Readers use punctuation to tell them when to: Stop Pause or slow down Join for a connection Yield (pay attention)

Which punctuation fits each description? Hyphens Semicolons Colons Periods Commas

Use Commas To:Separate two independent clauses

connected by a coordinating conjunction WRONG: Her grandfather grew up on the island

of Sicily, her grandmother grew up near Rome. RIGHT: Her grandfather grew up on the island of

Sicily, and her grandmother grew up near Rome.

Use Commas To:Begin long introductory clauses and phrases

WRONG: With all of this Italian-blood running through her veins Kristen made Italy a part of her everyday lifestyle.

RIGHT: With all of this Italian-blood running through her veins, Kristen made Italy a part of her everyday lifestyle.

Use Commas To:Set off nonessential clauses, phrases and

modifiers from the rest of the sentenceNonessential means the phrase is not

absolutely necessary to understand the sentence. The information in the nonessential phrase is incidental and can be removed from the sentence without confusion. The feature writing course, which is taught on

Tuesdays and Thursdays, is the only course left that the student must take in order to fulfill her degree requirements.

The team that wore brown and gold won the game.

Use Commas To: Separate items in a series

Her father, brother, sister and mother. Separate coordinate adjectives: When

adjectives are interchangeable and you can insert ‘and’ between the adjectives, use a comma. The trip to Argentina was an exhilarating,

upbeat adventure. The trip to Argentina was an exhilarating South

American experience. Set off parenthetical expressions

The snow, encrusted with a thin skin of ice, crunched lightly under her boots.

Use Commas To:When the absence of a pause can cause

confusion and when phrases are confusing without the comma To Tom Hanks, Oscar is a familiar name. For the senator, going fishing for three hours

is vacation enough.To set off phrases that modify some part of

the independent clause Kristen was always at the studio with her mom,

emulating the older dancers.

Do NOT Use Commas To:Separate two independent clauses that are

not joined by a conjunction: WRONG: Her mother is a dance teacher, she

owns a dance studio. RIGHT: Her mother is a dance teacher, and she

owns a dance studio.Separate a compound predicate

WRONG: The community events director plans these events, and mentors the interns.

RIGHT: The community events director plans these events and mentors the interns.

Do NOT Use Commas To: Introduce a subordinate/dependent clause

WRONG: Dance has kept from being incredibly competitive, because it is a recreational activity for her.

RIGHT: Dance has kept her from being incredibly competitive because it is a recreational activity for her.

But, if clause is at the beginning of the sentence, a comma is needed RIGHT: Because dance is a recreational activity

for her, it has kept her from being incredibly competitive.

Do NOT Use Commas To:Separate a subject from its predicate or

object WRONG: Taking this class, will ensure your

writing skills will improve. RIGHT: Taking this class will ensure your writing

skills will improve.To separate a noun from its reflexive

WRONG: The student, herself, will teach this session today.

RIGHT: The student herself will teach this session today.

Do NOT Use Commas To:Precede a partial quote

The instructor says her students “are improving with every writing exercise.”

BUT, use a comma to precede a full quote The instructor said, “My students are improving

with every writing exercise.”