Transcript Rule # 1

Comma misunderstandings…
Rule # 1
Comma Rule #1: Use commas with items in a series.
Example: My friend Sam plays baseball, basketball,
and football.
*Things to remember: Make sure you put a comma
before the conjunction, too!
Rule # 2
Comma Rule #2: Use commas with coordinating conjunctions (FANBOYS) to join 2
INDEPENDENT clauses.
Coordinating conjunctions: AKA- FANBOYS:
 For
 And
 Nor
 But
 Or
 Yet
 So
*Thing to remember: You put the comma before the FANBOY!
•You also have to have 2 subjects, 2 verbs, and both sentences have to make sense
alone!
Example: Sam wanted to play rugby for the Falcons this year, but he couldn’t play
both rugby and football.
Rule # 3
Comma Rule #3: Use commas with standard conventions.

1. In salutations and closings of letters

2. After the day AND year in a sentence
Example: The tryouts for football are Wednesday, May 10, 2013, and it will be an
important day for Sam.

3. After the city and state if it is in the middle of a sentence.
Example: I want to go to Dallas, Texas, because I have always loved the Cowboys.

4. Between the street address and the city in an address in a sentence
Example: You attend school at 500 Red Hawk Parkway, Smyrna, Tennessee, at
Stewarts Creek Middle
*Things to remember: if you have a comma in the convention, you need a comma
after it, too!
Rule # 4
Comma Rule #4: To set off non- essential (= extra information)
elements (clauses, phrases, words)
These are generally the appositives.
Can also be direct address. • Let’s eat, Grandma.
Examples:
1. Allison, my best friend, is going on vacation next week. –Phrase
2. The teacher, who taught seventh graders everyday, was a little
nervous about his new student.— Clause
3. The new student, Mark, participated in class the first day.—Word
Rule # 5

Comma Rule #5: Use comma after introductory elements – Words, Phrases, Clauses
Example: Mary, would you get the door please?-- Words
--Phrases: Phrases do not have both a subject and verb and cannot stand alone.
Types of Phrases: Prepositional, Gerund, Participial, Infinitive, Appositive
Examples:
• Mrs. Burford loves reading all kinds of books.-- Gerund
• Without representation, a criminal will surely get convicted.—Prepositional
• Hoping for a new cell phone, my brother couldn’t sleep at all the night before his
birthday.—Participial and Appositive
• To celebrate their victory, the coach took the team out for pizza.—Infinitive.
– Clauses: Have both a subject and a verb (generally
subordinate—can’t stand alone)
Example: After the sun went down, the music drifted on the night
air.
Exit Ticket
 Why are commas so important to our writing?
 How does the understanding of the following two sentences/
phrases change when the comma placement changes?
 Well done steak
 Well done, steak!