Commas are used to pause and separate elements in sentences to aid comprehension. They are used with coordinating conjunctions between complete ideas, after introductory phrases, and to set off nonessential elements in a sentence. Commas are also used in dates, addresses, and with quotations and conversational elements like questions and interjections. Proper use of commas helps readers understand the intended structure and meaning of sentences.

1. Commas
Handbook Section P-1

2. What do commas do?
Commas tell the reader to pause just a little
when reading your writing and really can affect
the way your reader groups your words and
takes meaning from them.
• There are many places where one must use
commas to keep the reader from being
confused.
Here is an example: If our school held birthday
parties,? every day OR ,? we would remember
how special we are to each other.

3. * There are also places where using commas
will confuse your reader and should be
avoided.
Here is an example: Although, I never told him
this, I always wanted my father to take me on
trips, too, such as, to the store or to, the zoo.

4. Commas with “Joining Words”:
For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So
Use a comma to show where a complete part ends
when using a joining word between complete
sentence parts.
You should use a comma after that first complete
sentence and before the joining word, also called a
coordinating conjunction, remembering that the
joining word can also start its own sentence:
* I was honored by receiving first prize, and my
sister came in second.
•(I was honored by receiving first prize. And my
sister came in second.)

5. Commas with Joining Words continued
This doesn’t mean that you need a comma every
time you use one of these joining words in the
middle of a sentence.
• Joining words are also used to join subjects, verbs
(as below), or objects in pairs or in a series of
three or more.
• With pairs, no commas are needed:
• Sherry felt very attached to her mother but
stayed emotionally separate from her father.
• In a series, usually every item but the last is
followed by a comma:
• Jane had bought the ingredients, mixed the
batter, and baked us a cake before we got home.

6. What about with “Glue Words”?
Commas are also used after a subordinating clause
(subject- and verb-containing sentence part)
starting with a “glue word” like because, if, when,
since, although, OR unless when that subordinating
clause starts the sentence. But there is no comma
BEFORE a subordinating conjunction or “glue
word” in the middle of a sentence:
• When Miss Emily Grierson died, our whole town
went to her funeral. (William Faulkner)
BUT
• Our whole town went to her funeral when Miss
Emily Grierson died.

7. When else should commas be used
after the first parts of sentences?
Commas are also used after long introductory
phrases:
• Even ignoring the extreme poles of the economic
spectrum, we find enormous class differences in
the life-styles among the haves, the have-nots,
and the have-littles. (Gregory Mantsios)
And after short transitions introducing a clause that
show the reader the direction the text is moving in:
• Consequently, our celebration of Howard Stern,
Don Imus, and other heroes of “shock radio”
might be evidence of a certain loss of moral
focus. (Stephen L. Carter)

8. Use Commas with Quotations
and Signal Phrases
Commas are used between the signal phrase and the
quotation whether the phrase comes before, after, or
even in the middle of it:
• Pa shouts back, “I just want to know where the gunfire
is coming from.” (Chanrithy Him)
• “My children,” my mother answered in a clear, curt
tone, “will be at the top of their classes in two weeks.”
(Tanya Barrientos)
• “It’s never too late to begin anew,” says the proverb.
Note: the comma is always before the quotation marks.

9. However, Use a Colon If a Complete
Sentence Introduces a Quotation
• Jones claims the following based on her
research: “Not all children will be affected to
the same extent by the same degree of
violence in the same media format.”
Note that the punctuation and other rules for
introducing spoken quotations are the same as
those for introducing written quotations.

10. Use Commas with Conversational
Comments or Interrupting Information
Direct Address, Yes or No, Interjections and Tag
Questions:
• “Sammy, come here!”
• No, I don’t want sugar in my coffee.
• Oh, you told him already.
• They’re not coming back, are they?
Commas are another choice for interrupting (or
parenthetical) information:
* If you never wash the sink, it seems to me, it will
end up dirtier than the dinner dishes.

11. Use Commas for Other Information Not
Necessary to Have a Sensible Sentence
One place where we use commas this way is with
addresses, place names, and dates. Note that
commas don’t separate numbers and words within
dates or addresses and that the sentences will still
have meaning without the added information between
the commas:
* Send contributions to Friendships Fostered, 426
New Main Ave., Chicago, IL 15264.
* New Orleans, Louisiana, has long been famous for
its Mardi Gras celebrations.
* On July 4, 1776, our forefathers signed the
Declaration of Independence.

12. Nonrestrictive Element=Not Essential Info
to the Sense of the Sentence,
May Restate or Add Info
Use commas to set off nonrestrictive elements:
* My dentist, Dr. Colbert, laughed at the way I
was talking in his chair.
* Waldorf Salad was the brainchild of Oscar
Tschirky, who created it in 1893 for the
opening of the Waldorf Hotel.

13. •Don’t use commas with restrictive elements
that define part of the sentence or specify what
it refers to in a necessary way, and don’t merely
add or restate information:
* I can’t understand people, who don’t like
strawberry shortcake.
•(Note that this underlined clause restricts the
meaning OR specifies which people the
sentence is referring to, which is necessary for it
to convey a meaningful message.)