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Fun with commas

Fun with commas. The Three I’s.

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Fun with commas

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  1. Fun with commas

  2. The Three I’s • In addition to the most common uses for the comma (separating items in a series, separating adjectives that modify the same noun, and conventional issues ( dates, addresses, salutations and closings in letters, etc.), there are also three common uses for the comma that are often used incorrectly or not at all. • Independent clauses • Introductory elements • Interrupters

  3. Commas in a series • Use a comma with items in a series (words, phrases, or clauses): • We have to buy eggs, milk, and squirrels. • He has to clean his room, watch tv, and groom his mullet. • We ate rusty nails, drank motor oil, and cried. • We discussed life and liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

  4. Commas with quotations • Use a comma before a quotation (or after, if the attribution follows the quote). • Delores said, “I love ponies.” • “I love ponies,” Delores said.

  5. Commas in conventional situations • Today is Monday, June 5. • Big Bird 123 Sesame Street Plymouth, WI 53073 • Dear Mr. Mella, Blah blah blah blah blah. Sincerely, Mr. Cleary

  6. Commas between coordinate adjectives • Use a comma between two or more EQUAL adjectives describing the same noun. Think of the comma as replacing “and” • Brent has a long, slim head. • The large, shallow lake is also home to the mullet fish. • Jed owns several green wool sweater vests. • Jed owns wool green sweater vests? • The old wooden bridge • The wooden old bridge?

  7. Commas between independent clauses • Use a comma between two independent clauses connected by a coordinating conjunction. • I no longer enjoyed my Swedish black metal band with Conan O’Brien, so I decided to become a ventriloquist. • He stole all the cookies from the cookie jar, and he will now spend life in prison.

  8. Commas and introductory elements • Use comma after beginning expressions: • Yes, I ate the live crab. • Well, I didn’t know he would electrocute himself while using the toaster. • Meanwhile, I prepared to slice the head off the serpent. • However, I failed to completely eat the apple. • Oddly enough, he did seem pleased with his new mullet.

  9. Commas and introductory elements • Use a comma after an introductory phrase: • After having lunch, he bought a new messenger bag. • Needing my shirt for the program tomorrow, I soiled myself when I realized the washing machine was broken. • Under the bed, you’ll find the dirt I “swept away.”

  10. Commas and introductory elements • Use a comma after an introductoryadverb (dependent) clause: • Since I love to chill, I’m going to Beechwood. • Because I’m smooth, the ladies love me.

  11. Commas with interrupters • Use a comma to offset parenthetical expressions: • My insurance will, of course, cover this bogus claim. • That clever Mr. Cleary was the fist to solve the puzzle, naturally.

  12. Commas with interrupters • Use a comma to offset a direct address to someone: • Jerry, please see us about your mullet. • Did you know, Homie, that Whitney Houston’s first album was simply entitled “Whitney”? • You seem upset, my friend. • I can’t believe you shot that zombie, dawg!

  13. Commas with interrupters • Use a comma to offset appositive phrases: • I accidentally hit Florence Cohen, the noted landscape architect, on the head. • The story will appear in the The Press, our local paper. • Well, you’d probably get in trouble, and your parents would no longer trust you if you punched Bobby, your little bro, in the face.

  14. Commas with interrupters • Check this out . .. • Grown men who watch the show, “My Little Pony,” are called “bronies” . . . • The commas here are incorrect - the commas mean there is one show, and it is called “My Little Pony.” • Another example: • My brother, Ben, ate an entire cake. • My brother Ben ate an entire cake. • The commas mean you have one brother, and his name is Ben. • Without commas, you have more than one brother, and you’re referring to one of them – Ben.

  15. Commas to offset participial phrases and adjective clauses • Hibernating snakes, which often kill people, enjoy hardcore rap. (adjective clause) • Amy, reading The Help for the third time, fell asleep. (nonessential participial phrase) • NOTE: When the meaning of the participial phrase or adjective clause is essential to the meaning of the sentence, do not offset with commas: • Any books remaining after the end of the week will be sold for half price. (essential participial phrase)

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