Comma rules – Tutorial
Basic Comma Tips
Commas are, undoubtedly, one of the most difficult areas of English punctuation. The key is consistency.
With commas, a general rule is „the fewer, the better.“ DO NOT believe what some people suggest when they say that wherever you would pause in natural spoken English is where you should insert a comma. You will end up with more commas and more inconsistencies than is imaginable.
There are some places where commas should always go as well as some places commas should never be put.
*There should never be a comma between a subject and a main verb in a sentence. Nor should there ever be a comma between a verb and subject compliment.
When using commas consider if the sentence fits any of the general rules listed below. If it doesn’t, follow the general rule stated above. The fewer, the better.
*use a comma to tie two complete sentences together when they are joined by a coordinating conjunction.
Coordinating conjunctions are: and, but, or, yet, for, and so.
Examples:
The profit statements are not as good as I expected, but I am quite optimistic about the next quarter.
There have been many mistakes made in the past, but the big picture looks promising.
*A comma should never tie two sentences together on its own. This is properly made into two stand alone sentences.
Examples:
I am not happy, I will get over it. (XXX)
I am not happy, but I will get over it. (!!!)
Or
I am not happy. I will get over it. (!!!)
*In a series of three or more terms with a single conjunction, use a comma after each term except the last.
Examples:
…a red, white, and blue flag.
He is an honest, energetic, but stubborn man.
He opened the letter, read it, and made a note of the contents.
* Always put commas around non-defining information in a statement.
Examples:
Her business, which had been doing poorly for years, has gone bankrupt.
My house, which I inherited from my father, has been sold.
· Use a comma to offset introductory propositional phrases, modifiers of time and place, conjunctives adverbs, relative clauses and subordinate clauses. Any time you have information at the beginning of the sentence which is extra information and not really necessary to make a proper complete sentence it should be followed by a comma.
Examples:
As per your request, I have made reservations for your upcoming trip.
The meeting, on Monday at 10, has been postponed until the following day.