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Commas, those little curly marks, separate ideas in
sentences. They’re required in some cases and optional in others.
Adjectives
If you have a few adjectives in a row, you should separate
them with commas.
• Annie longed for flowing, curly, golden
locks.
If adjectives and the noun they describe add up to
one basic idea, you don’t need a comma.
• Annie hated her boring brown hair.
Dates
If you’re naming the month, the day, and the year,
insert commas around the year.
• Angelo’s parents married on June 1,
1952, in a small chapel in Mexico.
Descriptive Phrases
If you’ve named a noun and want to describe it further,
surround that further description with commas.
• Ms. Snidely, the hall monitor, chased
Sarah through the school.
• Sarah, keen on evading fast-running
Ms. Snidely, dashed into the broom closet.
Etc.
If you use etc., or other phrases
like it (and so on, and so forth), surround it
with commas.
• The speaker blathered on about love,
heartbreak, loss, etc., until most of the audience was fast asleep.
For Example
If you’re using the phrase for example (or
similar phrases like that is, namely,
and so on), you should insert a comma hard on its heels.
• Wedding cakes can be outrageously expensive;
Helena, for example, spent over one thousand dollars on hers.
Introductory Phrases
Place commas after introductory phrases.
• Disgusted with her brother, Tina ran
off to tattle.
• With a shimmy of his hips, Pete kicked
off the talent show.
• After cheerleading practice, Darlene
curled up with War and Peace.
• Without further ado, Opie presented
the speaker.
Some introductory words or phrases are so brief that
they don’t really require a comma. In these cases, comma use is
a matter of personal preference.
OK: Yesterday
evening Steve took Allie to the drive-in.Also OK: Yesterday evening, Steve took Allie to the drive-in.
Introductory Words
Do not use commas after coordinating
conjunctions (but, so, and, yet, and
so on).
• So you might want to check that out.
• And every secretary from Jude to Ally
has been insufferably rude.
Lists
Separate items in a list with commas.
• Please get out your passports, boarding
passes, and photo I.D.’s.
If conjunctions separate the items in a list, no commas
are necessary.
• Do you have your passport and your
boarding pass and your photo I.D.?
Names
When addressing someone, set off his or her name with
commas.
• Cat, you’re getting hysterical.
• Please, sir, step aside.
• Please take your seats, class.
• Mr. Panday, thank you for lunch.
Not Only
Phrases beginning with not only can
be set off or not set off with
commas. In some instances commas provide a necessary pause, and
in other instances they’re merely clutter. Let your ear guide you.
Undesirable: We
devoured, not only a large pizza, but also an entire carton of fried
chicken.
Better: We devoured not only a large pizza but also an entire carton of fried chicken.
Better: We devoured not only a large pizza but also an entire carton of fried chicken.
Undesirable: We
drove to the hospital not only suffering from severe stomach pains
but also full of remorse.
Better: We drove to the hospital, not only suffering from severe stomach pains, but also full of remorse.
Better: We drove to the hospital, not only suffering from severe stomach pains, but also full of remorse.
Omitted Words
One of the more magical qualities of commas is their
ability to replace omitted words.
• Roger prefers Paris; Theodora, Rome;
Vince, San Juan.
Parenthetical Information
Set off nonessential words or phrases with commas.
• The trip was, shall we say, eventful.
• When it comes to Ohio, however, emotions
run high.
• Mina, as she enjoyed her massage, decided
to have salmon for lunch.
• The play, while far from terrible,
was not ready for Broadway.
Quotations
Introduce quotations with commas.
• She cried, “You know I loathe dogs!”
Serial Commas
Everyone agrees that items in a series should be separated
with commas. But not everyone agrees that the serial comma, which
comes before the conjunction in a list, is necessary.
No serial comma: Today
we learned about bug bites, poison ivy and rashes.
serial comma: Today we learned
about bug bites, poison ivy, and rashes.
SparkNotes is strongly in favor of the serial comma.
We think it makes prose clearer and more readable—which is, after
all, the point of punctuation.
Two Conjunctions
If two conjunctions (like but and if )
appear next to each other, you don’t need to separate them with
a comma.
Undesirable: I’m
no expert, but, if I may make a suggestion, you might want to step
away from the crocodile pit.Better: I’m no expert, but if I may make a suggestion, you might want to step away from the crocodile pit.
Two Sentences
To join two sentences, use a comma and a conjunction.
• Charlie wanted to start a family, but
Emily didn’t like the idea.
• Charlie proposed, and Emily said she’d
think about it.
• Do you want to marry me, or are you
just scared to lose me?
Sometimes, the two sentences you want to join are so
short that a conjunction will do the job, and you don’t need a comma.
• Ryan looks sick and Beatrice looks
sicker.
Yes and No
When they begin sentences, yes and no,
and words like them, should be followed by commas.
• Yes, we have no bananas.
• No, we’re not sure that’s relevant.
• Um, I don’t think so.
• Well, that’s your opinion.
• Sure, we could stay in Bali.
No Commas Necessary
You don’t need a comma between the two parts of a compound
predicate.
• They will explain the pool rules and
show you around the clubhouse.
If you’re unsure about whether you need a comma, check
to see if the subject changes over the course of the sentence. If
it does, you need a comma.
• The parrot squawks obscenities, and
the dog eats nothing but steak.
If the subject doesn’t change, you don’t need a comma.
• The parrot squawks obscenities and
spits out its crackers.
If the last item in a list is a single unit connected
by the word and, keep that unit comma-free.
• For lunch, Jenny ate carrots, applesauce,
and peanut butter and jelly.
• Bill shouted, Bob wept, and Biff threw
up his hands and stormed out.
Not all introductory phrases require commas. If the
introductory phrase is directly followed by the verb it modifies,
leave out the comma.
• Frowning down at us was the hated headmaster.
• Down the alley dashed Yael.
If information is crucial to the meaning of a sentence,
don’t set it off with commas.
• The restaurant with the red door is
where we’re meeting.
If a quotation is preceded by a word like that,
no comma is needed.
• Caleb said that “there are other fish
in the sea” was his least favorite saying.
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