Jim Roth’s Website

 

PRACTICE EXERCISES

 

COMMAS MADE EASY

 

The COMMA is the most used and misused punctuation mark in English, and all sorts of odd rules have been created by writers to survive. One you may have heard is, “Use a comma where you would pause or take a breath.” Unfortunately, this one will let you down.  Here’s an example:

 

Raoul, dripping with emotion, says to Estelle: 

 

Oh, Estelle, I, love, you, so, much, that, my, socks, get, tight, on, my, ankles.

 

Raoul might pause and breathe deeply after each word, but, in fact, only the commas after Oh and Estelle are needed.

 

Another problem with using commas is that some of the present rules are "soft": in other words, it's up to you, the writer, whether or not to use a comma or not. Here's an example:

 

Rule: Use a comma after a long introduction:

 

After the Halloween dance, Estelle walked Raoul home.

 

OR

 

After the Halloween dance Estelle walked Raoul home.

 

Either version is correct since “long introduction” has never been defined. Is "long" three words, four, five, six or more? No one will tell.

 

The best general rule is this:

 

Try your best to learn a few important rules, and when in doubt, leave the comma out.

 

That's right; writers more often use too many commas than too few.

 

THE FEW IMPORTANT RULES

 

1.) When you join two independent clauses (two complete sentences) with a fanboys (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so), put a comma before the fanboys.

 

EXAMPLE: Bob cried when Sue left him, but he realized later he was better off without her.

 

1A.) You don't need a comma if the independent clauses are joined by because, when, if, until, or any other dependent word. Don't confuse these words with fanboys. Fanboys connect; these other words create dependence.

 

EXAMPLE: Sue left Bob after their date because she realized he was too young.

 

1B.)  Do NOT put a comma before “and” if “and” joins only two words or phrases.

 

EXAMPLE: Bob bought Estelle roses for her birthday and a coupon for a free pedicure.  (The “and” is joining only two phrases, so no comma is needed.)

 

EXAMPLE: The students studied the rules of writing and began to do better on their assignments.  (The words that follow the “and” are not an independent clause--there is no subject--so no comma is needed.)

 

2.) Use a comma to mark where the main clause begins after a long introductory word group.

 

EXAMPLE: When Greg fell into the vat of fertilizer, he realized he had taken a wrong turn.

 

(The main clause is he realized he had taken a wrong turn. When Greg fell into the vat of fertilizer looks important, but it just tells when the main action occurred.)

 

3.) Use a comma between three or more items in a series to show their equality.

 

EXAMPLES

 

Wilma bought eggs for the party, milk for her cat, cookie dough for her children, and a bone for her dog.

 

We invited Ted, Larry, Erica, and Danny.

 

4.) Use a comma between coordinate adjectives not joined by and.

 

Don't panic--coordinate adjectives are easy to understand. An adjective usually describes a noun or name word and coordinate means the describing words are equal so you can switch their positions and the sentence still sounds O.K.

 

EXAMPLE: Debbie was an independent, confident, talented woman.

 

Note I can also write

 

Debbie was a confident, independent, talented woman.

 

OR

 

Debbie was a talented, confident, independent woman.

 

No matter the order, the sentence still sounds O.K., so I use commas.

 

5.) Use a comma on both sides of a common word or word group that interrupts the sentence.

 

EXAMPLES: The unicorn, however, is a very strange animal.

 

Jim, it seems to me, is a little off.

 

Your car, by the way, is in the driveway.

 

Note that a common word or word group (however, it seems to me, by the way) can fit into most any sentence. That's how to test it to see if it gets commas.

 

Another way to remember to put a comma on both sides of a common word or word group is to imagine the sentence is held together by a strong spring. When you pry the sentence apart to insert the common word or word group, a comma on both sides keeps the spring from snapping the sentence together and crushing what you've inserted.

 

6.) Use commas to set off non-restrictive word groups, but don't use commas to set off restrictive word groups. Sounds confusing? It isn't--read on.

 

A non-restrictive word group contains extra information about something or someone already identified. A restrictive word group contains essential information needed to identify something or someone.

 

EXAMPLE:

 

NON-restrictive: My friend Vinny, who is wearing the tuxedo, is getting married today.

 

Note that we do not need the underlined word group to identify (or restrict) who is getting married today since we are told at the beginning of the sentence that it is Vinny.  Therefore, the underlined information is extra or non-restrictive information.

 

RESTRICTIVE:

 

The man who is wearing the tuxedo is getting married today.

 

Note that we do need the underlined word group to identify which man is getting married. Therefore, it's essential or restrictive. In other words, the reader needs the information to restrict all possible men to one--the one wearing the green coat.

 

 

So in this sense, the commas surround extra, less important information. In the old days this kind of information was called parenthetical because a writer typically would put it inside of parentheses. Today we use commas for this.

 

7.) Appositives--weird word, huh? But the meaning is simple: An appositive is a second name for something. If it's nonrestrictive, use commas; if it’s restrictive, don't.

 

Try these:

 

EXAMPLE: Tom Gribble’s first class, 8:30 Intro to Literature, meets in the library.

 

See why it's non-restrictive? Do I need it to identify which of Tom's classes I'm writing about?

 

But how about this:

 

EXAMPLE: U2's song Vertigo is one of the best they’ve written.

 

See why the appositive Vertigo is restrictive? Take it out of the sentence and see what happens.

 

8.) Nouns in Direct Address

 

Check this one out. If we're talking to or addressing someone in a sentence, their name is (you guessed it!) a noun in direct address:

 

EXAMPLES:

 

We'd like to thank you, Jim, for teaching us commas.

 

Note that we're talking to Jim (addressing him).

 

But if we write, “We'd like to thank Jim for teaching us commas,” no commas are needed because we're now talking about Jim, not to him.

 

If we forget the commas, sometimes misunderstandings arise:

 

Wrong: I said I would leave after I eat Bob. (Cannibals may find this a correct sentence.)

 

Better: I said I would leave after I eat, Bob.

 

9.) Direct Quotations

 

When you lead into a direct quotation with an expression such as Ralph said or Johnson replied, use a comma:

 

EXAMPLES

 

Ralph said, You really did eat Bob!

 

Johnson replied, Why, yes, I’m cannibal and he was quite tasty.

 


10.) Dates, Addresses, Titles, Numbers

 

EXAMPLES:

 

My birthday was June 12, 1985, according to my mother.

 

Zack Smith was born in Spokane, Washington, in 1970.

 

See the man at 508 East Courtland, Mead, Washington 99207.

 

If the title follows the person's name, use commas. If the title comes before the person's name, don't.

 

EXAMPLES:

 

Bob Marcus, my new plumber, smokes pipes.

 

My new plumber Bob Marcus smokes pipes.

 

Punctuate numbers this way:

 

EXAMPLES:

 

3,100 or 3100

 

23,500

 

101,232

 

1,334,444

 

32,000,009,998

 

11.) Use commas to prevent confusion:

 

After washing the women ate lunch. (Needs a comma after washing)

 

When he entered the door blew shut. (Needs a comma after entered)

 

What we feared might happen happened. (Put one after happen)

 

If you can walk to the sink and get the sponge. (One after can)

 

AND THAT'S ABOUT IT--REMEMBER, WHEN IN DOUBT, LEAVE IT OUT!

 

PRACTICE EXERCISES with ANSWERS