Commas may seem like an afterthought, but they're actually one of the most powerful punctuation marks you can use. That's because they can direct the reader's attention to the most important ideas in a text. Using commas in this way, though, requires a bit of critical thinking and decision making.
Study the rules on the tabs below. Each gives a specific way in which commas can help you communicate more effectively.
A comma normally follows a phrase or dependent clause that introduces a sentence. Introductory phrases or clauses provide background information for the main part of the sentence. Prepositions will alert readers to prepositional phrases, and subordinating conjunctions will alert readers to dependent clauses. Examples of subordinating conjunctions are because, although, after, while, and since.
Although the game was being televised, Aiden wanted to attend in person.
After the game, Aiden plans on celebrating with his friends.
Without knowing why, he feels his team will win the championship.
Grabbing his tickets, he hurried out the door.
A comma goes before a coordinating conjunction when combining two independent clauses. There are seven coordinating conjunctions: for, and, or, nor, but, yet, and so.
Evelyn decided to order dinner in, for she was hungry and tired.
She had worked hard on a project, and she knew she needed some energy.
Should she order fast food, or should she make a salad?
Evelyn did not want to eat an unhealthy meal, nor did she want to prepare her dinner.
She decided it was OK to compromise, so she called for a pizza with lots of veggies.
After 30 minutes, Evelyn wondered when her pizza would arrive, but she decided not to call and check.
Eating such a big portion wasn't healthy, yet Evelyn felt hungry enough to eat a large pizza all by herself.
Commas set off information that interrupts the flow of a sentence. One kind of interruption is called—not surprisingly—an interrupter. An interrupter is a piece of information that shows emotion, tone, or emphasis but isn't really necessary information. Parenthetical clauses are clauses that add extra information to a sentence, often information that explains an important detail. Another type of added information is nonessential information, also known as a nonrestrictive clause. Nonrestrictive clauses are usually introduced by the words which, whose, or who. These types of clauses give information that isn't essential to the ideas being expressed in the text. All of these—interrupters and parenthetical and nonrestrictive clauses—can be removed without changing the meaning of the rest of the sentence.
The group, the teacher was happy to see, was working well together and on target to finish their project on time. (interrupter)
Their project idea, which involved researching edible flowers, kept them interested and busy. (nonrestrictive clause)
Ellie, even though she was new to volunteering, was very organized and encouraged everyone to finish their jobs. (parenthetical clause)
Use your knowledge of commas to decide how to best organize the ideas in the following sentences. Identify where the comma(s) should go. Then click the card to see if you're correct.
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