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Common Uses of Commas
Here are the four most common uses of commas:
1. Use a
comma before the conjunction in a compound sentence. A compound sentence is
made up of two complete sentences, with a conjunction (and, but, or, yet)
between them.
I like ice
cream, and Bob likes cake.
Commas can
be very confusing, but I need to learn to use them correctly.
Carol and
Harvey are my two best friends, but I do not see them as often as I would
like because we live so far apart.
2. If you
start a sentence with an introductory phrase or clause, put a comma after
it. These introductory phrases often start with words like when, because,
before, if, and as.
Because I
like ice cream, I want to eat it every day.
After you
have more practice using, commas, you will be more comfortable with them.
Even
though they never win the Super Bowl, and in spite of the problems with
their coaches, the Oilers are my favorite football team.
3. If you
include extra information within your sentence, be sure to put commas around
it. These extra phrases often start with words like which or who. Notice
that you should be able to remove that extra phrase from of the sentence,
without destroying the sentence.
Ice
cream, which is my favorite food, is too fattening. (Notice that you
can remove the extra phrase, and the sentence still makes sense: Ice cream
is too fattening.)
Commas,
though important, are very confusing. (Or:
Commas are very confusing.)
It seemed
like the winter of 1993-94, with all its ice, snow, and wind, was never
going to end. (Or: It seemed like the winter of 1993-94 was never going to
end.)
4. Use
commas to separate items in a list of three or more.
My
favorite ice cream flavors are vanilla bean, chocolate chip, and coffee.
Colons,
semicolons, and quotation marks can be frustrating and annoying.
After we
explored Germany, admired Luxembourg, and fell in love with Prague, we were
ready to come back to America, eat some "real food," and relax.
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