Transcript Commas - TheLincolnUniversity

COMMAS
No price too high!
No, price too high!
Let’s talk turkey.
Let’s talk, turkey.
Woman without her man is nothing.
Woman! Without her, man is nothing.
Common Reasons for Commas



Separate items in a
series of three or
more.
Set off introductory
and parenthetical
phrases.
Set off appositives.



Set off nonrestrictive
clauses.
Set off parts of dates
and addresses.
Set off parts of
compound and
complex sentences
Separate items in a series of
three or more.

Each item in a series can consist of
one word or more than one word.


,
,
Tom Dick and Harry all came to the
party.
I can’t decide if I want to sleep in
,
,
go
jogging or get started on my next essay.
Set off introductory and
parenthetical phrases

Introductory phrase - Phrases at the
beginning of a sentence.


Conjunctive adverbs and transitionals.


,
On Saturdays I go to school.
My boss wants me to work on Saturdays;
however I need to attend class.
,
Parenthetical expressions – “afterthought”
words that interrupt main sentence

,
,
She of course has no sympathy for me.
Set off appositives.

An appositive is a word or word group
that identifies, describes, or renames a
noun or pronoun.
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Appositives can appear at the beginning,
middle, or end of a sentence.
If in the middle of a sentence, place
commas on either side of the appositive.
Dr. Shabazz, our math professor, is considered
hard but fair.
Set off nonrestrictive clauses.


A nonrestrictive clause is a group of words
that are not necessary to the meaning of a
sentence. You could delete it, and the
sentence would still make sense.
Put commas on both sides of a nonrestrictive
clause when it falls in the middle of the
sentence.

,
,
Sandra who is regularly late turns in the best
essays.
Set off parts of dates.

Use commas to separate the day of the week
from the month and the day of the month
from the year.

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,
,
I got my first job on Monday January 28 1993.
When a date that includes commas falls in
the middle of a sentence, place a comma
before and after the year.

August 28
,
,
2008
was our first day of school.
Set off parts of addresses.

Use commas in addresses to separate the
street address from the city and the city from
the state or country.


The Graduate Center is located at 3020 Market Street,
Philadelphia, PA 19010.
When an address that includes commas falls
in the middle of a sentence, place a comma
after the state or country.

,
The annual gem show in Franklin
Carolina is world famous.
,
North
Do Not Use Commas
Before the first element of a
series or after the last.
• When school ends, I am going to X,
sleep late every Saturday, go out every
Friday, and forget about commas for at
least a day.
• Sleeping, partying, and ignoring
commas X
, sounds pretty good to me.
Do Not Use Commas
Between a subject
and its verb.
The computer at the end of
the table X, doesn’t seem to
be working.
Do Not Use Commas
 Before FANBOYS (for, and, nor, but, or, yet,
so) when the FANBOYS are not connecting two
complete sentences.
Workbook exercises X
, and grammar are my two
favorite activities.
There’s nothing more exciting than getting up
early in the morning X, and driving to school.
Do Not Use Commas
Before a group of words
beginning with THAT.
We all said X, that we understand
commas
Please give us the test X, that has the
easiest questions.
WARNING!!!
Don’t go comma crazy!

Now that you know the proper uses for
commas, resist the urge to throw one in
every time you’re unsure. Don’t catch
comma-itis!

Take your time; check the rules.
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And, finally, remember:
When in doubt, leave it out!