Quick introduction to what you need to know to feel confident about commas.

1. BUILDING
BLOCKS
DON’T FEAR THE COMMAS

2. COMMAS ARE SCREENS
You can look through them
You can’t get through them

3. WHERE DO THE COMMAS GO?
General comma rule - use a
comma where it makes sense and
helps to eliminate ambiguity.
Main idea COMMA not important COMMA main
idea.
Stuff COMMA the sentence.

4. STURG’S 14 COMMA RULES
1. Use a comma before a conjunction
when they join the clauses of a
compound sentence (this is optional - if
both clauses are short and the meaning
is clear without the comma)
• We went to the movie, and we were surprised how
violent it was.

5. MORE COMMA RULES
2. To separate an introductory clause
from the main one
• After all, commas are essential to clear writing.

6. BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE
3. To set off words like yes and no,
words in direct address, “transitional
words”
No, I don’t want to go swimming today.
Thanks, honey, for taking out the garbage.
This dinner, not surprisingly, was delicious.

7. STILL MORE COMMA RULES
4. To set off a question at the end of a
statement
• We’re going out to dinner, aren’t we?

8. AND MORE
5. To set off titles, addresses and
years
Amanda Sturgill, professor, said commas are
confusing.
John Smith of Pittsburgh, Pa., led the cheers.
John Smith, 37, died of exhaustion.

9. YET MORE
6. To set off contrasted sentence
elements.
Navy blue, not powder blue, was the color of
choice.
7. To indicate omitted words
Man, Wife Donate Thousands

10. AND MORE
8. To separate words, phrases and
clauses in a series (do not use the final
serial comma before a conjunction in
media writing)
• I will be serving cookies, cake, pie and ice cream.

11. LOOK! MORE COMMA RULES!
9. To separate coordinate adjectives
(test - can you substitute “and” for the
comma? If not, it is a compound
adjective requiring a hyphen)
She sat on the ugly, brown couch.

12. LOTS OF PEOPLE MISS THIS ONE
10. To set off a clause or phrase that
disrupts the main clause
• Jones, though not a graduate student himself, led a
protest for the rights of graduate students.

13. HEY, ENOUGH WITH THE
COMMAS ALREADY!
11. To set off non-essential clauses
(hint - look for “Which.” If “that,” it’s
essential)
• The table, which has a broken leg, sits in the
corner.
• My husband David teaches computer science (I’m
not polyandrous, so this is wrong!)

14. CALM DOWN, WE’RE ALMOST DONE
12. To set off one-sentence direct
quotations from attributions.
• “I hate grammar,” she said.
• Smith said, “The sky is falling.”

15. HOT, FRESH COMMAS
13. With party affiliations, academic
degrees, religious affiliations
Amanda Sturgill, Ph.D., loves them there commas.
David Duchovny, M.A., left Yale to pursue acting.

16. I TOLD YOU THERE WERE 14
14. To separate similar words
Learning what good grammar is, is not easy.

17. WE HATES THE GRAMMAR PEOPLE
Rules, schmules…Your mileage may vary
Oxford commas (the series ones)
Coordinate adjectives
**People fight hard over these. It’s not worth losing
your job over.