Commas

GrammarFrom the batting cage

Some COMMA

Rules

Use a comma after an introductory prepositional phrase of four or more words.

Down the roadDown the road an old man walks his dog.

Down the dusty roadDown the dusty road,, an old man walks his dog.

Use a comma after introductory adverbs and verbal clauses regardless of length.

Slowly,Slowly, the old man picked up a stick.

While resting,While resting, he tossed the stick.

Grumbling,Grumbling, the dog fetched the stick.

While whistling,While whistling, the old man lost a tooth.

Before he left,Before he left, he picked it up.

Use a comma after introductory interjections.

Yes,Yes, the old man loves his dog.

No,No, he’s not interested in selling it.

Well,Well, he might loan you the dog for a day.

Oh,Oh, I see.

Hey,Hey, I get I get it already.it already.

Use a comma between two adjectives modifying a noun.

The tired, oldtired, old man walked his dog every day.

The grizzled, grizzled, ancientancient dog walked with his old man every day.

The long, windinglong, winding road leads to his door.

The hot, dusty, hot, dusty, dry, uphill trail dry, uphill trail tired the old man.

The extremely old man hugged his dog.

extremely is an adverb. It is modifying the adjective, not the noun

More adverbs without commas

The barely conscious dog grunted.The extremely tired runner collapsed.He walked into the mostly empty room.It is an openly aggressive act.It is a commonly heard expression.A terribly humid day shortened the hike.

Use commas to separate three or more words, phrases, or clauses in a series.

Use a comma after each item except the last.

The colors of the flag are red,

white, and blue.

My favorite flavors are chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry.

He opened the letter, read it

carefully, and stuck it in his pocket.

My favorite foods are tacos, tangerines, and

peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

My favorite foods are tacos, tangerines, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and ham and eggs.

Use commas to separate nonessential phrases

The old man, alone , alone with his thoughts,with his thoughts, continued to walk his dog.

The old man, alone , alone with his thoughts,with his thoughts, continued to walk his dog.

The dog, hungry , hungry and tired,and tired, followed along behind.

The dog, hungry , hungry and tired,and tired, followed along behind.

The old man jumped when he saw the stick, thinking it , thinking it was a snake.was a snake.

The old man jumped when he saw the stick, thinking it , thinking it was a snake.was a snake.

The students, who found the material difficult, met after school.

The students who found the material difficult met after school.

My sister, Mary, is visiting.My sister, Mary, is visiting.

My sister Mary is visiting.My sister Mary is visiting.

Use a comma before which, but no comma before that.

THAT is a defining pronoun.

WHICH is a non-defining pronoun.

The computer that is computer that is brokenbroken is in the shop.

The computer, which is which is broken,broken, is in the shop.

This is the house that Jack built.

This is the house, which Jack built.

Use commas to separate states.

I drove to Lansing, Michigan, with my cousin.

Use a comma to when giving dates to separate the year from the month and day.

We arrived on January 27, 1998, and booked a hotel.

Sam visited Boston in May 1997 to see his uncle.

Use commas to set off words of direct address.

Johnny, do your homework.

Mother, may I go to Gilman Street?

Honey, take out the trash.

I am trying, dear, to fix your radio.

I want you to do it, Ed.

I want Ed to do it.

Use commas before coordinating conjunctions that join independent clauses of a compound sentence.

INDEPENDENT CLAUSE: a group of words that contain both a subject and a predicate and can stand alone as a sentence when separated from a compound sentence

Two sentences stuck together with and, but, or between them.

The old man reached his house, and he opened the front gate.

The old man reached his house and opened the front gate.

The old man reached his house. He opened the front gate.

The leash seemed heavy in his hand, but he didn’t turn to check on his dog.

The leash seemed heavy in his hand. He didn’t turn to check on his dog.

He saw old Luke He saw old Luke was out cold and was out cold and bent down to bent down to check on him.check on him.

Final note: Linguistically, a comma translates as a pause in speech.

When in doubt, read your writing read your writing aloud,aloud, and punctuate according to sound.