Commas

Commas

​Commas are punctuation marks that indicate a brief pause. They're not as final as periods.

​The comma has seven main uses.

​1. Commas are used to separate several adjectives.

• ​Ex. The cold, dusty, smelly attic was full of cobwebs.

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​However, commas are only used to separate coordinate adjectives (adjectives whose order can be changed within a sentence).

• ​Ex. The friendly, brown dog came over to us.

• ​Ex. The brown, friendly dog came over to us.

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​If the adjectives are non-coordinate (their order can't be changed), do not put commas between them.

• ​Ex. Fido went into his green dog house.

• ​Ex. Fido went into his dog green house. (doesn't make sense)

​2. Commas separate items in a list.

• ​Ex. Our main subjects are ILA, math, social studies, science, and religion.

​3. Commas separate independent clauses with coordinating conjunctions (compound sentences).

• ​Ex. John was tired, so he went to sleep.

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​If you don't include a coordinating conjunction in a compound sentence and only separate the two independent clauses with a comma, that is called a comma splice, which is a grammatical error.

• ​Ex. My mom makes delicious cookies, we love them.

​4. Commas separate introductory elements in a sentence.

These introductory elements can be a dependent clause in a complex sentence, a participial or adverbial phrase, or individual words.

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• ​Ex. Although it was cold, he was still wearing shorts.

• ​Ex. Grabbing her umbrella, Kate raced out the door.

• ​Ex. However, I agree with you.

​5. Commas enclose an aside (a parenthetical element).

• ​Ex. My dad, who is the CEO of the company, is about to retire.

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​The parenthetical element between the two commas should be able to be left out and the sentence will still make sense.

• ​Ex. The car, which gets great gas mileage, is very expensive.

​6. Commas are used in direct speech and quotations.

• ​Ex. Ms. Belfiglio shouted, "Stop fooling around!"

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​If other punctuation marks (such as question marks) are used, the comma may not be necessary.

• ​Ex. "Can you help me?" asked Laura.

​7. Commas separate elements of contrast.

• ​Ex. The test was challenging, not impossible.

​Use commas and save lives!

• ​Let's eat kids!

• ​Let's eat, kids!

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