Comma
Comma
This chapter will describe the six main uses of the comma. The sentences below will
introduce you to one of these uses—to set a direct quotation off from the rest of the sentence.
The other five main uses of the comma are included below.
INCORRECT:
A comma is needed to set the direct quotation off from the rest of the sentence.
CORRECT:
With the comma included, the direct quotation is properly set off from the rest of the
sentence.
4. Between two complete thoughts connected by and, but, for, or, nor, so, yet
You may find it helpful to remember that the comma often marks a slight pause or break
in a sentence. Read aloud the sentence examples given for each rule, and listen for the minor
pauses or breaks that are signaled by commas.
The pitcher adjusted his cap, pawed the ground, and peered over his shoulder.
1. The final comma in a series is optional, but it is often used. If you use a final comma
in one series in an essay, use one in all the other series in the same essay.
2. A comma is used between two descriptive words in a series only if and inserted
between the words sounds natural. You could say:
But notice in the following sentence that the descriptive words do not sound natural
when and is inserted between them. In such cases, no comma is used.
Tony wore a pale green tuxedo. (A pale and green tuxedo does not sound right,
so no comma is used.)
Activity 1
1. The American alligator lives in southern swamps streams lakes and other bodies
of water.
2. Rudy stretched out on the swaying hammock popped open a frosty can of soda
and balanced it carefully on his stomach.
3. The children splashed through the warm deep swirling rainwater that flooded the
street.
4. The police officer’s warm brown eyes relaxed manner and pleasant smile made
her easy to talk to.
5. The soft warm woolen blankets comforted us as we heard the cold north wind
blow through the pines.
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Just in time, Sherry applied the brakes and avoided a car accident.
Muttering under his breath, Hassan reviewed the terms he had memorized.
In a wolf pack, the dominant male holds his tail higher than the other pack members.
Although he had been first in the checkout line, Deion let an elderly woman go ahead
of him.
After the fire, we slogged through the ashes of the burned-out house.
TIP: If the introductory material is brief, the comma is sometimes omitted. In the
activities here, you should include the comma.
Activity 2
Place commas after introductory material. Once you have completed the activity,
review your answers with a partner.
1. Although it cannot kill certain bacteria penicillin is still a useful antibiotic.
2. His heart pounding wildly Jesse opened the letter that would tell him whether he
had been accepted at college.
3. Passing through 14 states the Appalachian trail is over 2,000 miles long.
4. When the band hadn’t taken the stage forty-five minutes after the concert was
supposed to begin the audience members started shouting and stamping their feet.
5. Along the side of the brook we noticed a newborn fawn speckled brown and red.
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Use a comma on both sides of words or phrases that interrupt the flow of thought in a
sentence.
The vinyl car seat, sticky from the heat, clung to my skin.
Marty’s computer, which his wife got him as a birthday gift, occupies all his spare
time.
The hallway, dingy and dark, was illuminated by a bare bulb hanging from a wire.
Usually, by reading a sentence aloud, you can hear the words that interrupt the flow of
thought. In cases where you are not sure if certain words are interrupters, remove them from
the sentence. If it still makes sense without the words, you know that the words are
interrupters and that the information they give is nonessential. Such nonessential or extra
information is set off with commas.
In the sentence
Sue Dodd, who goes to aerobics class with me, was in a serious car accident.
the words who goes to aerobics class with me are extra information not needed to identify
the subject of the sentence, Sue Dodd. Commas go around such non-essential information. On
the other hand, in the sentence
The woman who goes to aerobics class with me was in a serious accident.
the words who goes to aerobics class with me supply essential information—information
needed for us to identify the woman being spoken of. If the words were removed from the
sentence, we would no longer know exactly who was in the accident: “The woman was in a
serious accident.” Here is another example:
Watership Down, a novel by Richard Adams, is the most thrilling adventure story I’ve
ever read.
Here the words a novel by Richard Adams could be left out, and we would still know the
basic meaning of the sentence. Commas are placed around such non-essential material. But in
the sentence
Richard Adams’s novel Watership Down is the most thrilling adventure story I’ve
ever read.
the title of the novel is essential. Without it the sentence would read, “Richard Adams’s
novel is the most thrilling adventure story I’ve ever read.” We would not know which of
Richard Adams’s novels was so thrilling. Commas are not used around the title, because it
provides essential information.
Most of the time you will be able to hear which words interrupt the flow of thought in a
sentence and will not have to think about whether the words are essential or nonessential.
Activity 3
2. Two large pines swaying in the wind, signaled that cooler weather was coming.
3. Hawaii which became the fiftieth state in 1959 is made up of eight major islands.
4. Mr. Delgado who is an avid Yankees fan remembers the grand days of Mickey
Mantle and Yogi Berra.
5. The fleet of tall ships a majestic sight made its way into the harbor.
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Use a comma between two complete thoughts connected by and, but, for, or, nor, so, yet.
Sam closed all the windows, but the predicted thunderstorm never arrived.
Peggy doesn’t envy the skinny models in magazines, for she is happy with her own
well-rounded body.
2. Be careful not to use a comma to separate two verbs that belong to one subject. The
comma is used only in sentences made up of two complete thoughts (two subjects and
two verbs). In the sentence
The doctor stared over his bifocals and lectured me about smoking.
there is only one subject (doctor) and a double verb (stared and lectured). No comma
is needed. Likewise, the sentence
Dean switched the lamp on and off and then tapped it with his fingers.
has only one subject (Dean) and a double verb (switched and tapped); therefore, no
comma is needed.
Activity 4
Place a comma before a joining word that connects two complete thoughts (two
subjects and two verbs). Remember, do not place a comma within a sentence that has
only one subject and a double verb. (Some items may be correct as given.)
1. The television sitcom was interrupted for a special news bulletin and I poked my
head out of the kitchen to listen to the announcement.
2. Before he led Confederate troops in the Civil War, General Robert E. Lee had
fought in the Mexican War and had been superintendent at West Point.
3. The eccentric woman brought all her own clips and rollers to the beauty parlor
for she was afraid to use the ones there.
4. Orangutans are ideally suited for living in trees and they rarely climb down to
the ground.
5. Plastic surgery was developed to repair damaged tissue but today it is often used
to improve one’s appearance.
6. Ruth was tired of summer reruns so she visited the town library to pick up some
interesting books.
7. You can spend hours driving all over town to look for a particular type of camera
or you can telephone a few stores to find it quickly.
8. Many people strolled among the exhibits at the comic book collectors’
convention and stopped to look at a rare first edition of Superman.
9. Our neighborhood crime patrol escorts elderly people to the local bank and
installs free dead-bolt locks on their apartment doors.
10. Brendan tapped the small geraniums out of their pots and carefully planted them
on his grandfather’s grave.
Use a comma to set off a direct quotation from the rest of a sentence.
TIP: Commas and periods at the end of a quotation go inside quotation marks. See also
page 566.
Activity 5
Use commas to set off direct quotations from the rest of the sentence.
1. The coach announced “In order to measure your lung capacity, you’re going to
attempt to blow up a plastic bag with one breath.”
2. “A grapefruit” said the comedian “is a lemon that had a chance and took
advantage of it.”
3. The child heard her mother whisper “Ladybird, ladybird, fly away home.”
4. “My heart is bursting” said Stella. “How can I ever repay you for all you’ve
done?”
5. The zookeeper explained to the visitors “We can’t tell the sex of a giant tortoise
for almost ten years after its birth.”
If you’re the last to leave, Paul, please switch off the lights.
Persons Spoken To
Use a comma after the salutation of a friendly letter and after the salutation and closing
of a friendly and a formal letter.
Dear allie
Dear Roberto,
Sincerely yours,
Yours truly,
TIP: In formal letters, a colon is used after the opening: Dear Sir: or Dear Madam: or
Dear Allan: or Dear Ms. Mohr:
Use commas in numbers of four digits or more, except for years and street numbers.
In 2008, the insurance agent sold me a $50,000 term life insurance policy.
Numbers
TIP: No comma is used before a zip code.
Activity 6
4. The mileage chart shows Elaine that we’ll have to drive 1231 miles to get to
Sarasota Florida.
5. The coupon refund address is 2120 Industrial Highway Great Plains Minnesota
55455.
Review Test 1
Insert commas where needed. In the space provided below each sentence, summarize
briefly the rule that explains the comma or commas used.
1. “Kleenex tissues” said the history professor “were first used as gas mask filters in
World War I.”
______________________________________________________________________
2. The large juicy Barlett pear that I bit into was sweet cold and refreshing.
______________________________________________________________________
3. While waiting to enter the movie theater we studied the faces of the people just
leaving to see if they had liked the show.
______________________________________________________________________
4. I had left my wallet on the store counter but the clerk called me at home to say that it
was safe.
______________________________________________________________________
5. The demonstrators protesting nuclear arms carried signs reading “Humans have never
invented a weapon that they haven’t used.”
______________________________________________________________________
6. Large cactus plants which now sell for very high prices are being stolen from national
parks and protected desert areas.
______________________________________________________________________
7. At the age of twenty-one Tiger Woods won the 1997 Masters Tournament with the
highest margin of victory in the golfing tournament’s history.
______________________________________________________________________
8. Tucson a large city in Arizona is quite near the border with Mexico.
______________________________________________________________________
9. The North African nation of Algeria is bordered by five other countries: Tunisia
Libya Niger Mali and Mauritania.
______________________________________________________________________
10. Cats and dogs like most animals love the taste of salt and will lick humans’ hands to
get it.
______________________________________________________________________
Review Test 2
Insert commas where needed. Mark the one sentence that is correct with a C.
1. Before leaving for the gym Nikki added extra socks and a tube of shampoo to the gear
in her duffel bag.
2. My father said “Golf isn’t for me. I can’t afford to buy lots of expensive sticks so that
I can lose lots of expensive white balls.”
3. Reviewed by a committee of college faculty Jason’s application for scholarship aid
was approved unanimously.
4. Oscar took a time-exposure photo of the busy highway so the cars’ taillights appeared
in the developed print as winding red ribbons.
5. A line of dancing numerals on Sesame Street kicked across the screen like a chorus
line.
7. Leaving seven astronauts dead the space shuttle Columbia broke apart as it returned to
Earth on February 1 2003.
8. “When I was little” said Ernie “my brother told me it was illegal to kill praying
mantises. I still don’t know if that’s true or not.”
9. The Cloisters a museum of medieval art which is part of the New York Metropolitan
Museum of Art includes buildings brought to the United States from Europe.
10. On June 24 1948 the Soviet Union closed the German city of Berlin to traffic from the
West. However this ill-fated venture lasted only until May 11 1949 when the Soviets
were forced to reopen the city.
Review Test 3
In the following passage, there are ten missing commas. Add the commas where needed.
The types of mistakes to look for are shown in the box below.
When I was about ten years old, I developed several schemes to avoid eating liver, a food
I despise. My first scheme involved my little brother. Timmy, too young to realize what a
horrible food liver is, always ate every bit of his portion. On liver nights, I used to sit next to
Tim and slide my slab of meat onto his plate when my parents weren’t paying attention. This
strategy worked until, older and wiser, Tim decided to reject his liver along with the rest of us.
Another liver-disposal method I used was hiding the meat right on the plate. I’d cut the liver
into tiny squares half the size of postage stamps, and then I would carefully hide the pieces.
I’d put them inside the skin of my baked potato, beneath some mashed peas, or under a
crumpled paper napkin. This strategy worked perfectly only if my mother didn’t look too
closely as she scraped the dishes. Once she said to me, “Do you know you left a lot of liver on
your plate?” My best liver trick was to hide the disgusting stuff on a three-inch-wide wooden
ledge that ran under our diningroom table. I’d put little pieces of liver on the ledge when Mom
wasn’t looking; I would sneak the driedup scraps into the garbage early the next day. Our dog
would sometimes smell the liver, try to get at it, and bang his head noisily against the bottom
of the table. These strategies seemed like a lot of work, but I never hesitated to take whatever
steps I could. Anything was better than eating a piece of meat that tasted like old socks soaked
in mud.
Review Test 4
On separate paper, write six sentences, one illustrating each of the six main comma rules.