The Comma: Four simple guidelines

1) The Listing Comma

The listing comma is used to replace and. It also replaces or.

In the example, they are listing things to buy. Without a
comma plus the word and, the sentence will be rather heavy:

We need some eggs and a lemon and some milk.

A common mistake is to write a comma before and. It is

redundant because you already have and. However, you can
sometimes write a comma if the effect is that of contrast.

James, Lars, Robert, and Kirk played tennis. (It is surprising,

but Kirk, who hates playing tennis, also played!!)

2) The Joining Comma

It is used to join two complete sentences into a single sentence, and it must be
followed by a suitable connecting word. The connecting words which can be used in this
way are and, or, but, while and yet. Here are some examples:
Norway has applied to join the EC, andSweden is expected to do the same.
clause clause

You must hand in your essay by Friday, or you will receive a mark of zero.
 Find the clauses in the example above.

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You are not obligated to use a comma with these connecting words. However, a comma
represents a pause, making it easier for the reader to follow the text. You cannot write a
comma just because it looks nice. There has to be a reason.

Careful with the COMMA SPLICE!!

This is by far the most common mistake with commas. A splice is the union of things. A comma
splice is uniting clauses WITHOUT a connecting word.
Steve is very responsible, Tony is very lazy.
Steve is very responsible but Tony is very lazy.
Steve is very responsible. Tony is very lazy.

Borg won his fifth straight Wimbledon title in 1980, the following year he lost in the final to
McEnroe.
Borg won his fifth straight Wimbledon title in 1980. The following year he lost in the final to
McEnroe.

3) The Gapping Comma

We use this comma to show that one or more words have been
omitted. We avoid repetition:

Some Norwegians wanted to base their national language on the

speech of the capital city; others, on the speech of the rural countryside.

Better than:
Some Norwegians wanted to base their national language on the speech of the capital city;
other Norwegians wanted to base their national language on the speech of the rural
countryside.

Like with the listing comma, the comma here is not always strictly necessary. You can omit
it if the sentence is clear without it. However, write a semicolon ( ; ) after the first
sentence.

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 4) Bracketing Commas
This is the most used type of comma. We use it to separate weak interruptions in a sentence,
meaning one that does not break the flow of the sentence. They usually come in pairs.

These results, we would suggest, seem terrible.

Batman, of course, is a great superhero.
This movie is amazing, I think.

If you omit the words between the commas, the sentence makes sense. These are the same
commas you use in non-defining relative clauses:
Messi, who plays in Barcelona, is an extraordinarily talented player.

Apart from applying these commas to weak interruptions, they are usually used with words like:
although, though, even though, because, since, after, before, if, when, etc.

After the Roman legions left Britain, the British were defenceless.
Before James went home, he finished some work at the office.

 Careful!

Another very common mistake is to put a comma after the subject of a verb:

Susan, went to the baker’s.

Susan went to the baker’s.

Let’s play!
You can apply the four guidelines to check if your commas are right.

The publication of The Hobbit in 1937, marked the beginning of Tolkien’s career as a fantasy writer.
1) Is the comma listing anything? No.
2) Is the comma joining two clauses? No.
3) Have some words been omitted? No.
4) Can the words before the comma be safely taken out/ are they a weak interruption? No.

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 Full stop or period: nothing more.
1) The full stop is mainly used to mark the end of a statement, for example:
Terry Pratchett's latest book is not yet out in paperback.
I asked her whether she could tell me the way to Brighton.
The British and the Irish drive on the left; all other Europeans drive on the right.

2) Full stops are also sometimes used in punctuating abbreviations and acronyms:
e.g.
Mr.
P.S.
C.I.A.

 BE CAREFUL! The following example shows a common mistake:

Norway has applied for EC membership, Sweden is expected to do the same.

Here, there are two complete statements separated by a comma, which is wrong. We have two possible
solutions to this problem:

a) Norway has applied for EC membership. Sweden is expected to do the same. (Separating the two
statements by a full stop, but may be considered a bit clumsy to have two short sentences.)
b) Norway has applied for EC membership and Sweden is expected to do the same. (Using the
connecting word and to turn the two short statements into a longer one.)

Let’s practice!
Here are more examples of this very common error, can you rewrite them?

a) Bangladesh is one of the world's poorest countries, its annual income is only $80 per person.
b) The British are notoriously bad at learning foreign languages, the Dutch are famously good at it.
c) The proposal to introduce rock music to Radio 3 has caused an outcry, angry letters have been
pouring into the BBC.
d) Borg won his fifth straight Wimbledon title in 1980, the following year he lost in the final to
McEnroe.
a)
b)
c)
d)

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 Capital Letters: Remember!

Use the M.I.N.T.S. rule.

Capitalise:

M Months, days of the week and public holidays.

This year, Christmas Day falls on the last Sunday of December.

I The personal pronoun ‘I’:

I don’t like apples.

N
Names & nationalities: proper nouns (names of people, places and things) and
languages and nationalities:
My best friend’s name is Claire and she’s from Cardiff, Wales.
Mr. and Mrs. Graham
Dr. Stevens
Professor Brown
They are French.
We love Italian cuisine.

T
Titles: Capitalise every word in the titles of books, films, theatre plays, TV
programmes, etc. except conjunctions, articles and prepositions.
Indiana Jones and the Lost Temple
Manchester by the Sea
Back to the Future

S
Start of sentences: The first letter is always capitalized in every sentence (that is,
after a stop).
She didn’t say a word. After that, they went home.

Inverted commas: the dos and don’ts

FIRST THINGS, FIRST: there are two types: single quotes (` ') and double
quotes (" "). As a general rule, British usage has in the past usually preferred single
quotes for ordinary use, but double quotes are now increasingly common; American usage
has always preferred double quotes. As we shall see below, the use of double quotes in
fact offers several advantages.
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 1) The direct quotation
a pair of quotation marks encloses a direct quotation — that is, a repetition of
someone's exact words. Here are some examples:
President Kennedy famously exclaimed "Ich bin ein Berliner!"
Madonna is fond of declaring "I'm not ashamed of anything."
"The only emperor", writes Wallace Stevens, "is the emperor of ice cream."

Consequently, the following example is wrong:

Thomas Edison declared that "Genius was one per cent inspiration and
ninety-nine per cent perspiration."
Why? Here the passage inside the quotes transparently does not reproduce Edison's exact
words.

All three of these are perfect, do you know why?

 Thomas Edison declared that genius was one per cent inspiration and ninety-nine
per cent perspiration.
 According to Thomas Edison, "Genius is one per cent inspiration and ninety-nine per
cent perspiration."
 Thomas Edison declared that genius was "one per cent inspiration and ninety-nine
per cent perspiration".

Note something else which is very important: a quotation is set off by quotation marks and
nothing else. On the other hand, the presence of quotation marks does not remove the
necessity of using other punctuation which is required for independent reasons. Look again
at these examples:
According to Thomas Edison, "Genius is one per cent inspiration and ninety-nine per
cent perspiration."
"The only emperor", writes Wallace Stevens, "is the emperor of ice cream."

The commas here are bracketing commas... Remember?

Used as usual to set off weak interruptions; their presence has nothing
to do with the presence of a quotation, which is itself properly marked
off by the quotation marks.

2) The one with the irony

Inverted commas around a word show that it is being used ironically (not in their real
meaning, but rather their opposite meaning). Look at these examples:
Our “luxury” hotel turned out to be a farm building.
The “trip of our dreams” was, in fact, our worst nightmare.
The “hero” was afraid of spiders.