Correct Comma Usage

7 Rules of the Comma Use a comma to set off the elements in a series. Use a comma and a coordinating conjunction to separate two independent clauses. Use a comma to set off introductory elements Use a comma to set off dates, states, countries and titles Use a comma to set off quoted language Use a comma to set off parenthetical elements Use a comma between two or more adjectives.

Use a comma to set off the elements in a series. Robert Frost has written “Birches”, “The Road Not Taken”, and “Carpe Diem”. He also wrote New Hampshire, A Further Range, and Steeple Bush. He worked as a teacher, a cobbler, and an editor.

He enrolled at Dartmouth college, and he also went to Harvard. Use a comma and a coordinating conjunction to separate two independent clauses. Robert Frost was born in San Francisco, but he moved to the New England states at the age of eleven. He enrolled at Dartmouth college, and he also went to Harvard. He never earned a degree, and he began a string of occupations.

Use a comma to set off introductory elements In New York, his first professional poem was written. In 1895, Frost married Elinor Miriam White. While in England, Frost made friends with another poet.

Use a comma to set off dates, states, countries and titles On March 24, 2009, Robert Frost was born. He spent his high- school years in Lawrence, Massachusetts. Robert Frost, editor, wrote for the Lawrence Sentinel.

Use a comma to set off quoted language Robert wondered, “Will I make it as a writer?” “Let’s see if it happens,” he said.

Use a comma to set off parenthetical elements Most know Robert Frost, the poet, as opposed to the novelist. Robert Frost, the novelist, is lesser known than Robert Frost, the poet.