Commas are a punctuation mark that can separate words or groups of words in a sentence.
Commas tell you to take a pause. 😌
Let's review eleven uses for commas. 🏄 You can do it!
️ Use commas around a person's name when you speak directly to them.
Nathan, did you cut the grass?
Yes, Sarah, I did.
You did a great job, Nathan.
️Use commas when you combine three or more words in a list.
Take a look:
I have a pet lizard, dog, and rabbit.
Think of commas like glue. They slow things down and bring things together.
Tip: If you only have two things in a list, you don't need the comma.
I have a hat and socks.
When you put two complete sentences together with a conjunction like 'and', use a comma before the conjunction.
You can ride your bike, or you can play games.
Tip: 👆 This is called a compound sentence.
A compound sentence is made of two or more independent clauses, joined with a conjunction.
Do you remember what an independent clause is? It's important, so let's review that quickly.😺
A clause is a group of words with a subject and verb, like "he ran."
There are two types of clauses: independent and dependent clauses.
Independent clauses can stand on their own as complete sentences. For example, "He ran quickly."
Dependent clauses can't stand on their own. For example, "because he ran."
Dependent clauses start with subordinating conjunctions like 'because', and 'if'.
A phrase is not a clause. It is a group of words without a subject and verb, like "made of steel".
Now that you know the difference between phrases and clauses, you'll understand the next use for commas. 😺
If you start a sentence with an adverb of time, use a comma after.
First, open the can.
Next, grab the spoon.
Lastly, eat the soup.
This also applies to other adverbs, like adverbs of affirmation.
Certainly, you are mistaken!
Besides, the cake has already been eaten.
Furthermore, a new cake should be made.
If you start the sentence with a long prepositional phrase (5 words or more), add a comma after.
In the beginning of the universe, there was a big bang.
Tip: prepositions are words that help place a noun in space and time, like 'in', 'above', and 'before'.
A prepositional phrase is a preposition and the related noun and other words that come after it.
Every time you use a preposition, you make a prepositional phrase. 😎
After years of hard work, her project really took off.
👆"After years of hard word" is a prepositional phrase.
Tip: If the prepositional phrase comes after an independent clause, you don't need the comma.
Her project really took off after years of hard work.
Tip: If the introductory prepositional phrase has fewer than 5 words, you can skip the comma.
In the beginning there was a big bang.
But sometimes short introductory prepositional phrases make more sense with a comma:
After dinner, we cleaned up.
Here, after is a preposition. Nevertheless, adding the comma feels more natural, because the prepositional phrase is acting like an adverb of time.
If you start a sentence with a dependent clause, use a comma after.
Because he practiced every day, he won every match.
Tip: Dependent clauses are different from phrases in that they have a subject and a verb, and they start with a subordinating conjunction.
The puppy, an Australian shepherd, was napping.
If a group of words can be cut out of a sentence without losing any meaning, they need surrounding commas.
In the sentence above, the noun phrase "an Australian shepherd" is called an appositive.
An appositive is a noun phrase that renames a nearby noun.
For example:
James Bond, Agent 007, has arrived.
Agent 007 is an appositive.
Always use commas around non-essential appositives.
Tip: non-essential means you can take it out and not lose the meaning of the sentence.
Sometimes sentences have non-essential whole clauses, like here:
Julia, who just got back from traveling, loved that restaurant.
Wrap clauses not essential to the meaning of a sentence in commas.
In the United States use commas to write dates like this:
Tuesday, April 10, 2001
Check out our lesson on writing dates for more details.
Check out our lesson on using commas in addresses.
Check out our lesson on using commas in letters.
Check out our lesson on using commas and quotation marks with dialog.
If a number is more than four digits long, use commas to separate the numbers into groups of three, starting from the right.
It took 3,500 hours to complete.
The project cost 1,200,243 dollars.
Take a look at these two sentences:
The sweet, fresh smell of cinnamon rolls filled the room.
The fresh, sweet smell of cinnamon rolls filled the room.
Both adjectives sweet and fresh describe the noun smell.
If you can swap the order of two adjectives without changing the meaning of the sentence, they are called coordinate adjectives.
Place a comma between coordinate adjectives.
If changing the order changes the meaning, then don't use a comma. For example:
The red metal bycicle looked beautiful.
You reviewed a lot of uses for commas. 🥳
Now, complete the practice to help you master the skill.
You'll use commas your whole life! 💪