Punctuation Rules for Separating Clauses Quiz

Using Commas in Writing

• Commas are used to separate items in dates and addresses
  • Example: She was born on January 26, 1988, in Cheshire, Connecticut.
  • Notice that a comma separates the last item in a date or address from the words that follow it.

Commas in Letters

• Use a comma after the salutation of a personal letter and after the closing of any letter
  • Example: Dear Dad,
  • Example: With love,

Common Uses of Commas

• Use commas to separate items in a series (three or more items)
  • Example: January, February, and March are all summer months in the Southern Hemisphere.
  • Note: Only short independent clauses in a series may be separated by commas. Longer clauses or those with commas should be separated by semicolons.
• Use commas to separate two or more adjectives that come before a noun
  • Example: Adam Williams played a powerful, brilliant game.
  • Note: Do not place a comma between an adjective and the noun immediately following it.
• Use commas before and, but, for, nor, or, so, or yet when joining independent clauses in a compound sentence
  • Example: They had been working very hard, but they didn’t seem especially tired.
• Use commas to set off an expression that interrupts a sentence
  • Example: Ann Myers, our neighbor, is a fine golfer.
  • Note: Use commas to set off parenthetical expressions that add information or show a relationship between ideas.
• Use commas after certain introductory elements, such as:
  • Yes, no, or mild exclamations (e.g., well, why)
  • Introductory participial phrases (e.g., Beginning a new school year, Zelda felt somewhat nervous.)
  • Two or more introductory prepositional phrases (e.g., At the bottom of the hill, you will see the baseball field.)
  • Single introductory prepositional phrases that need a comma for clarity (e.g., In the morning, sunlight streamed through the window.)