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Using Commas

Using Commas. A CCU Writing Center Tutorial. Myths About Commas. Rules are difficult to understand. Always come where there are pauses. Only come where there are pauses. Everyone uses them differently. Truth About Commas. Most comma usage is covered by three simple rules.

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Using Commas

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  1. Using Commas A CCU Writing Center Tutorial

  2. Myths About Commas • Rules are difficult to understand. • Always come where there are pauses. • Only come where there are pauses. • Everyone uses them differently.

  3. Truth About Commas • Most comma usage is covered by three simple rules. • Listening for pauses is not a great way to know where the commas should go. • Good writers are very consistent in their comma usage habits.

  4. Rule 1—Compound Rule • Put a comma before the conjunction in a compound sentence. • Compound Sentence: A sentence consisting of two or more independent clauses. • EXAMPLES • She called me last night, but my cell phone battery was dead. • I’ve never had a real piano teacher, so I don’t have good music reading skills. • The team fired the hired coach, and they won the championship the following year.

  5. Independent Clauses • Clause=A group of words with a subject and a verb. • Independent Clause=A single clause that could stand alone as a sentence. • EXAMPLES: • I need to buy a shirt. • The store will be closed tomorrow.

  6. FANBOYS CONJUNCTIONS • For • And • Nor • But • Or • Yet • So

  7. Compound Pattern IND. CLAUSE, conjunction IND. CLAUSE I need to buy a shirt, but the store will be closed tomorrow.

  8. Rule 2—Introductory Rule • Put a comma after an introductory element. • EXAMPLES: • Whenever I visit New York, I like to go to the Museum of Modern Art. • During Janice’s senior year in high school, she earned a scholarship to college. • Covered in soot from a hard day’s work, the coal workers emerged from the mine.

  9. Rule 3—The Non-Essential Rule • Put commas around words are phrases that are not essential in the sentence. • EXAMPLES • Joe, a computer programmer with thirteen years of experience, has been out of work for six months. • Pizza, as everyone knows, is a high-calorie food. • President Obama, who lived in Chicago before being elected to the presidency, is a White Sox fan.

  10. Essential vs. Non-Essential? • The teacher who taught me the most about history was Ms. Thomas. (Essential) • The car that I bought yesterday had to be repaired today. (Essential) • Argon, which is one of the noble gases, is the third most common gas in the earth’s atmosphere. (Non-Essential) • I called Mr. Smith, who advised me to major in chemistry, before I left for college. (Non-Essential)

  11. Questions? Writing Center Prince 209 (843) 349-2937

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