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The English House of Commas
This set of slides will illustrate the most
common uses of one of the most common
punctuation marks:
The English House of Commas
Rule #1
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Follow all comma rules concerning quotes.
Frost’s poem “Fire and Ice” begins with the lines, “Some say
the world will end in fire, / Some say in ice.”
“Fire when ready, Gridley,” the Admiral said.
“We can’t see into the future,” said the President, “but we have to
prepare for it nonetheless.”
The English House of Commas
Rule #2
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• Put a comma after a dependent clause at the
beginning of a sentence.
A phrase that has a subject and verb, but isn’t a sentence
because it begins with a hanging word
Rule #2 cont…
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• Hanging words:
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Since
Although
Because
Before
After
If
When
Etc.
Hint: cover up the
hanging word & it
should make sense
up to the comma
The English House of Commas
Rule #2
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Put a comma after a dependent clause at the
beginning of a sentence.
Because they were anxious about the upcoming winter, settlers
began to bicker among themselves about supplies.
After they made it through the winter of 1944, nearly half the
settlers died of starvation or exposure.
After I left the school, I went home.
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The English House of Commas
Rule #3
• Put a comma after YES, NO, WELL, and OH
at the beginning of a sentence.
Yes, I like math.
No, I am not going to prom with you!
Well, the dog ate my homework.
Oh, I wasn’t expecting to see you here.
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The English House of Commas
Rule #4
• When speaking TO a person, not about him/her, set
off the name with commas.
• This is called DIRECT ADDRESS
• Nicknames and titles count
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The English House of Commas
Rule #4
1. John, you are nice. I realize, Judy, that you are smart.
2. John, is nice and Judy, is smart.
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The English House of Commas
Rule #5
• Put a comma after a participial phrase at the
beginning of a sentence.
An –ing or –ed ending phrase that is not
the subject of a sentence
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The English House of Commas
Rule #5
The –ing or –ed ending word can be the 1st
word in the phrase or the 2nd with the
hanging word before it.
HINT: THE SUBJECT IS SHORTLY AFTER THE COMMA
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The English House of Commas
Rule #5
• Put a comma after a participial phrase at the
beginning of a sentence.
Example: Sitting in class, I fell asleep.
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The English House of Commas
Rule #6
• Put a comma before the word “too” at the end
of a sentence.
BEFORE: I want to go to the Brewer game too.
AFTER: I want to go to the Brewer game
, too.
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The English House of Commas
Rule #7
Put a comma before AND, BUT, OR, NOR,
FOR, YET, and SO only if it’s between two
complete thoughts.
Use a comma and a coordinating conjunction
(and, but, or, nor, for, yet, so) to separate two
independent clauses.
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The English House of Commas
Rule #7
Use a comma and a coordinating conjunction
(and, but, or, nor, for, yet, so) to separate two
independent clauses.
The public seems eager for some kind of gun control
legislation, but the congress is obviously too timid to enact any
truly effective measures.
If the two independent clauses are brief and nicely balanced,
this comma may be omitted, but the comma is always correct.
Our team is very good but their team is better.
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The English House of Commas
Rule #8
Put a comma after TWO or more
prepositional phrases as the beginning of a
sentence.
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The English House of Commas
Rule #8
Prepositions include words such as: during, about, after,
around, before, by, for, from, near, past, since, through, to,
until, without, etc.
Therefore, a prepositional phrase
includes the following:
OBJECT of the
PREPOSITION
PREPOSITION
(which is almost
always a noun)
Note: sometimes it will only be the prep. & the object of
the prep.
+
Article (a,
an, the) or
pronouns.
+
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The English House of Commas
Rule #8
UNDER
TREE
THE
OBJECT of the
PREPOSITION
PREPOSITION
(which is almost
always a noun)
Note: sometimes it will only be the prep. & the object of
the prep.
+
Article (a,
an, the) or
pronouns.
+
The English House of Commas
Rule #8
• Ex)
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In a tree near my house, a bird was singing.
Two Prep. Phrases= IN a TREE
NEAR my HOUSE
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The English House of Commas
Rule #8 optional
Put a comma after ONE prepositional phrase
as the beginning of a sentence.
Near the door, my dad was standing impatiently.
Near the door my dad was standing impatiently.
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The English House of Commas
Rule #9
Set off an appositive from the rest of the
sentence.
A phrase that renames the word
in front of it; provides more
information/detail on the word
before it.
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The English House of Commas
Rule #9
Set off an appositive from the rest of the
sentence.
Where should the commas go?
LeRoy a small town near Taopi is cool.
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The English House of Commas
Rule #9
LeRoy, a small town near Taopi, is cool.
The appositive is “a small town near Taopi”
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The English House of Commas
Rule #10
Put a comma between THREE or more items in
a series or between TWO adjectives (describers)
HINT: Numbers don’t count as describers.
Use a comma to set off the elements of a
series (three or more things), including the
last two.
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The English House of Commas
Rule #10
Use a comma to set off the elements of a
series (three or more things), including the
last two.
My favorite uses of the Internet are sending e-mail, surfing the
Web, and using chat rooms.
You may have learned that this comma is not necessary.
Sometimes, however, the last two items in your series will
glom into one if you don’t use the so-called serial comma.
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The English House of Commas
Rule #10
I like dogs cats and birds.
I like dogs, cats, and birds.
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The English House of Commas
Rule #10
I ate the old stale bread.
I ate the old, stale bread.
The English House of Commas
Rule #11
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Set off a parenthetical phrase from the rest of the
sentence.
This is the most difficult rule in comma usage. A
parenthetical element is “added information,”
something that can be removed from a sentence
without changing the essential meaning of that
sentence. Deciding what is “added information”
and what is essential is sometimes difficult. See
the next slide.
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The English House of Commas
Rule #11
Parenthetical Phrases: I believe (think, know,
hope), I am sure, on the contrary, on the other
hand, after all, by the way, incidentally, in fact,
indeed, naturally, of course, in my opinion, for
example, however, nonetheless, to tell the truth,
as a matter of fact, for instance, therefore,
furthermore…
The English House of Commas
Rule #11
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ONE SENTENCE SET-UP
____________, however, ______________
TWO SENTENCE SET-UP
____________. However, ______________
____________; however, ______________
The English House of Commas
Rule #11
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Example
I was in fact very late.
The English House of Commas
Rule #11
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Example
I was, in fact, very late.
If you take out the parenthetical,
the sentence will still make
sense. Therefore, the comma
The English House of Commas
Rule #12
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STANDARD USAGE
a. After a greeting in a personal
letter or letter of application.
Dear Billy,
Dear Mr. Smits,
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The English House of Commas
Rule #12
Use a comma to set off cities and states/countries
AND day and year (in a full date)
The conference was originally set for Geneva, Switzerland, but
was then rescheduled for Chicago, Illinois.
Their wedding date was set for August 5, 2000, in the college
chapel in Newton, Massachusetts.