Commas

Commas
Lesson & Exercises

Commas are used:

A. Before a coordinating (FANBOYS) conjunction, to separate independent clauses
There are seven coordinating conjunctions, known by the acronym FANBOYS:
For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So

FANBOYS conjunctions can be used to join independent clauses (complete sentences), and they must always come
after a comma when they are employed in this way.

Note that without a comma, a sentence that uses a FANBOYS conjunction to join two independent clauses is
technically a run-on sentence, regardless of how short it is.

Run-on: Some animal species are able to make their own vitamin C but people lack the
enzymes necessary to produce this compound and must obtain it through their diets.

Correct: Some animal species are able to make their own vitamin C, but people lack the
enzymes necessary to produce this compound and must obtain it through their diets.

When the subject is the same in both clauses and is not repeated in the second clause, no comma is needed.

Incorrect: People lack the enzymes necessary to produce vitamin C, and must obtain this
compound through their diets.

Correct: People lack the enzymes necessary to produce vitamin C and must obtain this
compound through their diets.

You can also think of the rule this way: comma + FANBOYS = period, so plug in a period in place of comma + and.

Plug in: People lack the enzymes necessary to produce vitamin C. Must obtain this
compound through their diets.

Clearly, Must obtain this compound through their diets is not a sentence, so no comma should be used.

In real life, this rule is somewhat flexible. When a sentence is very long and complex, a comma may in fact be
helpful – or even necessary – for the sake of clarity and readability.

Acceptable: Unlike some animal species, human beings are born without the ability to produce
the enzyme L-gulonolactone oxidase, and must obtain vitamin C through the
consumption of foods such as oranges and broccoli.

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B. Between a dependent phrase/clause and an independent clause
Unlike independent clauses, dependent clauses cannot stand on their own as complete thoughts.

Dependent elements may take the form of introductory words (typically transitions such as in fact, essentially,
moreover, or as a result) or short phrases.

Correct: Initially, it looked as if the storm was going to miss us by a few hundred miles.

Correct: The largest city in the United States, New York City is a major cultural and financial
center.

Correct: Rejecting a career in ballet, Mae Jemison studied engineering and was accepted into
NASA’s astronaut-training program in 1987.

Dependent clauses frequently begin with subordinating conjunctions:

After Before Though Whenever

Although Despite Unless Whereas
As If Until Whether
Because Since When While

When a dependent clause is placed before an independent clause to form a complete sentence, a comma should
separate the two clauses.

Incorrect: Because domesticated canines do not naturally live in pack structures some scientists
scoff at dog-training approaches that require humans to act as pack leaders.

Note that in this version, the two clauses blend into one another. The reader is forced to stop and think about where
the division of ideas occurs. In contrast, the comma creates a clear division between the thoughts.

Correct: Because domesticated canines do not naturally live in pack structures, some scientists
scoff at dog-training approaches that require humans to act as pack leaders.

A dependent phrase or clause that appears after the main clause should typically be set off by a comma as well.

Correct: Testing animal cognition is tricky, especially when species-specific tests are used.

Correct: Jackie Robinson retired from baseball in 1957, having become one of the most famous
baseball players in the United States.

Correct: Inuit art was traditionally based on the carving of walrus ivory, a material that was
once found in abundance.

Note that clauses beginning with which should always be set off by a comma.

Correct: In addition to sketching landscape and nature in his early years, M.C. Escher also
drew insects, which were featured in a number of his later works.

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Comma Exercise 1: FANBOYS and Dependent Elements
Punctuate the following sentences by adding commas as necessary.

1. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was originally intended for an adult audience but today it is widely read as
part of the high school curriculum in the United States.

2. Because the Rosetta Stone presented the same text in all three ancient Egyptian scripts it provided the key to
the modern understanding of hieroglyphs.

3. Over two million tourists visit Whistler in British Columbia each year primarily for winter sports such as
snowboarding and alpine skiing.

4. The average family size in most countries has been steadily decreasing so there are fewer children overall than
there used to be.

5. Initially photography’s status as an art form was unclear: at the International Exhibition of 1862 organizers
debated whether photographs should be shown with the machines or with the paintings.

6. Although paleontologists often find new dinosaur bones or footprints the two types of fossils have not been
found together until recently.

7. Ignorance can often be propagated under the guise of balanced debate: for example the synthesis of two
opposing views does not always result in a rational conclusion.

8. According to United Nations estimates more than 240 million people live in a country other than in which
they were born.

9. In 1858 architects Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux won the commission to improve and expand
Manhattan’s Central Park and they began construction on it the same year.

10. The eyes of many predatory animals are designed to enhance depth perception; however they are designed to
maximize the field of vision in most other organisms.

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C. Around non-essential items (words, phrases, and clauses)
Commas are used to signal non-essential words, phrases, and clauses. These elements provide information that is
not crucial to the meaning of a sentence – it’s more like an interruption. Consequently, the information can be
removed without affecting the sentence’s basic grammatical structure.

Correct: Voltaire’s novel Candide, which was written sometime between 1757 and 1758, was
one of the most scandalous works of the eighteenth century.

Cross out: Voltaire’s novel Candide […] was one of the most scandalous works of the eighteenth
century.

A comma must always be placed at both the beginning and the end of the non-essential information; it is incorrect
to include only one comma.

Incorrect: Voltaire’s novel Candide which was written sometime between 1757 and 1758, was
one of the most scandalous works of the eighteenth century.

Incorrect: Voltaire’s novel Candide, which was written sometime between 1757 and 1758 was
one of the most scandalous works of the eighteenth century.

Non-essential clauses often begin with “w-words” (relative pronouns) such as which, who, and whose, but they can
also begin with nouns (in which case they are known as appositives) or with participles (-ing words).

Correct: The wingspan of the monarch butterfly, a species commonly mistaken for the
similar-looking viceroy butterfly, ranges from 8.9 to 10.2 centimeters.

Correct: Richard Rogers and Oscar Hammerstein, having achieved success independently,
began their collaboration with the musical Oklahoma! in 1943.

Some transition words that typically appear at the beginning of a clause (e.g., however, moreover, therefore) can also
be used non-essentially in the middle of a clause.

Correct: Some traditional assumptions about how to treat jellyfish stings have recently been
called into question: rinsing the affected areas with seawater, for example, only
spreads the stings to a larger area.

In addition, information that is typically used to introduce a sentence can be included non-essentially in the middle
of a sentence. This is a fairly sophisticated construction, but one that is common in academic writing.

Correct: A new software called DXplain, some hospitals report, is helping doctors make
diagnoses and avoid the types of errors that can sometimes cause harm to patients.

Tip: If you are unsure whether a statement is non-essential, cross it out and read the sentence without it. If the
sentence still makes grammatical sense, the information is non-essential, and two commas must be used.

Finally, when a person is addressed directly, the name is treated as a non-essential item and set off with commas.

Incorrect: You know Sophie your dog is so much better trained than mine!

Incorrect: You know, Sophie (or: know Sophie,) your dog is so much better trained than mine!

Correct: You know, Sophie, your dog is so much better trained than mine!

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D. Between items in a list
In any list of three or more items, serial commas are used to separate the items. Note that the comma before and
(i.e., the “Oxford comma”) is typically optional.

Correct: The museum’s open-storage display brings over 900 vintage World’s Fair souvenirs
out of attics, desk drawers, shoeboxes, and museum archives for visitors to view.

Correct: The museum’s open-storage display brings over 900 vintage World’s Fair souvenirs
out of attics, desk drawers, shoeboxes and museum archives for visitors to view.

When the meaning would be ambiguous without a comma between the last two items, however, then one should
be used for clarity.

Incorrect: The dairy company’s overtime rules do not apply to the processing, preserving,
freezing, packing for shipment or distribution of perishable foods.

In the above sentence, the lack of a comma in the phrase packing for shipment or distribution makes it unclear whether
overtime rules do not apply to two acts (the packing of perishable foods for shipment and distribution of perishable
foods) or a single act (packing perishable foods for shipment and distribution). If the rules in fact refer to two
separate acts, then a comma must be used for clarity.

Correct: The dairy company’s overtime rules do not apply to the processing, preserving,
freezing, packing for shipment, or distribution of perishable foods.

Note: The example above is a modified version of a sentence that was the subject of a $10 million lawsuit. Truck
drivers argued that their employer had unfairly withheld pay, based on the ambiguous wording of their contract.

E. Between two adjectives whose order could be reversed, OR that could be

separated by the word and
When two adjectives can be written in either order, then a comma should be placed between them.

Correct: One of the Queens Museum’s recent exhibits featured works by contemporary
artists from Japan, Taiwan, and Ireland, offering patrons the chance to see a kind of
innovative, passionate art that larger museums often ignore.

Correct: One of the Queens Museum’s recent exhibits featured works by contemporary
artists from Japan, Taiwan, and Ireland, offering patrons the chance to see a kind of
passionate, innovative art that larger museums often ignore.

Alternately, if the word and can be placed between the adjectives, a comma can be used in its place.

Correct: One of the Queens Museum’s recent exhibits featured works by contemporary
artists from Japan, Taiwan, and Ireland, offering patrons the chance to see a kind of
innovative and passionate art that larger museums often ignore.

However, if the first adjective modifies the second, OR if two adjectives could not normally be separated by the
word and, no comma should be used.

Incorrect: Created in Jamaica during the late 1960s, reggae music emerged from a number of
sources ranging from traditional, African songs and chants to contemporary jazz.

Correct: Created in Jamaica during the late 1960s, reggae music emerged from a number of
sources ranging from traditional African songs and chants to contemporary jazz.
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Comma Exercise 2: Non-Essential Elements, Lists and Adjectives
Punctuate the following sentences by adding commas as necessary.

1. The cesium fountain atomic clock the most precise form of timekeeper available is expected to become
inaccurate by less than a single second over the next 50 million years.

2. Large-scale social strife economic stagnation and an exploding population all conspired to weaken the Qing
Dynasty in nineteenth-century China.

3. Most modern brachiopods also known as lamp shells prefer quiet calm water; they often attach to the
undersides of stones or other hard objects.

4. Forensic biology the application of biology to law enforcement has been used to identify illegal products
from endangered species and investigate bird collisions with wind turbines.

5. Among the reforms introduced during Napoleon’s reign were the abolition of all feudal privileges and
historic taxes the introduction of legal reforms and the reorganization of local administrative systems.

6. The paintings of Caravaggio which combine a realistic observation of the human state both physical and
emotional with stark dramatic lighting had a formative influence on Baroque painting.

7. New Zealand one of the last lands to be settled by humans developed fascinating distinctive forms of wildlife
during its long isolation.

8. Frank Gehry’s buildings critics agree are among the most striking examples of contemporary architecture
found in the United States.

9. The Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh lacks both trains and a functional highway; its isolation however has
helped preserved a traditional way of life.

10. Over the course of his career, photographer and filmmaker George Picker chronicled the lives of artists
including folk singers jazz musicians and painters.

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F. With geographic locations
A comma should be placed after a city name and around the state/province/country name.

Note that the state/province/country name effectively functions as a non-essential word or phrase.

Incorrect: The conference will be held in Albuquerque New Mexico in July.

Correct: The conference will be held in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in July.

Incorrect: Next year, we are planning to visit Seoul South Korea for two weeks.

Correct: Next year, we are planning to visit Seoul, South Korea, for two weeks.

In addresses, a comma should be placed between the street and the city, and between the city and the state/
province.

Incorrect: The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is located at 77, Massachusetts Avenue

Cambridge MA.

Correct: The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is located at 77 Massachusetts Avenue,

Cambridge, MA.

However, no comma should be placed between the state and the zip code.

Incorrect: The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is located at 77 Massachusetts Avenue,

Cambridge, MA, 02139.

Correct: The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is located at 77 Massachusetts Avenue,

Cambridge, MA 02139.

G. With dates
Place a comma between a month/day and a year when the day follows the month.

Incorrect: My birthday is March 18 2001.

Correct: My birthday is March 18, 2001.

When the day comes before the month (European-style), no commas should be used.

Incorrect: My birthday is 18 March, 2001.

Correct: My birthday is 18 March 2001.

When a date appears in the middle of a sentence, the year must be surrounded by commas.

Incorrect: John Adams believed that July 2, 1776 would be celebrated as Independence Day
in the United States.

Correct: John Adams believed that July 2, 1776, would be celebrated as Independence Day in
the United States.

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H. With titles
Titles such as Jr., M.D., or Esq. should be set off by commas when they appear in the middle of a sentence.

Incorrect: Martin Luther King, Jr. was actually born Michael Luther King, Jr. but later had his
first name changed to Martin.

Correct: Martin Luther King, Jr., was actually born Michael Luther King, Jr., but later had his
first name changed to Martin.

Incorrect: Beginning in 1989, Neil Patrick Harris played the title role of a child prodigy doctor in
Doogie Howser, M.D. for which he was nominated for a Golden Globe.

Correct: Beginning in 1989, Neil Patrick Harris played the title role of a child prodigy doctor in
Doogie Howser, M.D., for which he was nominated for a Golden Globe.

I. To introduce a quotation
A direct quotation should be set off by a comma.

Incorrect: When the police ask Tom Buchanan what color car he was driving at the time of the
accident, he responds “It’s a blue car, a coupe.”

Correct: When the police ask Tom Buchanan what color car he was driving at the time of the
accident, he responds, “It’s a blue car, a coupe.”

Incorrect: The police ask Tom Buchanan what color car he was driving at the time of the
accident. “It’s a blue car, a coupe” he responds.

Correct: The police ask Tom Buchanan what color car he was driving at the time of the
accident. “It’s a blue car, a coupe,” he responds.

However, that when a quotation is integrated into the body of a sentence rather than introduced by a “reporting”
verb (e.g., said, exclaimed, responded), no comma is necessary.

Incorrect: Tom Buchanan told the police officer that he was driving, “a blue car, a coupe.”

Correct: Tom Buchanan told the police officer that he was driving “a blue car, a coupe.”

Note that this rule applies to quotations set off by that.

Incorrect: When the police ask Tom Buchanan what color car he was driving at the time of the
accident, he responds that, “he was driving a blue coupe.”

Incorrect: When the police ask Tom Buchanan what color car he was driving at the time of the
accident, he responds that, he was driving a blue coupe.

Correct: When the police ask Tom Buchanan what color car he was driving at the time of the
accident, he responds that “he was driving a blue coupe.”

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Comma Exercise 3: Places, Dates, Titles, Quotations
Punctuate the following sentences by adding commas as necessary.

1. Emmy-winning actor André Braugher, the youngest of four children, was born July 1 1962 in Chicago Illinois
the son of a postal worker and a heavy-equipment operator.

2. In one of his most famous essays, the transcendentalist philosopher Henry David Thoreau stated “This world
is but a canvas to our imagination.”

3. The Dina and Raphael Recanati Chair of Medicine at Harvard Medical School in Boston Massachusetts Jerome
E. Groopman M.D. grew up in Queens New York and has been a staff writer in medicine and biology for The
New Yorker since 1998.

4. The Battle of Antietam was fought on September 17 1862 between Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s Army
of Northern Virginia and Union General George B. McClellan’s Army of the Potomac near Sharpsburg
Maryland and Antietam Creek.

5. As the existentialist philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre asserted “existence precedes essence”—in other words,
people do not choose to be born, but they are free to determine how to live their lives.

6. When, as an 18-year old undergraduate, the physicist Freeman Dyson asked his mathematics professor
Godfrey Hardy why he was writing books instead of proving theorems, Godfrey responded “Young men
should prove theorems. Old men should write books.”

7. While competing at the Olympics in Beijing China the Japanese sprinter Shingo Suetsugo set a record for the
200-meter dash on August 22 2008.

8. British Prime Minister Winston Churchill was born at Blenheim Palace, his family’s home in Oxfordshire
England on 30 November 1874, a time when the United Kingdom was the dominant world power.

9. Among cities in the United States, Philadelphia Pennsylvania is unique in that it holds the title of UNESCO
World Heritage City – an honor that was bestowed on it on November 6 2015.

10. Based on the letters of Robert Gould Shaw, the film Glory premiered in limited release in the United States on
December 14 1989 and in wide release on February 16 1990.

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Comma Exercise 4: All Rules
Punctuate the following sentences with commas as necessary.

1. George Westinghouse one of Thomas Edison’s main rivals created his first major invention the rotary steam
engine before the age of twenty.

2. In The Library: A Catalogue of Wonders Stuart Kells writes “Libraries are an attempt to impose order in a world
of chaos. They are places of redemption.”

3. Used in some martial arts the Red Belt one of several colored belts intended to denote a practitioner’s skill
level and rank originated in Japan and Korea.

4. Although it lacks traditional circus elements like animals and clowns Cirque du Soleil continues to draw
thousands of spectators around the world each year.

5. Naples known internationally for its rich colorful history has played an important political and cultural role
both within and beyond the Italian peninsula since it was founded nearly 3,000 years ago.

6. The battleship Potemkin was made famous by its crew’s mutiny against commanding officers a rebellion that
later came to be viewed as an initial step toward the Russian Revolution that began on November 7 1917.

7. Because the city’s government has curtailed spending on all non-essential services for lack of funds the new
theater company has been forced to suspend several of its productions.

8. Copper a metal widely used by the ancient Greeks had great significance because of its association with
Cyprus which was considered a sacred island.

9. Traditional African instruments such as the Kora the balafon and the ngoni have strongly influenced the
sound of French rap music.

10. When Mr. Darcy’s feelings have grown too strong to repress he approaches Elizabeth Bennet and proclaims
“You must allow me to tell you how ardently I love and admire you.”

11. During the 1970s the demand for long-lasting staple foods caused many manufacturers to add preservatives
to previously simple dishes reducing the quality of their flavors.

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12. Long after ancient warriors had ceased to use chariots in warfare ordinary citizens continued to rely on them
for traveling over long distances celebrating during festivals and racing them in sporting events.

13. The Ford Model T colloquially known as the Tin Lizzie was produced by Ford Motor Company in Detroit
Michigan from October 1 1908 to May 26 1927 and is generally regarded as the first affordable automobile.

14. Each year the Iditarod dog sled race takes place in Nome Alaska to commemorate the dogsled teams that
delivered a lifesaving serum during the 1925 diphtheria epidemic.

15. According to the Motif-Index of Folk Literature a magisterial six-volume compilation of myths legends and
folktales collected by folklorists in the early twentieth century many cultures have told similar stories to
explain the occurrence of solar eclipses.

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Common Comma Misuses:

A. Between independent clauses (comma splice)

Placing a comma alone between independent clauses creates a comma splice. While this construction may be used
very sparingly in informal writing for stylistic effect, it is always incorrect in formal academic writing.

Incorrect: Some animal species are able to make their own vitamin C, people lack the
enzymes necessary to produce this compound and must obtain it through their diets.

Correct: Some animal species are able to make their own vitamin C, but people lack the
enzymes necessary to produce this compound and must obtain it through their diets.

Note that conjunctive adverbs such as however, therefore, consequently, moreover, nevertheless, and furthermore must be
placed after a period or semicolon, not a comma, when they are used to begin a clause.

Incorrect: Some animal species are able to make their own vitamin C, however, people lack the
enzymes necessary to produce this compound and must obtain it through their diets.

Correct: Some animal species are able to make their own vitamin C. However, people lack the
enzymes necessary to produce this compound and must obtain it through their diets.

Correct: Some animal species are able to make their own vitamin C; however, people lack the
enzymes necessary to produce this compound and must obtain it through their diets.

In addition, remember that a statement that begins with a pronoun such as it, they, s/he, or we can be a complete
sentence, even if it does not make sense out of context.

Incorrect: People lack the enzymes necessary to produce their own vitamin C, they must obtain
it through their diets.

Correct: People lack the enzymes necessary to produce their own vitamin C. They must
obtain it through their diets.

Correct: People lack the enzymes necessary to produce their own vitamin C; they must
obtain it through their diets.

B. Between compound items

Compound items consist of two of the same part of speech (e.g., nouns, verbs, adjectives) joined by the word and.
When two elements are linked this way, no comma should be used.

The easiest way to apply this rule is as follows: because comma + and = period, replace the period with comma + and.
If two complete sentences are not present, no comma should be used.

Compound Noun

Incorrect: Ada Lovelace, and Charles Babbage were two of the most influential figures in the
history of computer science and mathematics.

Plug in: Ada Lovelace. Charles Babbage were two of the most influential figures in the
history of computer science and mathematics.

Correct: Ada Lovelace and Charles Babbage were two of the most influential figures in the
history of computer science and mathematics.
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Compound Adjective

Incorrect: Ada Lovelace and Charles Babbage were two of the most important, and influential
figures in the history of computer science and mathematics.

Plug in: Ada Lovelace and Charles Babbage were two of the most important. Influential
figures in the history of computer science and mathematics.

Correct: Ada Lovelace and Charles Babbage were two of the most important and influential
figures in the history of computer science and mathematics.

C. Between subjects and verbs

Unless a subject and verb are separated by a non-essential clause, no comma should be placed between them.

Incorrect: Ada Lovelace and Charles Babbage, were two of the most influential figures in the
history of computer science, and mathematics.

Correct: Ada Lovelace and Charles Babbage were two of the most influential figures in the
history of computer science and mathematics.

This rule holds true even when subjects are extremely long and complex.

Incorrect: What is particularly remarkable about Ada Lovelace’s work on Charles Babbage’s
“analytical engine,” is that she foresaw many of the ways in which computers are
used today.

Correct: What is particularly remarkable about Ada Lovelace’s work on Charles Babbage’s
“analytical engine” is that she foresaw many of the ways in which computers are
used today.

Even though you may feel that a pause is necessary before the verb (and even though it is acceptable to use one
informally in order to break up long sentences), in strict grammatical terms, no comma should be used.

D. Before or after a preposition

Prepositions are location and time words such as of, for, from, to, in, with, by, about, between, before, and after.

Incorrect: Ada Lovelace and Charles Babbage were two of the most influential figures, in
(or: figures in,) the history of computer science and mathematics.

Correct: Ada Lovelace and Charles Babbage were two of the most influential figures in the
history of computer science and mathematics.

The only exception to this rule occurs when a preposition is used immediately before or after a non-essential clause.
This construction can easily become very awkward, though, and so you should generally avoid it.

Correct: Although Ada Lovelace lived nearly a century before the first computer was built,
she, in a way that was unique among nineteenth century mathematicians, predicted
many of the modern computer’s capabilities.

Correct: As a young woman, Ada Lovelace began work on Charles Babbage’s “analytical
engine,” generally considered the precursor to the modern computer, at a time when
most people could hardly imagine such a machine.

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E. Before or after the word that
Incorrect: Parrots are one of the most difficult pets, that a person can have because they are
intelligent, demanding, and live for up to 50 years.

Incorrect: Parrots are one of the most difficult pets that, a person can have because they are
intelligent, demanding, and live for up to 50 years.

Correct: Parrots are one of the most difficult pets that a person can have because they are
intelligent, demanding, and live for up to 50 years.

In addition, when that is optional and is not used, no comma should be used in its place.

Incorrect: Parrots are one of the most difficult pets, a person can have because they are
intelligent, demanding, and live for up to 50 years.

Correct: Parrots are one of the most difficult pets a person can have because they are
intelligent, demanding, and live for up to 50 years.

As is true for prepositions, the only exception to the “no comma after that” rules occurs when a non-essential clause
follows that. In such cases, it is acceptable to place a comma afterward. However, this is another construction that
can easily become awkward, and it is best avoided.

Correct: To research her best-selling novel Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, Lisa See traveled to remote
area of China that, she was told, only one foreigner before her had ever visited.

F. Between adjectives and nouns

Incorrect: Headquartered in New York, the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences
(NATAS) is a national, organization that has local chapters around the country.

Correct: Headquartered in New York, the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences
(NATAS) is a national organization that has local chapters around the country.

G. Between two adjectives separated by but or yet

Incorrect: Many modern architects choose to design buildings made of glass because it is a
strong, yet elegant material.

Incorrect: Many modern architects choose to design buildings made of glass because it is a
strong, yet elegant, material.

Correct: Many modern architects choose to design buildings made of glass because it is a
strong yet elegant material.

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H. Before or around “self” words
“Self” words (emphatic pronouns) are used to emphasize that a particular person or people is being referred to.
Each pronoun has an emphatic counterpart.

I = Myself We = Ourselves
You (sing.) = Yourself You (pl.) = Yourselves
S/he = Himself, Herself They = Themselves

It is always incorrect to place commas before these words, or before and after them.

Incorrect: The Tower of London, which lies within the Borough of Tower Hamlets, is separated
from the city, itself (or: city, itself,) by a stretch of open space.

Correct: The Tower of London, which lies within the Borough of Tower Hamlets, is separated
from the city itself by a stretch of open space.

However, when a comma would normally be necessary (e.g., before a FANBOYS conjunction or to set off a non-
essential clause), it is acceptable to place one after an emphatic pronoun.

Correct: The Tower of London is separated from the city itself, but it is nevertheless one of
London’s most popular tourist attractions.

Correct: The Tower of London, which is separated from the city itself, is nevertheless one of
London’s most popular tourist attractions.

I. Between an independent clause and a dependent clause begun by certain

subordinating conjunctions
To review, when a sentence begins with a subordinate clause, a comma should always be placed between the
subordinate clause and the main clause that precedes it, e.g., When we left the theater, it was still raining.

The reverse, however, is not necessarily true. When a clause begun by a subordinating conjunction, e.g., because,
unless, until, when, appears after the main clause, no comma should normally be used.

Incorrect: London is a popular tourist destination, because it has so many famous historic sites.

Correct: London is a popular tourist destination because it has so many famous historic sites.

When a sentence is long very and/or a break is reasonable for the sake of logic or clarity, however, then a comma is
generally considered acceptable.

Acceptable: London is among the top tourist destinations for travelers all over the world, because
it has such an extraordinary variety of monuments both ancient and modern.

A comma should, however, be used before a clause that begins with a “strong” subordinating conjunction such as
(al)though, even though, or whereas.

Correct: London has a remarkable number of new buildings, although it is a very old city.

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Comma Exercise 5: Adding and Removing Commas (All Rules)
Directions: In the following sentences, remove any unnecessary commas, and add commas or other punctuation
as required.

1. The novels of William Faulkner are set mostly in Mississippi the state where Faulkner was born, and where he
spent most of his life.

2. Some of the most powerful telescopes in the world are now peering across vast distances of space, they are
watching for the faintest dip of light or wobble, that could suggest the presence of another world.

3. Because of the dearth of written records from the twelfth century little factual information exists, about the
early life of Genghis Khan.

4. Japanese artist Okakura Kakuzo is credited with preserving Nihonga or painting done with traditional
Japanese techniques during an era when Western-style painting was threatening to replace it.

5. Thomas Hobbes believed that a strong centralized government is necessary to keep us in line because our
nature would otherwise lead us to live lives that he characterized as, “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and
short.”

6. Culturally and geographically Papua New Guinea is one of the world’s least explored countries, however
many undiscovered species of plants and animals are thought to exist in its interior.

7. Legendary horseback rider Frank Hopkins claimed to have won over four hundred races many of which were
invented by Hopkins, himself.

8. Scientists have long accepted the theory that camels originated in North America, and then spread throughout
the world, it was first proposed after a camel fossil was discovered in Yukon Territory in 1913.

9. Elemental iodine, which dissolves easily when it is exposed to most organic solvents is only slightly soluble
when placed in water.

10. As an old man Frederick Douglass attributed his youthful interest in freedom and human rights to, The Daily
Columbian a newspaper that, he discovered at the age of twelve.

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16 © 2018 The Critical Reader, www.thecriticalreader.com
11. The Black Sea coast is characterized by the presence of steep mountains, that extend along the entire length of
the coast separating it from the inland, Anatolian, plateau.

12. It is unclear whether caffeine actually helps people retain information but early research suggests that it can
increase the sensitivity of neurons involved in learning, and memory.

13. Although Tchaikovsky’s music is popular with audiences around the world early listeners often dismissed it
as vulgar and lacking in elevated thought.

14. In 330 A.D., the seat of the Roman Empire was moved to Constantinople a city that for centuries had occupied
a central position on the trade routes between Europe and Asia.

15. In his book Toward a New Architecture the modernist architect Le Corbusier stated that, “the motor car is an
object with a simple function (to travel) and complicated aims (comfort, resistance, appearance).”

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17 © 2018 The Critical Reader, www.thecriticalreader.com
Answers: Comma Exercise 1

1. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was originally intended for an adult audience, but today it is widely read as
part of the high school curriculum in the United States.

2. Because the Rosetta Stone presented the same text in all three ancient Egyptian scripts, it provided the key to
the modern understanding of hieroglyphs.

3. Over two million tourists visit Whistler in British Columbia each year, primarily for winter sports such as
snowboarding and alpine skiing.

4. The average family size in most countries has been steadily decreasing, so there are fewer children overall
than there used to be.

5. Initially, photography’s status as an art form was unclear: at the International Exhibition of 1862, organizers
debated whether photographs should be shown with the machines or with the paintings.

6. Although paleontologists often find new dinosaur bones or footprints, the two types of fossils have not been
found together until recently.

7. Ignorance can often be propagated under the guise of balanced debate: for example, the synthesis of two
opposing views does not always result in a rational conclusion.

8. According to United Nations estimates, more than 240 million people live in a country other than in which
they were born.

9. In 1858, architects Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux won the commission to improve and expand
Manhattan's Central Park, and they began construction on it the same year.

10. The eyes of many predatory animals are designed to enhance depth perception; however, they are designed to
maximize the field of vision in most other organisms.

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18 © 2018 The Critical Reader, www.thecriticalreader.com
Answers: Comma Exercise 2

1. The cesium fountain atomic clock, the most precise form of timekeeper available, is expected to become
inaccurate by less than a single second over the next 50 million years.

2. Large-scale social strife, economic stagnation, and an exploding population all conspired to weaken the
Qing Dynasty in nineteenth-century China.

3. Most modern brachiopods, also known as lamp shells, prefer quiet, calm water; they often attach to the
undersides of stones or other hard objects.

4. Forensic biology, the application of biology to law enforcement, has been used to identify illegal products
from endangered species and investigate bird collisions with wind turbines.

5. Among the reforms introduced during Napoleon’s reign were the abolition of all feudal privileges and
historic taxes, the introduction of legal reforms, and the reorganization of local administrative systems.

6. The paintings of Caravaggio, which combine a realistic observation of the human state, both physical and
emotional, with stark, dramatic lighting, had a formative influence on Baroque painting.

7. New Zealand, one of the last lands to be settled by humans, developed fascinating, distinctive forms of
wildlife during its long isolation.

8. Frank Gehry’s buildings, critics agree, are among the most striking examples of contemporary architecture
found in the United States.

9. The Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh lacks both trains and a functional highway; its isolation, however, has
helped preserved a traditional way of life.

10. Over the course of his career, photographer and filmmaker George Picker chronicled the lives of artists
including folk singers, jazz musicians, and painters.

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19 © 2018 The Critical Reader, www.thecriticalreader.com
Answers: Comma Exercise 3

1. Emmy-winning actor André Braugher, the youngest of four children, was born July 1, 1962, in Chicago,
Illinois, the son of a postal worker and a heavy-equipment operator.

2. In one of his most famous essays, the transcendentalist philosopher Henry David Thoreau stated, “This world
is but a canvas to our imagination.”

3. The Dina and Raphael Recanati Chair of Medicine at Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts,
Jerome E. Groopman, M.D., grew up in Queens, New York, and has been a staff writer in medicine and
biology for The New Yorker since 1998.

4. The Battle of Antietam was fought on September 17, 1862, between Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s
Army of Northern Virginia and Union General George B. McClellan’s Army of the Potomac near Sharpsburg,
Maryland, and Antietam Creek.

5. As the existentialist philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre asserted, “existence precedes essence”—in other words,
people do not choose to be born, but they are free to determine how to live their lives.

6. When, as an 18-year old undergraduate, the physicist Freeman Dyson asked his mathematics professor
Godfrey Hardy why he was writing books instead of proving theorems, Godfrey responded, “Young men
should prove theorems. Old men should write books.”

7. While competing at the Olympics in Beijing, China, the Japanese sprinter Shingo Suetsugo set a record for the
200-meter dash on August 22, 2008.

8. British Prime Minister Winston Churchill was born at Blenheim Palace, his family’s home in Oxfordshire,
England, on 30 November 1874, a time when the United Kingdom was the dominant world power.

9. Among cities in the United States, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is unique in that it holds the title of UNESCO
World Heritage City – an honor that was bestowed on it on November 6, 2015.

10. Based on the letters of Robert Gould Shaw, the film Glory premiered in limited release in the United States on
December 14, 1989, and in wide release on February 16, 1990.

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20 © 2018 The Critical Reader, www.thecriticalreader.com
Answers: Comma Exercise 4
Punctuate the following sentences with commas as necessary.

1. George Westinghouse, one of Thomas Edison’s main rivals, created his first major invention, the rotary
steam engine, before the age of twenty.

2. In The Library: A Catalogue of Wonders, Stuart Kells writes, “Libraries are an attempt to impose order in a
world of chaos. They are places of redemption.”

3. Used in some martial arts, the Red Belt, one of several colored belts intended to denote a practitioner’s skill
level and rank, originated in Japan and Korea.

4. Although it lacks traditional circus elements like animals and clowns, Cirque du Soleil continues to draw
thousands of spectators around the world each year.

5. Naples, known internationally for its rich, colorful history, has played an important political and cultural
role both within and beyond the Italian peninsula since it was founded nearly 3,000 years ago.

6. The battleship Potemkin was made famous by its crew’s mutiny against commanding officers, a rebellion that
later came to be viewed as an initial step toward the Russian Revolution that began on November 7, 1917.

7. Because the city’s government has curtailed spending on all non-essential services for lack of funds, the new
theater company has been forced to suspend several of its productions.

8. Copper, a metal widely used by the ancient Greeks, had great significance because of its association with
Cyprus, which was considered a sacred island.

9. Traditional African instruments such as the Kora, the balafon, and the ngoni have strongly influenced the
sound of French rap music.

10. When Mr. Darcy’s feelings have grown too strong to repress, he approaches Elizabeth Bennet and proclaims,
“You must allow me to tell you how ardently I love and admire you.”

11. During the 1970s, the demand for long-lasting staple foods caused many manufacturers to add preservatives
to previously simple dishes, reducing the quality of their flavors.

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21 © 2018 The Critical Reader, www.thecriticalreader.com
12. Long after ancient warriors had ceased to use chariots in warfare, ordinary citizens continued to rely on them
for traveling over long distances, celebrating during festivals, and racing them in sporting events.

13. The Ford Model T, colloquially known as the Tin Lizzie, was produced by Ford Motor Company in Detroit,
Michigan, from October 1, 1908 to May 26, 1927, and is generally regarded as the first affordable automobile.

14. Each year, the Iditarod dog sled race takes place in Nome, Alaska, to commemorate the dogsled teams that
delivered a lifesaving serum during the 1925 diphtheria epidemic.

15. According to the Motif-Index of Folk Literature, a magisterial six-volume compilation of myths, legends, and
folktales collected by folklorists in the early twentieth century, many cultures have told similar stories to
explain the occurrence of solar eclipses.

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22 © 2018 The Critical Reader, www.thecriticalreader.com
Answers: Comma Exercise 5

1. The novels of William Faulkner are set mostly in Mississippi, the state where Faulkner was born and where
he spent most of his life.

2. Some of the most powerful telescopes in the world are now peering across vast distances of space; they are
watching for the faintest dip of light or wobble that could suggest the presence of another world.

3. Because of the dearth of written records from the twelfth century, little factual information exists about the
early life of Genghis Khan.

4. Japanese artist Okakura Kakuzo is credited with preserving Nihonga, or painting done with traditional
Japanese techniques, during an era when Western-style painting was threatening to replace it.

5. Thomas Hobbes believed that a strong centralized government is necessary to keep us in line because our
nature would otherwise lead us to live lives that he characterized as “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.”

6. Culturally and geographically, Papua New Guinea is one of the world’s least explored countries; however,
many undiscovered species of plants and animals are thought to exist in its interior.

7. Legendary horseback rider Frank Hopkins claimed to have won over four hundred races, many of which
were invented by Hopkins himself.

8. Scientists have long accepted the theory that camels originated in North America and then spread throughout
the world; it was first proposed after a camel fossil was discovered in Yukon Territory in 1913.

9. Elemental iodine, which dissolves easily when it is exposed to most organic solvents, is only slightly soluble
when placed in water.

10. As an old man, Frederick Douglass attributed his youthful interest in freedom and human rights to The Daily
Columbian, a newspaper that he discovered at the age of twelve.

11. The Black Sea coast is characterized by the presence of steep mountains that extend along the entire length of
the coast, separating it from the inland Anatolian plateau.

________________________________________________________
23 © 2018 The Critical Reader, www.thecriticalreader.com
12. It is unclear whether caffeine actually helps people retain information, but early research suggests that it can
increase the sensitivity of neurons involved in learning and memory.

13. Although Tchaikovsky’s music is popular with audiences around the world, early listeners often dismissed it
as vulgar and lacking in elevated thought.

14. In 330 A.D., the seat of the Roman Empire was moved to Constantinople, a city that for centuries had
occupied a central position on the trade routes between Europe and Asia.

15. In his book Toward a New Architecture, the modernist architect Le Corbusier stated that “the motor car is an
object with a simple function (to travel) and complicated aims (comfort, resistance, appearance).”

________________________________________________________
24 © 2018 The Critical Reader, www.thecriticalreader.com