The Wrath of Commas

Commas “Let’s eat grandma!” – this literally means you want to eat your grandmother, you filthy cannibal. “Let’s eat, grandma” – this means you are inviting your grandmother to come eat with you.

Comma Rules Separate elements in a series Separate two connected sentences with a conjunction (FANBOYS) Separate an introductory word Separate a parenthetical Separate coordinating adjectives Separate the attribution of a quote

Separate elements in a series “A panda walks into a cafe. He orders a sandwich, eats it, then draws a gun and fires two shots in the air. "Why?" asks the confused waiter, as the panda makes towards the exit. The panda produces a badly punctuated wildlife annual and tosses it over his shoulder. "I'm a panda," he says, at the door. "Look it up." The waiter turns to the relevant entry and, sure enough, finds an explanation. Panda. Large black-and-white bear-like mammal, native to China. Eats, shoots, and leaves.”

Separate two related (and complete) sentences Use commas to separate two complete sentences with a conjunction What’s a conjunction? Think FANBOYS. For, And, Nor, But, Or Yet, So I want to go to the movies, but I have too much homework to do. This only works with two complete sentences I need new shoes and glasses No comma is needed here

Separate an introductory word Introductory words After, although, as, because, before, if, since, though, until, when Because he kept barking insistently, we threw the ball for Smokey Introductory phrase The wind blowing violently, the townspeople began to seek shelter A popular and well respected mayor, Bailey was the clear favorite in the campaign for governor

Separate a parenthetical Use commas to bracket non-essential words that interrupt a sentence but do not impact its meaning The average world temperature, however, has continued to rise dramatically. “However” is not essential and does not change the meaning of the sentence. You could pop it right out and the sentence would mean the same thing. My uncle, who is eighty years old, walks three miles everyday. If you cannot remove the phrase the phrase bracketed by commas then it is essential and you have incorrectly placed your commas. The woman who interviewed you is my sister. No commas needed. Don’t make the panda angry!

How NOT to use a comma: The comma splice A comma splice is an incorrect use of a comma, and it happens when you separate two complete sentences with a comma I went to the store to buy apples, I ended up buying oranges instead. To fix a comma splice, Use a period instead Use a semicolon (looks weird but is just like a period) Add a conjunction and keep the comma

Champion of the Comma Quiz Read the sample paragraph and add or remove commas as needed Be prepared to explain to the class why you make the punctuation decisions you did

Champion of the Comma Quiz Norman Bethune a Canadian doctor became a famous Canadian who is better known outside of Canada than in it. Bethune was born in Gravenhurst Ontario in 1890. As a young man he studied medicine and in 1917 he became a doctor. At the age of 36 he was stricken with tuberculosis a devastating lung disease. He spent about a year recovering and subsequently won worldwide fame for his experiments in lung surgery and for his invention of instruments used in chest surgery. In 1936 Bethune joined the Republican Army in the Spanish Civil War. When he developed the first mobile blood transfusion service in history his fame around the world increased. The blood transfusion service allowed doctors for the first time to provide significant treatment to soldiers near battle fronts. In 1938 Bethune went to China which was at war with Japan. Bethune organized field hospitals served as a battle surgeon and set up medical schools to train Chinese surgeons. In November 1938 he became medical chief of the Chinese Eighth Route Army. Unfortunately in 1939 after only 21 months in China Bethune died of blood poisoning. Despite Bethune’s major medical innovations most Canadians have never heard of him. However he is considered a national hero in China and is well known in many other parts of the world.

Commas, use them!

Time to work on your own writing Take out your drafts Proofread for comma errors Want a trick? Try reading your paper out loud (softly). You can often hear where you need punctuation. If you read silently, your brain simply fills it in automatically.