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Commas
anelly arana
Created on September 3, 2025
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Transcript
Commas, the great unknown...
Did you know that commas save lives?
Created by @aileon84 Examples taken from @The_YUNiversity & @ExcelsiorOWL
- For their trip to London, Jo is responsible for planning the itinerary, and her sister is in charge of making hotel reservations.
01
To separate complete sentences when they are joined together by FANBOYS (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so)
02
AFTER INTRODUCTORY PHRASES BEFORE THE MAIN CLAUSE
- Although it was raining, Jo went out for a jog. - To meet the popular singer, you should come to the concert 3 hours early. - Well, Goku and Krillin are just fictional characters.
- When Jo goes to the market, she always buys milk, eggs, and coffee.
03
TO SEPARATE THREE OR MORE WORDS, PHRASES, OR CLAUSES EXPRESSED AS A SERIES
- When Jo goes to the market, she always buys milk, eggs, and coffee. - My sister promised to clean the bathroom, take out the trash, and wash the car.
- When Jo goes to the market, she always buys milk, eggs, and coffee. - My sister promised to clean the bathroom, take out the trash, and wash the car.
- When Jo goes to the market, she always buys milk, eggs, and coffee. - My sister promised to clean the bathroom, take out the trash, and wash the car.
- When Jo goes to the market, she always buys milk, eggs, and coffee. - My sister promised to clean the bathroom, take out the trash, and wash the car.
- When Jo goes to the market, she always buys milk, eggs, and coffee. - My sister promised to clean the bathroom, take out the trash, and wash the car.
- When Jo goes to the market, she always buys milk, eggs, and coffee. - My sister promised to clean the bathroom, take out the trash, and wash the car.
- When Jo goes to the market, she always buys milk, eggs, and coffee. - My sister promised to clean the bathroom, take out the trash, and wash the car.
- When Jo goes to the market, she always buys milk, eggs, and coffee. - My sister promised to clean the bathroom, take out the trash, and wash the car.
- When Jo goes to the market, she always buys milk, eggs, and coffee. - My sister promised to clean the bathroom, take out the trash, and wash the car.
- When Jo goes to the market, she always buys milk, eggs, and coffee. - My sister promised to clean the bathroom, take out the trash, and wash the car.
- I am, by the way, unqualified for the position you’re offering me.- The New York Yankees, who happen to be my favorite team, have won more World Series than any other team in baseball.
04
TO SET Off CLAUSES, PHRASES AND WORDS IN THE MIDDLE OF A SENTENCE THAT ARE NOT ESSENTIAL TO THE MEANING (E.G., NEVERTHELESS, HOWEVER, AFTER ALL, BY THE WAY)
The best tip is to think about how meaning would be affected if you pulled out the word or phrase. If the meaning is not really affected, the word or phrase is not essential and should be placed inside a set of commas.
- When Jo goes to the market, she always buys milk, eggs, and coffee. - My sister promised to clean the bathroom, take out the trash, and wash the car.
- When Jo goes to the market, she always buys milk, eggs, and coffee. - My sister promised to clean the bathroom, take out the trash, and wash the car.
- When Jo goes to the market, she always buys milk, eggs, and coffee. - My sister promised to clean the bathroom, take out the trash, and wash the car.
- When Jo goes to the market, she always buys milk, eggs, and coffee. - My sister promised to clean the bathroom, take out the trash, and wash the car.
- When Jo goes to the market, she always buys milk, eggs, and coffee. - My sister promised to clean the bathroom, take out the trash, and wash the car.
- When Jo goes to the market, she always buys milk, eggs, and coffee. - My sister promised to clean the bathroom, take out the trash, and wash the car.
- When Jo goes to the market, she always buys milk, eggs, and coffee. - My sister promised to clean the bathroom, take out the trash, and wash the car.
- When Jo goes to the market, she always buys milk, eggs, and coffee. - My sister promised to clean the bathroom, take out the trash, and wash the car.
- When Jo goes to the market, she always buys milk, eggs, and coffee. - My sister promised to clean the bathroom, take out the trash, and wash the car.
- When Jo goes to the market, she always buys milk, eggs, and coffee. - My sister promised to clean the bathroom, take out the trash, and wash the car.
- Do you, Jo, take Mike to be your awfully wedded husband? - Good night, Dad.
TO SET THE NAME, NICKNAME, OR TITLE OF A PERSON TO WHOM YOU’RE TALKING
05
- Jo currently lives in Los Angeles, California, with her dog.- The Mayan calendar indicated the end of the world on December 21, 2012.
06
Between a city and a state Between a day and year
- When Jo goes to the market, she always buys milk, eggs, and coffee. - My sister promised to clean the bathroom, take out the trash, and wash the car.
- When Jo goes to the market, she always buys milk, eggs, and coffee. - My sister promised to clean the bathroom, take out the trash, and wash the car.
- When Jo goes to the market, she always buys milk, eggs, and coffee. - My sister promised to clean the bathroom, take out the trash, and wash the car.
- When Jo goes to the market, she always buys milk, eggs, and coffee. - My sister promised to clean the bathroom, take out the trash, and wash the car.
- When Jo goes to the market, she always buys milk, eggs, and coffee. - My sister promised to clean the bathroom, take out the trash, and wash the car.
- When Jo goes to the market, she always buys milk, eggs, and coffee. - My sister promised to clean the bathroom, take out the trash, and wash the car.
- When Jo goes to the market, she always buys milk, eggs, and coffee. - My sister promised to clean the bathroom, take out the trash, and wash the car.
- When Jo goes to the market, she always buys milk, eggs, and coffee. - My sister promised to clean the bathroom, take out the trash, and wash the car.
- When Jo goes to the market, she always buys milk, eggs, and coffee. - My sister promised to clean the bathroom, take out the trash, and wash the car.
- When Jo goes to the market, she always buys milk, eggs, and coffee. - My sister promised to clean the bathroom, take out the trash, and wash the car.
To set the name, nickname, or title of a person to whom you’re talking
- Do you, Jo, take Mike to be your awfully wedded husband? - Good night, Dad.
- My little brother is a loud, obnoxious child. (It works with “loud and obnoxious,” so they’re coordinate adjectives.)- Jo often wears a blue wool sweater. (It doesn’t work with “blue and wool,” so they don’t need a comma.)
07
to separate two or more coordinate adjectives describing the same noun.
A good trick to help you determine whether or not adjectives are coordinate is to try reading the sentence with the adjectives in reverse order or to add the word and between them. If the sentence would still make sense to you, the adjectives are coordinate, and you would need to separate them with a comma if they are describing a single noun.
- When Jo goes to the market, she always buys milk, eggs, and coffee. - My sister promised to clean the bathroom, take out the trash, and wash the car.
- When Jo goes to the market, she always buys milk, eggs, and coffee. - My sister promised to clean the bathroom, take out the trash, and wash the car.
- When Jo goes to the market, she always buys milk, eggs, and coffee. - My sister promised to clean the bathroom, take out the trash, and wash the car.
- When Jo goes to the market, she always buys milk, eggs, and coffee. - My sister promised to clean the bathroom, take out the trash, and wash the car.
- When Jo goes to the market, she always buys milk, eggs, and coffee. - My sister promised to clean the bathroom, take out the trash, and wash the car.
- When Jo goes to the market, she always buys milk, eggs, and coffee. - My sister promised to clean the bathroom, take out the trash, and wash the car.
- When Jo goes to the market, she always buys milk, eggs, and coffee. - My sister promised to clean the bathroom, take out the trash, and wash the car.
- When Jo goes to the market, she always buys milk, eggs, and coffee. - My sister promised to clean the bathroom, take out the trash, and wash the car.
- When Jo goes to the market, she always buys milk, eggs, and coffee. - My sister promised to clean the bathroom, take out the trash, and wash the car.
- When Jo goes to the market, she always buys milk, eggs, and coffee. - My sister promised to clean the bathroom, take out the trash, and wash the car.
- You’ ll be coming to the party tonight, right?
Near the end of a sentence to indicate a pause, shift, or contrast or to separate a question
08
To introduce or interrupt direct quotations
- He screamed, “I don’t care!” - The woman said, "What did you want to do it for?"
09
- When Jo goes to the market, she always buys milk, eggs, and coffee. - My sister promised to clean the bathroom, take out the trash, and wash the car.
- When Jo goes to the market, she always buys milk, eggs, and coffee. - My sister promised to clean the bathroom, take out the trash, and wash the car.
- When Jo goes to the market, she always buys milk, eggs, and coffee. - My sister promised to clean the bathroom, take out the trash, and wash the car.
- When Jo goes to the market, she always buys milk, eggs, and coffee. - My sister promised to clean the bathroom, take out the trash, and wash the car.
- When Jo goes to the market, she always buys milk, eggs, and coffee. - My sister promised to clean the bathroom, take out the trash, and wash the car.
- When Jo goes to the market, she always buys milk, eggs, and coffee. - My sister promised to clean the bathroom, take out the trash, and wash the car.
- When Jo goes to the market, she always buys milk, eggs, and coffee. - My sister promised to clean the bathroom, take out the trash, and wash the car.
- When Jo goes to the market, she always buys milk, eggs, and coffee. - My sister promised to clean the bathroom, take out the trash, and wash the car.
- When Jo goes to the market, she always buys milk, eggs, and coffee. - My sister promised to clean the bathroom, take out the trash, and wash the car.
- When Jo goes to the market, she always buys milk, eggs, and coffee. - My sister promised to clean the bathroom, take out the trash, and wash the car.
DON'T USE COMMAS LIKE THIS:
10
- My zombie plan, involves the complete and utter failure of your zombie plan
- To separate a subject from a verb.
- TO SEPARATE a verb and its object.
- Timothy is reading, the newspaper.
- Between two nouns or noun phrases in a compound subject, OR BETWEEN VERBS IN A COMPOUND PREDICATE
- Tim, and Steve went to the store, and ate hotdogs.
- When Jo goes to the market, she always buys milk, eggs, and coffee. - My sister promised to clean the bathroom, take out the trash, and wash the car.
- When Jo goes to the market, she always buys milk, eggs, and coffee. - My sister promised to clean the bathroom, take out the trash, and wash the car.
- When Jo goes to the market, she always buys milk, eggs, and coffee. - My sister promised to clean the bathroom, take out the trash, and wash the car.
- When Jo goes to the market, she always buys milk, eggs, and coffee. - My sister promised to clean the bathroom, take out the trash, and wash the car.
- When Jo goes to the market, she always buys milk, eggs, and coffee. - My sister promised to clean the bathroom, take out the trash, and wash the car.
- When Jo goes to the market, she always buys milk, eggs, and coffee. - My sister promised to clean the bathroom, take out the trash, and wash the car.
- When Jo goes to the market, she always buys milk, eggs, and coffee. - My sister promised to clean the bathroom, take out the trash, and wash the car.
- When Jo goes to the market, she always buys milk, eggs, and coffee. - My sister promised to clean the bathroom, take out the trash, and wash the car.
- When Jo goes to the market, she always buys milk, eggs, and coffee. - My sister promised to clean the bathroom, take out the trash, and wash the car.
- When Jo goes to the market, she always buys milk, eggs, and coffee. - My sister promised to clean the bathroom, take out the trash, and wash the car.
Choose the correct option
1/10
We are having peas and carrots roast beef and cake for dinner.
We are having peas and carrots, roast beef and cake, for dinner
We are having peas and carrots, roast beef, and cake for dinner.
We are having peas, and carrots, roast beef, and cake for dinner
Next
2/10
Kelly said “Did you do the homework Angie?”
Kelly said “Did you do the homework, Angie?”
Kelly said, “Did you do the homework, Angie?”
Kelly said, “Did you do the homework Angie?”
Next
3/10
Noelia my English teacher says we have to learn how to use commas.
Noelia, my English teacher, says we have to learn how to use commas.
Noelia my English teacher, says we have to learn how to use commas.
Noelia, my English teacher says we have to learn how to use commas.
Next
4/10
Alex painted the fence white blue and green.
Alex painted the fence white, blue and green.
Alex painted the fence, white blue and green.
Alex painted the fence white, blue, and green.
Next
5/10
My mom who is a nurse cares for the injured and disabled
My mom who is a nurse cares for the injured and disabled
My mom who is a nurse, cares for the injured and disabled
My mom, who is a nurse, cares for the injured and disabled
Next
6/10
We waited at the bus stop on Central Park Avenue after school
We waited at the bus stop on Central Park Avenue after school
We waited, at the bus stop on Central Park Avenue, after school
We waited at the bus stop, on Central Park Avenue, after school
Next
7/10
Chicago the largest city in the Midwest is the home of the skyscraper blues and deep-dish pizza.
Chicago, the largest city in the Midwest is the home of the skyscraper, blues, and deep-dish pizza.
Chicago, the largest city in the Midwest, is the home of the skyscraper, blues, and deep-dish pizza.
Chicago the largest city in the Midwest, is the home of the skyscraper blues and deep-dish pizza.
Next
8/10
No Jackie I don’t want to go with Mark.
No, Jackie, I don’t want to go, with Mark.
No, Jackie, I don’t want to go with Mark.
No Jackie, I don’t want to go with Mark.
Next
9/10
John my next-door neighbor has two daughters a son and a puppy.
John, my next-door neighbor, has two daughters, a son and a puppy.
John, my next-door neighbor has two daughters a son and a puppy.
John, my next-door neighbor, has two daughters, a son, and a puppy.
Next
10/10
He says “Remember Bob use commas before and after you address someone directly.”
He says “Remember Bob, use commas before and after you address someone directly.”
He says, “Remember Bob, use commas before and after you address someone directly.”
He says, “Remember, Bob, use commas before and after you address someone directly.”
Next
Wrong!
Try again
Congratulations!
Now you know how to use commas perfectly!!
More Practice
Add the 17 missing commas to the text
The Least Successful CarIn 1957 Ford produced the car of the decade--the Edsel. Half of the models sold proved to be spectacularly defective. If lucky the proud owner of an Edsel could enjoy any or all of the following features: doors that wouldn't close hoods and trunks that wouldn't open batteries that went dead horns that stuck hubcaps that dropped off paint that peeled transmissions that seized up brakes that failed and push buttons that couldn't be pushed even with three people trying. In a stroke of marketing genius the Edsel one of the largest and most lavish cars ever built coincided with the rising public interest in economy cars. As Time magazine reported "It was a classic case of the wrong car for the wrong market at the wrong time." Never popular to begin with the Edsel quickly became a national joke. One business writer at the time likened the car's sales graph to an extremely dangerous ski slope. He added that so far as he knew there was only one case of an Edsel ever being stolen. When you are done, compare your work with a partner
Next
The Least Successful Car (Paragraph With Commas Restored) In 1957[,] Ford produced the car of the decade--the Edsel. Half of the models sold proved to be spectacularly defective. If lucky[,] the proud owner of an Edsel could enjoy any or all of the following features: doors that wouldn't close[,] hoods and trunks that wouldn't open[,] batteries that went dead[,] horns that stuck[,] hubcaps that dropped off[,] paint that peeled[,] transmissions that seized up[,] brakes that failed[,] and push buttons that couldn't be pushed even with three people trying. In a stroke of marketing genius[,] the Edsel[,] one of the largest and most lavish cars ever built[,] coincided with the rising public interest in economy cars. As Time magazine reported[,] "It was a classic case of the wrong car for the wrong market at the wrong time." Never popular to begin with[,] the Edsel quickly became a national joke. One business writer at the time likened the car's sales graph to an extremely dangerous ski slope. He added that[,] so far as he knew[,] there was only one case of an Edsel ever being stolen.
Nordquist, Richard. (2025, May 2). Adding Commas to a Paragraph. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/ review-exercise-adding-commas-to -paragraph-1691741
Now you know how to use commas perfectly!!
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