Today we tackle one of the most basic, if the most misunderstood, elements of grammar: the (dreaded?) comma. Commas were the bane of my freshman English class, wherein the professor vowed (and followed through on the promise) to automatically reduce by a letter grade any assignments that featured a misused, misplaced or missing comma. Not using commas at all is not typically an option in academic writing, so let's break down several ways to use commas correctly.
- Use a comma to separate items in a series.
EXAMPLE: I bought bananas, apples, and grapes at the market.
- Use a comma to separate introductory material from the rest of a sentence.
EXAMPLE: As the family shopper, I bought bananas, apples, and grapes at the market.
- Use a comma to separate, with a coordinating conjunction, two independent clauses. An independent clause is part of a sentence that could, if necessary, stand alone as a complete sentence on its own. When we speak of coordinating conjunctions, think of FANBOYS ... for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so.
EXAMPLE: I am the family shopper, so I bought fruit at the market.
- Use a comma to separate a dependent clause and an independent clause, if the dependent clause appears first in the sentence. A dependent clause is a grouping of words in a sentence that does not express a complete thought and therefore could NOT stand alone as a complete sentence.
EXAMPLE: On the way to the market to buy fruit, I stopped at the coffee shop.
- Use a comma to separate interrupters.
EXAMPLE: Amy, the professor, stopped at the market and the coffee shop on the way home from work.
Simple, right? Also remember the following: Use a comma before which, sometimes before who or whom, but never before that.
As with most (all?) grammar rules, exceptions exist and might pop up in your personal, academic or classroom writing. When in doubt, read the sentence aloud minus the commas to determine whether one (or more) is needed to increase readability and effectively make your point.