CommaMadness!

Comma Splice

• A run-on sentence with only a comma separating the sentences.

• Ex: New York City had a total of forty-three newspapers in 1898, only twenty-three were written in English.

• Ex: In the 1940s, fans in Brooklyn cheered for the Dodgers, people in the Bronx supported the Yankees.

• Ex: The students have to park on the street, the parking lot is full.

Ways to Fix a Comma Splice• Coordinating conjunction (FANBOYS)

• Ex: New York City had a total of forty-three newspapers in 1898, but only twenty-three were written in English.

• Period

• Ex: In the 1940s, fans in Brooklyn cheered for the Dodgers. People in the Bronx supported the Yankees.

• Semicolon

• Ex: The students have to park on the street; the parking lot is full.

Commas and Quotation Marks• Introduce quotations with a comma

• Alice said, “I don’t live here any more.”

• According to the Arizona Daily Sun, “Local activists and political leaders are not happy about Gov. Doug Ducey signing a bill into law that prohibits local governments from banning or charging for the use of plastic shopping bags.”

• If the speaker tag comes at the end, put a comma inside the quotation marks

• “Don’t go in there,” they warned me.

• Think, “Punctuation to the left of quotation.”

Commas with Introductory Phrases/Clauses and Direct Address

• Examples of introductory phrases

• Alerted by 911, the firefighters raced to the store.

• To swim the English Channel, you’ll need to train for over a year.

• When you give a speech, look at your audience.

• Direct Address: When you are talking directly to someone

• John, please answer the phone.

• Barry, do you know where my backpack is?

• How come you don’t like reading, Annie?