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Comma Use and Abuse

Comma Use and Abuse. Renn Lugent Ryan Ritchie Shane Sprayberry Brandi Harrison. What is a Comma?. A valuable punctuation device that separates sentences to make them more manageable. Use of Commas. To separate three or more elements in a series.

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Comma Use and Abuse

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  1. Comma Use and Abuse Renn Lugent Ryan Ritchie Shane Sprayberry Brandi Harrison

  2. What is a Comma? • A valuable punctuation device that separates sentences to make them more manageable.

  3. Use of Commas • To separate three or more elements in a series. • Example: Fred's dog-like-girlfriend is short, hairy, and drooling.

  4. Use of Commas • With conjunctions (the “fanboys”: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so) to combine independent clauses into a sentence • Example: Joe woke up next to his girlfriend, but he did not recognize her after a long night.

  5. Use of Commas • To set off an introductory phrase, clause or word. • Example: Fortunately, the opening pitch didn’t count.

  6. Use of Commas • To separate part of a sentence that is not necessary or to add extra details. • Example: Eleanor, his wife of thirty years, was a severe pain in the neck.

  7. Use of Commas • To separate coordinate adjectives, a series of modifiers describing the same noun. • Example: Joe has a tall, hairy, brown-haired girlfriend.

  8. Use of Commas • To use as an opening for a quoted phrase. • Example: Carl says, “I like french-fried taters.”

  9. Use of Commas • To express ideas that contradict each other • Example: Some say the world will end in fire, not ice.

  10. Use of Commas • Typographical Reasons • Between City and State (Newport News, VA) • Between a Date and a Year (June 29, 2007) • Between a title and a name when the title comes after the name (Rick Dollieslager, Professor of English) • In long numbers (19,278,340,192,372)

  11. Abuse of Commas • Don’t split the subject from verb by unnecessary use of a comma. • Example: Studying for a test, is recommended to pass.

  12. Abuse of Commas • Don’t put a comma between two compound verbs or compound verb phrases. • Example: I turned the corner, and ran smack into a patrol car.

  13. Abuse of Commas • Don’t put a comma between two nouns, noun phrases, or noun clauses in a compound subject or compound object. • Example: The music teacher from your high school, and the football coach from mine are married to each other.

  14. Abuse of Commas • Don’t put a comma after the main clause when a dependent (subordinate) clause follows it, which separates the verb from the complement (the completion of the thought). • Example: The cat scratched at the door, while I was eating.

  15. Works Cited • "Using Commas." OWL: Online Writing Lab. 2007. Purdue University Writing Lab. 26 Jun 2007 <http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/grammar/g_comma.html>. • Darling, Charles. "Rules for Comma Usage." Guide to Grammar and Writing. 2004. Capital Community Technical College Foundation. 28 Jun 2007 <http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/commas.htm>.

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