seeds, raisins, and other dried
fruits.
Commas (12i)
4a. A nonessential phrase or clause
adds information that is not needed to
understand the main idea in the
sentence
 Nonessential
clause – Langston Hughes, who
was a key figure in the Harlem Renaissance,
often used the rhythms of jazz in his poetry.
 Essential phrase – Actors missing more than two
rehearsals will be replaced.
Commas (12j)
5. Use a comma to set off introductory
words or phrases such as next, yes,
or no, or mild interjections such as
by the way, well, wow, or oops
 Yes,
we can make it to the party.
 Well, what will we do now?
 By the way, where did you go to school?
 Boy, that was a great dinner.
 Wow, Gypsy was a great musical!
Commas (12j)
6. Use a comma to separate a
dependent clause or phrase that
comes before (in the introductory
position) an independent clause
 Although
it looked like rain, we went to the park
anyway.
 Until he meets Juliet, Romeo is madly in love
with Rosaline.
Commas (12k)
7. Use commas to set off appositives or
appositive phrases unless the
appositive is short and closely
connected
 Phil
Gray, our mailman, is friendly.
 My sister Marie was there.
 Susan Walsh, the CEO of Wharton Industries,
will speak at the conference.
*An appositive is a noun or noun phrase that renames
another noun right beside it
Commas (12k)
8. Use a comma to set off a word in
direct address
I
am going to the mall now to pick out a gift for
Tom, Carol.
 Carol, I am going to the mall now to pick out a
gift for Tom.
 I am going to the mall now, Carol, to pick out a
gift for Tom.
Commas (12k)
9. Use commas to set off a parenthetical
expression – including contrasting
expressions introduced by words like
not or yet
 Joshua,
fortunately, is nothing like his brother.
 Our leading advocate of clean streets, you
understand, is the mayor.
 Joe, unlike Merton, is musically gifted.
 She told a fascinating, but not believable, story.
*Parenthetical expressions are side remarks that add minor
information or that relate ideas to each other.
Commas (12l)
10. Use comas to separate the parts of a
date. When a date is written out within
a sentence, also place a comma after
the last item in the date if it does not
end the sentence. No comma is placed
between the month and day.
 Saturday,
May 25, 1998
 On Saturday, May 25, 1998, Jeff and Jen were
married.
 In March, 1980, we visited Ireland.
 I must know by May 18 if you plan to go on the trip.
Commas (12l)
11. Use commas between parts of an address
(number and street name form one part and
state and zip code form one part). When an
address appears within a sentence, place a
comma after the last part of the address if it
does not end the sentence. Also, use a
comma before the word of preceding an
address.
Our house at 1134 Park Lane, Plymouth, Massachusetts,
is now for sale.
 Ellen Prody, of Langston, Missouri, was elected to the
U.S. Senate.
 My family moved to 25 Peralta Road, Oakland, CA 94611.

Commas (12l)
12. Use a comma after the salutation of a
friendly letter and after the closing of
any letter
 Dear
Mrs. Chen,
 Yours truly,
Commas (12l)
13. Use a comma to set off a title or an
abbreviation of a title, including
after the title, unless it ends the
sentence
 We
attended the final lecture of Susan E. Clark,
M.D.
 We attended the final lecture of Susan E. Clark,
M.D., last week.
 Calvin Smith, Jr., is a partner in our law firm.
Commas
14.Use commas to set off a direct
quotation
 Mother
said, “You need to get your homework
done or you cannot go out tonight.”
 “You need to get your homework done,” Mother
said, “or you cannot go out tonight.”
Commas
15. Use commas to set off adjectives out
of their natural order
 The
puppy, wet and muddy, crept under the
porch.
 A uniformed guard, tall and forbidding, barred
our path.
Common Errors
 The comma splice
When you connect two complete and
independent clauses using only a comma, you
have a comma splice


Poor – My hamster loved to play, I gave him a
hula-hoop.
Common Errors
To fix the comma splice

Add FANBOYS


You wore a lovely hat, for it was your only defense
from the sun.
Change the comma to a semi-colon


You wore a lovely hat; it was your only defense from
the sun.
Make each clause a separate sentence


You wore a lovely hat. It was your only defense from
the sun.
Add a subordinator (because, while, although, etc)


You wore a lovely hat because it was your only
defense from the sun.