Commas! by Missy Walker

Commas!

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because, like me, you probably need a refresher

Photo by jlz

Photo by jlz

Photo by jlz

Photo by jlz

Photo by jlz

Photo by jlz

Photo by jlz

Photo by jlz

Photo by jlz

Slide Notes

Commas!

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PRESENTATION OUTLINE

Commas!

While a period ends a sentence, a comma indicates a smaller break. Some writers think of a comma as a soft pause—a punctuation mark that separates words, clauses, or ideas within a sentence.

Use a comma to separate the elements in a series (three or more things)

"He hit the ball, dropped the bat, and ran to first base."

Use a comma + a little conjunction (and, but, for, nor, yet, or, so) to connect two independent clauses

"He hit the ball well, but he ran toward third base."

Use a comma to set off introductory elements

"Running toward third base, he suddenly realized how stupid he looked."

Use a comma to set off parenthetical elements (a part of a sentence that can be removed without changing the essential meaning of that sentence)

The Founders Bridge, which spans the Connecticut River, is falling down.

Appositives are almost always treated as parenthetical elements.

Eleanor, his wife of thirty years, suddenly decided to open her own business.

When a parenthetical element — an interjection, adverbial modifier, or even an adverbial clause — follows a coordinating conjunction used to connect two independent clauses, we do not put a comma in front of the parenthetical element.

When both a city's name and that city's state or country's name are mentioned together, the state or country's name is treated as a parenthetical element.We visited Hartford, Connecticut, last summer.Paris, France, is sometimes called "The City of Lights."

When the state becomes a possessive form, this rule is no longer followed:Hartford, Connecticut's investment in the insurance industry is well known.

Also, when the state or country's name becomes part of a compound structure, the second comma is dropped:Heublein, a Hartford, Connecticut-based company, is moving to another state.

Use a comma to separate coordinate adjectives

Use a comma to set off quoted elements.

Peter Coveney writes, "The purpose and strength of the romantic image of the child had been above all to establish a relation between childhood and adult consciousness."

If an attribution of a quoted element comes in the middle of the quotation, two commas will be required."The question is," said Alice, "whether you can make words mean so many things."

Be careful not to use commas to set off quoted elements introduced by the word that or quoted elements that are embedded in a larger structure:Peter Coveney writes that "[t]he purpose and strength of . . ."

And, instead of a comma, use a colon to set off explanatory or introductory language from a quoted element that is either very formal or long

Peter Coveney had this to say about the nineteenth-century's use of children in fiction: "The purpose and strength of . . . "

Use commas to set off phrases that express contrast.The puppies were cute, but very messy.

Never use only one comma between a subject and its verb

Typographical Reasons: Between a city and a state [Hartford, Connecticut], a date and the year [June 15, 1997], a name and a title when the title comes after the name [Bob Downey, Professor of English], in long numbers [5,456,783 and $14,682], etc.

PROCEED WITH CAUTION

Missy Walker

Error!

When both a city's name and that city's state or country's name are mentioned together, the state or country's name is treated as a parenthetical element.

We visited Hartford, Connecticut, last summer.

Paris, France, is sometimes called "The City of Lights."

When the state becomes a possessive form, this rule is no longer followed:

Hartford, Connecticut's investment in the insurance industry is well known.

Also, when the state or country's name becomes part of a compound structure, the second comma is dropped:

Heublein, a Hartford, Connecticut-based company, is moving to another state.

If an attribution of a quoted element comes in the middle of the quotation, two commas will be required.
"The question is," said Alice, "whether you can make words mean so many things."

Be careful not to use commas to set off quoted elements introduced by the word that or quoted elements that are embedded in a larger structure:
Peter Coveney writes that "[t]he purpose and strength of . . ."

Use commas to set off phrases that express contrast.
The puppies were cute, but very messy.