,

COMMA

What is the error?

Where and Why!

Top 5 - Common mistakes

Omitting a comma after city and state.

Show me the St. Louis, Missouri, map.

Omitting a comma after city and country.

He got plastered in Paris, France, and broiled in London,
England, last week.

Omitting a comma after month-date-year date.

She left the bank in Paris on July 1, 2008, for a job in Teller,
Alaska.

Top 5 - Common mistakes

Including a comma between a month and year.

Her daughter April may return in June 2009 for the reunion.

Placing a comma outside quotation marks.

Her favorite movies are First Wives Club, The Second
Time Around, and The Last King of Scotland.

Why is it difficulty?

One reason makes

it difficult for native
speakers.

Rules

Use commas to separate things in a list or series

Students in literature classes are reading shorts stories, poems
and plays

Use to separate an introductory expression or

before a comment or question tagged onto the

end
Finally, he was able to get through to his insurance company
The new chairs arent very confortable, are they?

 When setting apart a transitional expression

(however, moreover, therefore, of course, by the

way, on the other hand, I think, I believe)
He warned, however, that the test could be difficult

When setting apart an appositive phrase

The car, a Mercedes, sped along the highway

 When separate two independent clauses that have

a common subject that are connected by any of

the FAN BOYS (Mnemonic)
FOR/AND/NOR/BUT/OR/YET/SO
We wrote our paragraphs in class today, but teacher forgot to
collect them

When separate an independent clause from a

dependent clause
When the bell rang, the students all rushed to their classrooms

 When setting apart a non-restrictive clause

The cookies, baked and sprinkled with sugar, tasted good

Use to separate date of the year and after the year

In December 19, 2000, there was a huge fire in our town

Use to separate city from state

My aunt lives in Redwood city, California

When use a name or title that directly addresses a person

Will you, John, take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife

Use to separate adjectives that end with Ly from others

adjectives
They were a couple of lonely, troubled misfits

When there are two adjectives where the word and can be
used between them
Percy grew up to be a rugged, handsome man