How To Use Commas In English Grammar
Add extra information to a sentence which is not necessary to understand the main idea of the sentence.
How to use commas in english grammar. Quotation marks are for when you want to use someone else s words in your writing. When to use quotation marks. Period question mark exclamation point comma semicolon colon dash hyphen parentheses brackets braces. This use of commas is similar to using them to separate items in a series with one exception. Maria packed a rope a tent and a compass for the trip 5.
And it s no wonder. Separate items in a list. She took a big old red tent with her 6. We use a comma to separate adjectives describing the same noun. Sometimes consecutive adjectives are used to describe a single subject with multiple qualities.
There are some general rules which you can apply when using the comma. However you will find that in english there are many other ways to use the comma to add to the meaning of a sentence or to emphasise an item point or meaning. Use a comma to separate two or more adjectives describing a noun. Join two clauses or sentences together using a linking word like and but or although. My estate goes to my husband son daughter in law and nephew.
Commas and periods always go inside the quotation marks in american english. We use commas to separate three or more words phrases or clauses written in a series. It is incorrect to place a comma after the final adjective. Of all the punctuation marks in english this one is perhaps the most abused and misused. There are lots of rules about comma usage and often the factors that determine whether you should use one are quite subtle.
Question marks and exclamation marks sometimes go inside sometimes stay outside. We use a comma near the end of a sentence to separate a contrasting part of the sentence. The 14 most commonly used punctuation marks are. When the last comma in a series comes before and or or after daughter in law in the above example it is known as the oxford comma most newspapers and magazines drop the oxford comma in a simple series apparently. Although we are often taught that commas are used to help us add breathing spaces to sentences they are in fact more accurately used to.