Writing Lessons & Advice: Commas
I touched on commas in a general lesson about punctuation, but I feel the topic warrants its own lesson for a better focus.
As initially mentioned, a comma is a punctuation mark that indicates pauses or connections within a sentence. If you’re not already acquainted with the eight basic rules of comma use, here’s a little more about where and how to use them. Commas and phrases are emphasized where necessary.
Between dates, addresses, titles, and numbers
When writing out full dates--as in month, day, and year--the comma goes between the day and the year. Example: The first “Writing Lessons & Advice” post was published Tuesday, March 14th, 2023.
Side-note: Commas are not needed if just a month and year are given or if the format is day-month-year. Examples: December 2023; 12 December 2023.
With addresses in a sentence, commas separate a street, city, and state. Examples: I was born in Charleston, West Virginia. The hospital address is 800 Pennsylvania Ave N, Charleston, West Virginia.
When a title is written after a name, the title is separated by commas. Example: Katie Holland, a blogger, created “Writing Lessons & Advice”.
Commas are used with numbers written numerically that are more than four digits long. They separate every hundredth place or group of three starting from the right. When a number is exactly four digits long, a comma is optional. Examples: 525,600 is the correct way to use a comma in the amount of minutes in a year. One of my favorite songs from Sting is “50,000”. While one thousand written numerically can be either 1000 or 1,000.
Setting off nonrestrictive clauses
A nonrestrictive clause is just additional or less-essential information in a complete sentence. Commas come before and after them in a sentence. Example: My husband, who was a commercial truck driver, is very well-traveled.
Setting off appositives
Appositives are either nouns or pronouns that follow other nouns or pronouns to explain or modify them. They are like nonrestrictive clauses in that they also convey additional or less-essential information to a complete sentence. Commas set off appositives in the same way Example: Sparky, my cat, loves head scratches.
Separating items in a series
When listing three or more items or phrases in a sentence, a comma should set the entries apart. Examples: KISS, Bruce Springsteen, and Def Leppard are other musicians I like. At Christmastime, I like to decorate my house, buy gifts, and watch holiday specials.
Oxford comma or serial comma-- this kind of comma will be encountered depending on the writing style used. An Oxford or serial comma makes the final comma in the series optional.
Separating independent clauses
Independent clauses are two sentences joined by a coordinating conjunction (the FANBOYS). A comma comes before the conjunction. Example: Last Christmastime, my husband and I saw Christmas lights, and visited his family in Mississippi.
After an introductory clause or phrase
An introductory clause or phrase is a dependent clause that introduces essential information in an independent clause. Example: When I walk through the door after work, Sparky waits for me on his cat tree.
Setting off direct quotations
This is a common way dialogue and quotes are incorporated in writing. Example: The most famous song by KISS goes, “I want to rock and roll all night and party every day!”
Indicating direct address
A direct address is a point in a sentence where someone is called out or called to attention. The rest of the sentence is intended for that specific audience. Examples: Sparky, get off the counter! Where are my car keys, honey?
Additional rules
Separating contrasted coordinate adjectives and elements
The term coordinate refers to the presence of equivalent grammatical elements in a sentence. So coordinate adjectives are equal terms that describe the same noun. Two criteria can identify them: Does the sentence make sense if the adjectives are written in reverse order? Does the sentence make sense if the adjectives are written with and between them? Adjectives that fit this bill can be separated by commas. Example: My spoiled, ornery cat is fed twice a day.
Contrasted or coordinated elements work in the same way. The only difference is that they're phrases or clauses in a sentence. Examples: I'm introverted, not anti-social. You are sixteen, going on seventeen.
With mild interjections
Some interjections can stand alone from a sentence, which may be why they aren’t always on parts of speech/word class lists. If you’re totally unfamiliar, interjections are just expressions of feeling or reaction. Extreme interjections are often punctuated with exclamation marks, but mild ones are set apart with commas in sentences. Examples: Well fudge, the tickets are sold out. Oh, Come All Ye Faithful
Comma Splices
For all the things to do with commas, one thing you don’t want to do is use them by themselves to join two independent clauses. Connect them correctly with either an appropriate conjunction, a semicolon, or as separate sentences.
Error example: We picked up Sparky from off the street, he was a stray runt from another neighborhood.
Correct examples: We picked up Sparky from off the street; he was a stray runt from another neighborhood.
Sparky was a stray runt from another neighborhood, so we picked him up off the street.
We picked up Sparky from off the street. He was a stray runt from another neighborhood.
Hope this gives better attention to commas and the clauses they go with!
If there’s a topic you want me to cover in the future, you’re welcome to reach out to me on the web chat features or socials!
Sources/further reading:
