When to use commas.

2. 4 types of commas:
Listing
Joining
Gapping
Bracketing

3. LISTING
A listing comma replaces ‘and’ & ‘or’.
I like fish and chips and peas.
Choose an article from the Guardian
or the Independent or the Times.

4. LISTING
A listing comma replaces ‘and’ & ‘or’.
I like fish and chips and peas.
Choose an article from the Guardian
or the Independent or the Times.

5. LISTING
A listing comma replaces ‘and’ & ‘or’.
I like fish, chips and peas.
Choose an article from the Guardian,
the Independent or the Times.

6. JOINING
A joining comma is used to join two complete sentences into a
single sentence, and it must be followed by one of these
Connecting words:
But
Or
While
And
Yet

7. JOINING
I ordered a book . It has not arrived yet.
I ordered a book, but it has not arrived yet.

8. GAPPING
The gapping comma is one of the easiest.
It is used to show that one or more words have been left out.

9. GAPPING
Jupiter is the largest planet. Pluto is
the smallest planet.

10. GAPPING
Jupiter is the largest planet and
Pluto, the smallest.

11. BRACKETING
The bracketing comma is the most frequently used comma.
They usually come in pairs, and are used to mark off a weak
interruption of the sentence.
If you were to take this interruption out the sentence it
would still make sense.

12. BRACKETING
The book published in 1906 is one of the
greatest masterpieces of all time.

13. BRACKETING
The book, published in 1906, is one of
the greatest masterpieces of all time.

14. BRACKETING
The part of the sentence in brackets can be taken
away:
The book is one of the greatest
masterpieces of all time.

15. NOT SURE?
1. Can the comma be replaced by and or or?
2. Is it followed by one of the connecting
words: but, or, while, and, yet?
3. Does it represent the absence of
repetition?
4. Does it form one of a pair of commas
setting off an interruption which could be
removed from the sentence?