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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) Nonessential participial phrases and
subordinate clauses
B) Appositives are usually set off by commas.
C) Words used in direct address are set off by
commas.
D) Parenthetical expressions are set off by
commas
Nonessential participial phrases
Participial Phrase—A group of related words that
contains a participle.
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 duck, seeing itself in the mirror, seemed bewildered.
Sam, riding his bike to school, crashed into a tree.
The statue, built in 1992, honors war veterans.
Participles continued
The treasure, buried by pirates, lay undiscovered for
centuries. [Buried (form of the verb bury) modifies
the noun treasure—buried treasure.]
1. Records cracked and warped were in the old trunk.
2. Becky shouting loudly warned the pedestrian to look
out for the car.
3. The spectators cheering and clapping greeted their
team.
4. The children fidgeting noisily waited eagerly for
recess.
Nonessential Subordinate Clauses
Subordinate Clause—Dependent clauses that
cannot stand alone in a sentence.
Example:
Jimmy Carter, whose full name is James Earl
Carter, prefers to be known as Jimmy.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who retired from
professional basketball, holds several NBA
records.
Nonessential vs. Essential
Phrases and Clauses
• The small turtle, crossing
the street slowly, was in
danger.
• Harvard College, founded
in 1636, is the oldest
college in the United
States.
• Kareem Abdul-Jabbar,
who retired from
professional basketball,
holds several NBA records.
• All farmers growing the
new hybrid corn should
have a good harvest.
• The theories developed by
Einstein have changed the
way people think about
the universe.
• Someone who does a
good deed gains more
than the person for whom
the deed is done.
Practice
1. Athena who ranked as an important Greek
goddess protected the city of Athens.
2. Frances Perkins who served as Secretary of
Labor was the first woman to hold a Cabinet
position.
3. We enjoyed the poems of Gwendolyn Brooks
who for years has been poet laureate of
Illinois.
Appositives
A word that means the same thing as the noun it
follows. It usually explains or identifies the noun.
My best friend, Nancy, is studying ballet.
We’re out of our most popular flavor, vanilla.
NOTE: When the appositive is short, closely related
to the noun it follows, and essential to the meaning of
the sentence, no comma should be used.
White House spokesman Larry Speakes issued a
statement.
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 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 moved to 6448 Higgins Road, Chicago, Illinois, last year.
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.
#5. 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
#6. Use a comma after certain
introductory elements.
A) 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?
#6. Use a comma after certain
introductory elements (continued).
B) Use a comma after a prepositional
phrase, verbal phrase or adverb clause
when they begin the sentence.
• Forced onto the sidelines by a torn ligament,
Harris was restless and unhappy.
• When March came, the huge ice pack began
to melt and break up.
Prepositional Phrases
• A comma is used after an introductory
prepositional phrase if the phrase is long or if
two or more phrases appear together.
– In the darkening attic room, the girls searched
for the box of old photos.
– At night in the desert, the temperature falls
rapidly.
Verbal Phrases
Participial phrase
– Signaling the referee for a timeout, the coach
gathered her players for a pep talk.
Infinitive Phrase (verb form that can be used as
a noun, an adjective, or an adverb)
*Most infinitives begin with the word to.
– To keep your bones strong, be sure to get
regular exercise and eat foods rich in calcium.
Adverb Clauses
Adverb Clauses can appear anywhere in a
sentence. When it begins a sentence, the
adverb clause is followed by a comma. It tells
where, when, how, why, to what extent, or
under what conditions.
• When March came, the huge ice floe began to melt
and break up.
• Because I had a sore throat, I could not audition
for the school play.
Practice
1. Issued in 1991 this stamp honoring inventor Jan
Matzeliger is part of the U.S. Postal Service’s Black
Heritage Stamp series.
2. Since the Postal service began issuing the series in
1978 the stamps have become popular collectors’
items.
3. Originally picturing only government officials or
national symbols U.S. stamps now feature a wide
variety of people, items, and events.
Practice
4. As stamps become more varied stamp
collecting becomes even more popular.
5. Because stamps portray our country's culture
they fascinate many people.
6. In the United States alone more than twenty
million people enjoy stamp collecting.
7. To attract collectors the Postal Service
produces limited numbers of special stamps.
Practice
8. To find a valuable, rare stamp is a dream of
many a collector.
9. To keep their collections from becoming too
bulky, many collectors concentrate on a single
topic.
10. With their treasures safely stored in albums
collectors enjoy examining their first stamps
as well as their most recent ones.