Online Writing Courses: Commas Part I
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This is another installment of my online writing classes. Several people have requested that I write an article about comma usage, so consider me your online writing tutor! Using commas correctly can be confusing, but learning to do so will improve your writing skills.
Why do correct commas improve writing skills? Commas improve writing skills by making sentences clear and easy to understand. A misplaced comma can change the entire meaning of a sentence. For example, look at these examples from two different Holy Bibles:
“This I say to you today, you will be with me in Paradise.”
“This I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”
According to the Bible, Christ said these words to the thief on the cross. Even though the exact same words are used in both sentences, the sentences have different meanings because of the placement of the comma. In the first, Christ is telling the thief that he will go to Paradise, but he doesn’t say when the thief will get his reward. In the second sentence, Jesus is telling the thief that both victims will be in Paradise on that very day.
I just use these as an example and am not trying to start a religious debate. I had much rather be an online writing tutor and continue with my online writing courses than to be a minister!
Items in a series
Three or more words, phrases, or clauses that are in a series joined by and, or, or nor need commas:
Sam, Joe, and Mike are in the living room.
She brought rolls, a pie, and a casserole.
I enjoy fishing, going to the beach, and hiking in the woods.
The final comma in a series is considered optional in a few online writing classes, but the majority of experts favor including it.
Coordinating conjunctions
Coordinating conjunctions are for, and, nor, but, or, yet, and so. These are easy to remember as “FANBOYS.” When a coordinating conjunction joins two independent clauses, a comma is needed:
I went outside, and I discovered that my car had been stolen.
See? These are two clauses that would make perfect sense on their own. Each part of this compound sentence has a subject and a verb and is a complete thought:
I went outside.
I discovered that my car had been stolen.
If both parts of the sentence joined by FANBOYS aren’t independent, you don’t need a comma:
I went outside and discovered that my car had been stolen.
“Discovered that my car had been stolen” doesn’t have a subject and isn’t an independent clause. Here are some more examples:
I went to the store, and I bought some bread.
I went to the store and bought some bread.
She was sick, but she went to the party.
She was sick but went to the party.
He’s skinny, yet he’s muscular.
He’s skinny yet muscular.
Appositives
An appositive renames the subject and should be separated with commas:
Mr. Jones, my math teacher, always gives us homework.
My sister, Sara Brown, lives in Florida.
Coordinate adjectives
Many people make mistakes with coordinate adjectives. Coordinate adjectives are adjectives that have equal importance and appear next to each other in a sentence. They should be separated by a comma:
We saw a gnarled, twisted tree at the beach.
On the table was an expensive, exotic figurine.
This is where it gets tricky: If the two modifiers aren’t coordinate adjectives, you don’t use a comma:
The big red barn was in a green field.
You wouldn’t use a comma between big and red. How can you tell if two adjectives aren’t coordinate adjectives? There are two ways to tell. If and can be substituted for the comma, the comma is needed. Also, if the adjectives can be used in reverse order, they’re coordinate adjectives and need a comma to separate them.
We saw a gnarled and twisted tree at the beach.
We saw a twisted and gnarled tree at the beach.
See? This pair of adjectives needs a comma. The following, however, do not:
The big and red barn was in a green field. (incorrect)
The red, big barn was in a green field. (incorrect)
These sentences are awkward. Big and red are not coordinate adjectives here, so there’s no need for a comma.
Dates
Comma use with dates can also get confusing. A general rule of thumb is that when two numbers OR two words are used next to each other, a comma is needed:
Thanksgiving is on Thursday, November 25.
I got my first pony on December 25, 1966.
Columbus landed in the New World in October 1492.
You don’t need a comma if different parts of the date are connected by a preposition:
Thanksgiving is always on a Thursday in November.
In American English, a comma is also needed after a complete date:
On October 13, 1492, Columbus landed in the New World.
Summary
I hope students found this information helpful and will employ these strategies to improve writing skills. There’s much more to learn about commas, and I plan on providing more online writing classes about commas and punctuation. In the links below, you'll find more of my online writing courses!
More of my online writing courses:
- How to Improve Writing Skills with Word Games
Tips for improving writing skills by using word games and writing exercises, provided by a retired writing and literature teacher. - Free Online Writing Courses: Teach Kids to be Better Writers
Its really never too soon to start teaching basic writing skills, and with this installment of my free online writing courses, Ill provide you with some tips. I use these with my grandchildren, and... - Online Writing Courses: Gerunds
Welcome to another lesson in my free online writing courses. The main purpose of my online writing classes is to help students, but some adult writers might find them helpful, also especially as a... - Online Writing Courses: Spelling and Usage
Welcome to my online writing courses! If youre interested in making money as a freelancer, you need to be attentive to correct grammar and mechanics. Most publishers dont want to spend a lot of time... - Online Writing Courses: Subjective vs. Objective Pronouns
This is another entry in my free online writing classes. Todays writing skills topic is about pronouns and whether the pronoun used is subjective or objective. Many writers make mistakes with case, and... - Essay Writing - How to Write an Essay
Im a retired teacher of literature and writing. I really miss teaching, so I decided to do a little online teaching with free online writing classes. Of course, it wont be the same because I wont have... - Improve Writing Skills with Connotation: Verbs and Adjectives
This is the second entry in my online writing classes. The first covered the basic essay format. This entry in my writing courses will discuss how to improve writing skills by using colorful verbs and...
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Wow, so clearly explained, I'm hoping my sentence with all the commas are in the correct place! Rated useful!
Rated up! I get frustrated when I read stuff with poor punctuation. I know I make mistakes, but I try *really* hard to get it right! Thanks for a useful hub!
Next to spelling, people generally make more mistakes with incorrect punctuation. One of my favorites which you have probably heard illustrates the use of commas:
Woman, without her man, is nothing. OR
Woman, without her, man is nothing. Take your pick. :)
You'd think we'd all know this by now, but the mechanics of writing still eludes me at times. I guess my editor is on extended vacation. A very useful refresher on the comma.Thanks.
Hi, Laurel. Hope you're okay.
Thanks, rkhyclak!
Drbj, another good example!
Lol, Iris. Thanks!
Great hub, very well written and will be bookmarking, rating up. Now I'm paranoid that comma placement was wrong! lol!
Ma’am, you are a brilliant, and a much appreciated teacher. I’m hanging on your lips :)))) Thanks, Habee! I would like to add, though, that writers tend to ignore some of the rules in order to provoke certain emotions.
But yes, we certainly have to know the rules before we can break it. Thanks again!
Thanks for the lesson. We all need it, especially me.
rated useful, thanks for so much info.
Very useful information for everyone. Well done.
Very useful hub and very well written. I, too, have bookmarked this hub. Rated useful and voted up!
Thanks for this habee, I needed this hub! I will bookmark it and refer to it often. I have never used a comma with "and" as I believed it was unnecessary. I see now it is more complex than that.
A very helpful little hub habee. I hope I can improve my hubs with this info.
My English is a bit Australian and ragged at times.
habee
Thanks for the lesson, and I will look for more lessons from you.
~:]
I really needed this, and I will try to remember to do it correctly. Thanks Habee
You are my teacher. I am glad to learn anything from you, including this one. I hope I can apply this lesson on my hub. Thank you very much, Habee. Rating up!
Prasetio:)
thanks for this very informative hub.
Dawn, don't worry - most folks probably won't notice!
Martie, my friend, you're making me blush! lol
KK gals, is it worth a cup of coffee??
Dmian, thanks for reading!
Rob, thanks for commenting!
Leni, glad you found the hub useful!
Ah, but Earnest, you have that wonderful Aussie accent!
Opinion Duck, I'll be glad to have you!
You're welcome, Ictodd!
Many thanks to you, Prasetio, my friend!
Screation, you are more than welcome!
Great hub for a newbie like me. My head has been swimming from all the keyword, SEO stuff that I am clueless about. I have decided to just focus on writing and hubs like yours are a huge help. Thanks for sharing your knowledge with the comma challenged masses.
You're welcome, Autumn! There's a lot to learn about writing online!
I liiiiiiiiiiiike :-)
Excellent lesson! I've forgotten a lot of these rules...
Thanks for this HUB!
Hi, habee. Bookmarked for my daughter to read. Thanks for sharing this.
Rated it up!
Thank you for a great help.
very useful. thank you. :)
This is one of the most useful hubs I have ever read. The things I learn here will definitely go a long way. Thanks for this wonderful hub!
Very Useful hub. Now I need one to tell me how to text.
Excellent hub, I have learnt a lot from it! Thanks a bunch!
I so needed this. Thanks for the great Hub.
Now this is one of those hubs for bookmarking for later use. I intend to read all of these hubs, because I'm sure I need them. Thanks for the lesson.
thanks for the hub.
A very helpful hub. Thanks for taking time and posting this.
Many thanks, De Greek!
3 Finger, glad it was a reminder for you!
Pulse, I appreciate that!
You're very welcome, CJ!
Glad you stopped by, HH!
Thank you, Kookoo!
Wow, Go Daddy! You made my day!
Suejanet, I need that one, too! lol
Muriuh, glad you found my online writing classes helpful!
Kristine, thank you for reading!
FF, my old pal, it's great to see you!
You're welcome, Buttar!
KL, I appreciate you, too!
habee, this hub is very well put and useful for all. Voted you up and useful!
Thanks, Perl!
I find your hub very good i really like it
Glad youliked it, Matherese!
What a useful hub, Habee!
You can as well write about usage of articles" the, a, an " and explain the difference in meaning when used alternatively. For example, there is a fly in a tea-cup, there is fly in the tea cup, there is the fly in a tea cup.... so on and so forth. Best wishes.
can u write a article about when 2 captialize something
Great hub! Simply pure, and purely simple. Just what the writing doctor ordered. Did I really need a comma there? It takes away the simplicity of it.
Thank you for the useful advice. Your style was clear and concise. It always seems to be easier to remember things when they are explained clearly.
Thanks, habee. Clear and concise.
Thanks, Optic!
Maybe I will, sreekumar!
Reallygood, I'll try to work that in for you!
Moby, you have a way with words!
So true, Susan. Thanks!
pchung, glad you liked my writing skills class!
oh my Habee I am not surprise you are one of the latest Hubpages achiever, this is just great and I will definitely learn from it..
What a great hub, girl! Keep it up.
Maria, you are so sweet!
Hhelen, thanks for your support!
Great hub, very clear. 'm going to share this with my high school son.
Very useful for me, I'd have to say my biggest problem is commas. I've finally started to figure them out!
This is definetely a great hub, I will have to read it several times to really get it down.
Thank you!
thanks definitely it will increase writing skills
Thank you. Well written, and an important lesson.
Great Hub, Very well written. I learned a lot from your hub.
Teachers everywhere will love you - most especially foreign language teachers.
really like this - think teachers will like it and the foreign language students looking for tips etc...
The power of the comma! Very interesting how different comma placement changes the whole sentence. No doubt that I'm ruining the comma on my hubs. Thanks for the rules of comma use. Should help a lot. I voted UP! useful
I enjoyed this lesson! Thank you!
I love commas. My writing motto is 'when in doubt, throw in a comma.' Therefore, this hub is just what I need. Now all I've got to do is remember it.
Punctuation usage in correct manner is a must for smart writing skills or literal communication.
I really enjoyed your class. I still have trouble with punctuation. I have started watching movies with the subtitles on so I can watch how to place them. Your site has made it even more clear. Thanks.
Awesome Hub! I've always had difficulty with commas. Thank you!
Awesome Hub! I've always had difficulty with commas. Thank you!
You are amazing and awesome, a true master of the comma. Thanks for sharing your knowledge with us. Kind regards!
This is awesome! So many of us get stuck on that one little thing that really is a big thing. Thanks for the hub :=)
Awesome hub.
Now I miss my English teacher in HS :)
Now my grammar is slightly better thanks for the insight.
Thanks, I am fond of commas, and tend to misplace them.
I want to know more about kid stories and what will be best to use in kid chapter books. But you are could I have read 2 of your classes and I like them, your good and I bet every one would agree.
I am not surprised to see this from a teacher:) Great hub, Habee!
I love how you wrote about comments and tied that in with God and Christ. I am a new hubber so, this uis a great motivation for me!
This article is great help, especially for those who left school long time ago, like me :)
Great refresher. I'm reentering the copyediting workforce after a couple years absence so this was rather helpful. I used the AP stylebook in the past and I remember not using the last comma in a series... the one that comes right before "and." So whenever I see it it gets on my nerves. :)
OMG! You're so awesome for doing this. I really need all the help I can get. I keep getting stuck while working on my novel. Writing dialog and getting in the correct form doesn't seem like such a chore until you actually have to do it. I marvel at where all my grammar skills and proper punctuation went off to and I end up scraping chapter after chapter because I feel. I'm not writing it properly. Thanks so much for posting.
Grace, I really wrote my online writing courses with students in mind!
Mikey, it's great to have you as a guest!
Xishan, that's great!
Kirsten, I appreciate your kind comment!
I'm really glad, Katrina!
Lol, trimar! That would be awesome!
Steve, thanks for reading and commenting!
Thanks a bunch, Turtledog!
You're very welcome, Penny!
lol, 2pats! You know the real saying is "When in doubt, leave it out," right?
Too true, Yule!
That's a good strategy, Mary!
Thanks for the refresher, Habee! Helpful hub for sure.
Your hubs on writing are a very useful resource. Thanks for sharing this information with us in such a succinct way.
Sylvia, you're in good company!
Dgicre, you are TOO kind!
Debbie, you are quite welcome!
Hubwriter, thanks mucho!
Create, he/she must have been a good teacher!
Kaze, good - glad I could be of help!
Bob, I'm honored to have you here!
Interesting one! Nice sharing. Thanks. Merry Christmas.
Wow! You are doing a great thing here. Keep it going. I think this may be useful for my homeschoolers. Thanks, Habee!
I don't always digest things as fast as I used to. I'm sure I will be coming back more than once to see if I did it right. This is a very informative hub. Thank you.
this is really great.... nice work!!!
Aw, thanks, Daisy! So glad you like my online writing courses!
I'll always be a teacher at heart, tim-tim!
Nice to meet you, Bailee!
Thanks a bunch, Toronto!
Same here, Sam! Thanks for visiting!
Rebelchik, best of luck with your novel!
Good to see you, Oceans!
Great Hub. Today's generation doesn't pay attention to proper grammar or writing and communication styles. I especially appreciate all the examples.
Flo, glad you like my online writing courses!
Many thanks, Paul!
Ms Re, I've had homeschoolers email me and say they're using several of my online writing classes!
Gets, glad you stopped by!
Ray, thanks for reading and commenting!
Genius, I agree, and I find it unsettling.
Great, simple way to teach commas! Thanks for the hub!
You're welcome, Jen!
Regarding appositives:
You're dead on with commas to separate appositives from the rest of the sentence with commas. As we learned in Zen Comma: Separate non-restrictive appositives with commas.
However, an appositive isn't limited to renaming the subject. For example, consider this sentence:
"I bought a toy for my dog, Rex."
In this sample, "Rex" is in apposition to "my dog," even though "Rex" isn't the subject.
lorlie6 Level 3 Commenter 18 months ago
Now I need to REMEMBER this. A bookmark is in order, habee!