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Commas, Part 1
There are many uses for the comma in English grammar. Let’s look at a couple of them.
Rule 1: To avoid confusion, use commas to separate words and word groups with a series of three or more.
Examples:
John likes to eat a hearty breakfast of pancakes, sausage, toast, and chocolate!
(Omitting the comma after toast might cause a reader to think that toast and chocolate together formed one food item rather than two separate items that John enjoyed eating at breakfast.)
My $10 million estate is to be split among my husband, daughter, son, and nephew.
(Omitting the comma after son could indicate that the son and nephew would have to split one-third of the estate.)
Rule 2a: Use a comma to separate the day of the month from the year and after the year.
Examples:
Jim Thompson gave his historic speech on March 3, 2002, in Chicago, Illinois.
Kathleen met her husband on December 5, 2003, in Mill Valley, California.
Rule 2b: If any part of the date is omitted, leave out the comma.
Example:
They met in December 2003 in Mill Valley. |
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Pop Quiz
Choose the sentence with the correct punctuation.
1A. Mr. Baker teaches high school courses in history, math, and physical education.
1B. Mr. Baker teaches high school courses in history, math and physical education.
2A. The couple’s vacation is scheduled to end on January 2 2010.
2B. The couple’s vacation is scheduled to end on January 2, 2010.
3A. The vice president of the group was elected back in March 1998.
3B. The vice president of the group was elected back in March, 1998.
Free BONUS Quiz For You!
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That's what that means?
Thanks to all of you who wrote in expressing appreciation for last week's Grammar Tip entitled "That's what that means?" Anthony D. pointed out that one of the advantages of using an ebook reader (like a Kindle, Nook, etc.) is that you can find the definition of a word simply by highlighting it. If you use an ebook reader you no longer have an excuse for not looking up the meanings of words that you are not sure about. This shows that, contrary to what some people believe, technology does not necessarily lead to illiteracy!
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Wordplay 
Ready to smile (or groan) at some puns?
1. A vulture boards an airplane, carrying two dead raccoons. The stewardess looks at him and says, "I'm sorry, sir, only one carrion allowed per passenger."
2. Two fish swim into a concrete wall. One turns to the other and says, "Dam!"
Pop Quiz Answers
1A. Mr. Baker teaches high school courses in history, math, and physical education.
2B. The couple’s vacation is scheduled to end on January 2, 2010.
3A. The vice president of the group was elected back in March 1998.
Learn all about who and whom, affect and effect, subjects and verbs, adjectives and adverbs, commas, semicolons, quotation marks, and much more by just sitting back and enjoying these easy-to-follow lessons. Tell your colleagues (and boss), children, teachers, and friends. Click here to watch. |
