The Comma

 

Rule A.  Commas are used between main clauses joined by the coordinating conjunctions:

                                                                                    and

                                                                                    but

                                                                                    or

                                                            Sentence,        nor         sentence.

                                                                                    for

                                                                                    yet

                                                                                    so

 

1.     Kampala is Uganda’s capital and largest city and it serves as the nation’s social and economic center.

2.     I am looking for a job but the ones I find either pay too little or require too many skills that I don’t have.

3.     Rising prices and rising interest rates are making it difficult for people to buy houses yet the real estate market seems to improve.

4.     The hikers had come a long way and they could not summon the energy for the final mile to the river and a comfortable campsite.

 

Rule B.  Commas follow such introductory elements as adverb clauses, long phrases, mild interjections, or transitional expressions:

                        (adv. cl.)

        Because his work was poor, he took the course again.

                 (long ph.)

        Exhausted from the race, the runner collapsed.

        (interjection)

        Yes, life is hard.

        (trans. exp.)

        Furthermore, we must strive to overcome the obstacles.

 

1.     Gasping for breath the firemen staggered out of the burning building.

2.     Because of the late morning rain the baseball game had to be canceled.

3.     Collecting old Marvel comics is his favorite hobby.

4.     Before you make any other mistakes read the directions.

5.     Even though Regina was sick last week she attended every rehearsal.

 

Rule C.  Commas are used between items in a series, including coordinate adjectives modifying the same noun.

 

1.     The morning was fresh crisp and clear.

2.     Several stores opened newer larger branches in the shopping mall.

3.     The suspect was brought in kicking hitting and cussing.

4.     She was a Bostonian by birth a farmer by temperament and a worker to the day she died.

 

Rule D.  Commas are used to set off “interrupters” such as nonrestrictive words, clauses, and phrases.  (Restrictive words, phrases, and clauses are not set off.)

                                                           restrictive cl.

                                    The boy who came to class early was an excellent student.

                                                       nonrest. cl.

                                    Tom, who came to class early, was an excellent student.

 

1.     The Cubist painters for example were obviously inspired by Picasso.

2.     Moby Dick a novel by Herman Melville is thought by some to be America’s greatest novel.

3.     Our modern ideas about civil liberties can be traced back to the Magna Carta which was written in 1215.

4.     Several bystanders who had witnessed the robbery identified the thief.

5.     We have used the Gregorian calendar named after Pope Gregory XIII since 1582.