Commas

1. Commas When to use them And When NOT to use them

2. Information you must KNOW before beginning Adjective (modifies a noun, a pronoun or another adj)- happy What are the basic parts of speech? • Noun • person (Kim) • place (school) • thing (horse) • idea (happiness) Adverb (modifies a verb, an adjective or another adverb – often ends with –ly) - sadly Preposition (often shows a position in a sentence) – behind, over, under…can also be seemingly random words that require a bit of memorization – of, an, to. • Verb • Action (run) • Linking (is) A phrase is a part of the sentence that LACKS a subject and/or verb. She went to the store to eat candy. To the store is a phrase – it’s a prepositional phrase – begins with a preposition and ends with a noun or pronoun (object of the preposition)

3. List of commonly used Prepositions… List of commonly used Prepositions…

4. More information you must KNOW before we start… What are the different parts of a sentence? The verb or predicate – is the part of the sentence that shows what the subject is doing. He ate mud. The subject – who or what is doing something. He ate mud. A clause is the part of the sentence that contains BOTH a subject and a verb. It may be independent (makes sense on its own) or dependent (relies on the rest of the sentence to make sense). After sheate her food, she fell asleep. Dependent Independent Does it make sense by itself? This makes sense by itself. The subject will always be a noun or pronoun, but not every noun or pronoun will be the subject. He ate mud. (Hint…mud is also a noun , but it is not doing anything.)

5. Rule #1 Commas to Separate clauses. Use a comma to separate two independent clauses when they are separated by a coordinating conjunction… You ask, “What is a coordinating conjunction?” For And Nor But Or Yet So That spells FANBOYS What is an independent clause? An independent clause contains at least a subject and a verb and it makes sense all by itself. The boyate the apple pie, but hewas hungry for more. Then what is a dependent or subordinate clause? A clause that may be lacking a subject or a verb (will form a complex sentence) and does not make sense by itself. The boyate the apple pie but was hungry for more.

6. Rule #2 - Conjunctive Adverbs Don’t confuse FANBOYS with the conjunctive adverbs however, although, nevertheless, etc. Adverbs DO NOT join independent clauses into one sentence. Conjunctive adverbs need to be preceded by a semicolon and followed by a comma when they arise in the middle of a sentence (between two independent clauses). Ichased the purse-snatcher; however, Ilost him in the crowd.

7. Here is a list of common conjunctive adverbs: Accordingly furthermore moreover similarly also hence namely still anyway however nevertheless then besides incidentally next hereafter certainly indeed nonetheless therefore consequently instead now thus finally likewise otherwise undoubtedly further meanwhile. Here is a list of common conjunctive adverbs: Accordingly furthermore moreover similarly also hence namely still anyway however nevertheless then besides incidentally next hereafter certainly indeed nonetheless therefore consequently instead now thus finally likewise otherwise undoubtedly further meanwhile. Here is a list of common conjunctive adverbs: Accordingly furthermore moreover similarly also hence namely still anyway however nevertheless then besides incidentally next hereafter certainly indeed nonetheless therefore consequently instead now thus finally likewise otherwise undoubtedly further meanwhile.

8. Rule #3 - Introductory Elements Words, phrases and dependent clauses that appear at the beginning of a sentence need to be followed by a comma. This lets your reader know the main action of the sentence is yet to come. Finally, I found the purse-snatcher’s hideout. After several hours, I found the purse-snatcher’s hideout. Although I was completely exhausted and just wanted to go home, I found the snatcher’s hideout.

9. More Introductory Elements… This rule also applies to exclamations…words that are used only to get someone’s attention. Alas, he was not there. Wow, that purse-snatcher was fast. …and direct address: I’m sorry, ma’am, I lost him.

10. Rule #4 - Parenthetical/Non-essential Elements Phrases or clauses that can be omitted from a sentence without changing its basic meaning should be set off by commas. These are called non-restrictive clauses. Non-restrictive = not needed The purse-snatcher, a small man, ran past me. The purse-snatcher, wearing a ski cap, ran past me. Here the information about the purse-snatcher’s size and haberdashery is secondary to the main point of the sentence: he ran past me.

11. More Parenthetical/Non-essential Elements Don’t be misled into setting off a restrictive clause with commas. • A restrictive clause, usually introduced by thator who, gives essential (required) information. • The man that ran past me was fast. • A non-restrictive (not needed) clause is often introduced by which. • The rat, which smelled really bad, ran past me. Restrictive = required That/whoclauses don’t get commas, but whichclauses do. The purse, which was from DKNY, was red. The purse that was from DKNY was red.

12. Rule #6 - Coordinate Adjectives Two adjectives that modify one noun should be separated by commas if they both have the same descriptive force: • The silly, frightened purse-snatcher dropped the purse with all its contents. You will never separate colors or numbers with a comma. The bright blue sky was amazing. The five red fire trucks raced past me. This rule applies to the use of the words young and old. The little old lady was so cute. The young new teacher was amazing.

13. Rule #5 - Series and Lists The little old lady, the cop and I all went down to the precinct. In a series consisting of three or more elements, the first two elements should always be separated by commas if they are not separated by conjunctions: • The little old lady, the cop, and I all went down to the precinct. Sometimes, writers will drop the comma before the final conjunction in a series: This final comma is called a serial or Oxford comma because it used to be standard in British English but not in American English. Using the Oxford comma is optional; however, if you have a particularly complicated series consisting of many elements, this comma can do a lot to eliminate confusion. Another rule for the Oxford comma: You must be consistent throughout your paper. If you drop the comma once, you must do it each and every time…unless your series is complicated. The little old lady whose red DKNY purse was stolen,the cop who was first on the scene and who didn’t do a thing to help me catch the purse-snatcher, and I all went down to the precinct.

14. Parallel structure – When you are writing a series or list, all of the parts must be equal. For example, if you are including a simple list of items, that’s exactly what you do…keep your list the same. I like pie, cake, and brownies. If you are writing a list of phrases, that’s exactly what you do…keep your list the same. I like pie, I love cake, and I adore brownies. It’s important that you CAREFULLY look at each element in a list to make sure it is equal.

15. Rule #1 Rule #2 One example: Picture: One example: Picture: X X One non-example with an explanation: One non-example with an explanation:

16. Rule #3 Rule #4 One example: Picture: One example: Picture: X X One non-example with an explanation: One non-example with an explanation:

17. Rule #5 Rule #6 One example: Picture: One example: Picture: X X One non-example with an explanation: One non-example with an explanation:

18. Things I Need To Know… Name: _______________________ What is the subject of a sentence? What is an independent clause? Why will you never have an independent phrase? Basic Parts of speech Noun – Verb – Adjective – Adverb – Preposition – What is a restrictive clause/phrase? What is a phrase? What is a clause? What is parallel structure? What is a dependent clause/phrase? What is a subordinate clause/phrase?