Commas
in English
Teachers of English who come to the
in-service training courses to Advanced Teacher Training College often ask
questions how to punctuate sentences. It is true, English punctuation has never
been our strong point. Little attention is paid to it. This piece of material
is devoted to commas.
Commas are used:
• to separate words, phrases or clauses in
series (before ‘and’ the comma is
often left cut)
Two cokes, three glasses of tonic water and
an apple juice, please.
An absolutely beautiful, relaxing, totally
rejuvenating experience.
I might lose my home, be cut off from my
family and end up with no friends.
• before and after phrases or clauses
which add extra or unnecessary information to a sentence
Henry, the laziest person in town, was
jumping up and down. Old castles, which are often poorly insulated, have a
special atmosphere about them.
• to separate adverbial clauses of time (often introduced by when, after, before, by the time
(that), directly, during the time (that), immediately the moment (that), once,
since, until/till, whenever) and long phrases that come before or in the
middle of the main clause
After he got married, Andy changed
completely.
Now that it is spring, her mood has
improved enormously.
The book, once you’re done with it, can be
returned to any branch of the library.
• to separate, from the rest of the
sentence, words or phrases that suggest if something is likely or suggest other
possibilities (on the contrary, on
the other hand), adverbs that act as conjunctions (however,
consequently) and words or phrases that introduce examples (namely, for
example)
On the other hand, we will soon run out of
time.
Most of her friends, however, were rather
keen on going swimming.
He could ask his brother to give them a
lift, of course. She took everything I had, namely, my watch and my wallet with
all my money.
• before a conjunction (and, but, for, or) connecting sentences or full
clauses, and between very short clauses that are not connected by a conjunction
He hadn’t worked very hard, but still did
well in the exams.
I came, I went home, I came back again.
• sometimes in informal sentences when that
is omitted
She runs so fast, no one can catch her.
• to show that a word or words used
earlier in the sentence have been left out
Indoor sports are preferred by some;
outdoor sports, by many others.
• to separate direct speech from words
identifying the speaker and type of speech
“I can bear it no longer,” he said.
“But the options are few,” his girlfriend
replied anxiously.
“Still,” he continued cautiously, “I don’t
think I have any choice”.
• to separate the name of a person being
addressed, or an interjection
You know, Martin, we’re the only ones
left.
Damn, I wanted that antique chair.
• before phrases that add emphasis to
questions
They live in Liverpool, don’t they?
I’ll just go and get a newspaper, OK?
• to separate opposing and contrasting
phrases
We like his style of writing, not its
substance.
This isn’t made of from synthetics, it’s
pure wool.
• to avoid confusion when two people’s
names appear next to each other
For Anna, Marie was the most important
person in the world.
• to add emphasis to a phrase at the end
of a sentence
The higher you fly, the thinner the air.
• in large numbers (a space can be used instead)
The population in 1990 was 8,566,000.
A commas should not be used:
• in that clauses
It’s clear that it would leave a mess.
That the headmaster is going to retire is
only a rumour.
• in indirect questions
We asked whether he would have the time.
• in defining relative clauses
All those who had voted for him cheered.
• in ing-constructions necessary
for the meaning of the sentence
We noticed an ape climbing the tree to
reach a banana.
• before most dependent clauses and
adverbials in end position
I’ve been a member since I was a student.
• before ‘and’ when it is used as a
conjunction between phrases
She walked out and called a taxi.
• in decimal numbers like 4.67 (a point is
used)
Compiled
by Sofia Syromyatnikova ,
Chernitsyn secondary school, Kursk Region
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