| When you read, a comma tells you to pause
a little. It shows where one group of words ends, and the next group
starts.
Groups of words
A comma tells you that a group of words has ended, but the sentence
is not over. Each group of words must make sense.
| |
Right |
Two men shout, but Henry can't
hear them. |
| |
Not |
Two men shout but Henry, can't hear them. |
| |
Right |
He slides down the mud, wades into the
water and swims |
| |
Not |
He slides down the, mud wades into, the
water and swims. |
Lists
Put a comma after each item in a list, except the last two.
| |
There were sums about guineas,
pounds, shillings and pence. |
| |
There were sums about stones, pounds and
ounces. |
Joining short sentences
A comma can help join two short sentences together. Instead of a
full stop, put a comma, plus: " but", "or",
"because"
| |
The teacher calls out a sum.
The children call out the answers. |
| |
The teacher calls out a sum, but the children
call out the answers. |
| |
Henry and Fred went to school. Alfred
didn't go. |
| |
Henry and Fred went to school, but Alfred
didn't go. |
A pair of commas
If a sentence needs some extra words, you can:
put in an extra word, with a comma before and
after the word.
put in an extra group of words with a comma
before and after the group.
If you took out the word or words from the basic sentence, it would
still be a proper sentence.
| |
Alf, leaning over the wall, saw a sack
in the river. |
| |
Alf saw a sack in the river. |
| |
Mr Holloway, the art master, put an owl
on the table. |
| |
Mr Holloway put an owl on the table. |
| |
The owl, with two glass eyes, stared at
the children. |
| |
The owl stared at the children. |
Commas in letters
In business letters, or letters produced on a word
processor it is no longer usual to use commas in address
blocks, the name of the person or the signature block.
In handwritten letters, at the start of the letter,
you can put a comma after the name of the person you are writing
to.
| |
Dear Mr Rose, |
| |
Dear Granny, |
| |
Dear Sir, |
If you start with commas, you finish with them: at the end of the
letter, put a comma after the last words you say.
| |
Your sincerely, |
| |
With best wishes, |
| |
Lots of love, |
If you write an address on one line, put a comma after each part
of the address. Mrs Maria Rose, 27 Little Thames Street, Greenwich,
London.
Commas in speech
When you write the words someone said, separate them from the rest
of the sentence with a comma.
| |
“You must learn this again”,
said the teacher. |
| |
Thomas said, “Henry, you will get
into trouble.” |
| |
The man shouted, “Watch out, stupid,
or you will drown.” |
If you are talking to someone, and you say yes or no, or call them
by their name, put a comma after the words yes or no, or the name.
| |
“Henry, you will get into trouble.” |
| |
“Yes, I know”, said Henry.
|
| |
“No, I won’t”, said
Henry. |
Put a comma before a question at the end of a sentence.
| |
It's peanuts, isn't it? |
| |
You're coming to the park, aren't you?
|
| |
You don’t want to swim, do you? |
If you are talking about a person by name, you don't need to put
commas around their name. Example:
| |
Right |
The shop assistant gave Henry four buns.
|
| |
Not |
The shop assistant gave, Henry, four buns.
|
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