Commas before Coordinating Conjunctions Pasco-Hernando Community College Tutorial Series

Commas before Coordinating Conjunctions - FANBOYS There are four rules for using commas in sentences: Before Coordinating Conjunctions - FANBOYS Items, Adjectives in a Series After Introductory Words To Separate Out Unnecessary Words There are also rules to separate signal tags from quotations and for standard usage such as in numbers, dates, and addresses. However, these are special situations.

Commas before Coordinating Conjunctions - FANBOYS This tutorial covers the rule about when to use commas before coordinating conjunctions (FANBOYS). Before Coordinating Conjunctions - FANBOYS Items, Adjectives in a Series After Introductory Words To Separate Out Unnecessary Words

Commas before a coordinating conjunction Use a comma before the words for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so when they separate two word groups which can stand alone as sentences (independent clauses). These words are conjunctions – words which join parts of a sentence. When they are used to separate two independent clauses (word groups that can stand alone as a sentence), they are called coordinating conjunctions. The acronym FANBOYS is often used to remember these words.

Commas before a coordinating conjunction The mother went to the store, but the child went to school. These are two independent clauses (word groups that can stand alone as a sentence) separated by a FANBOYS conjunction. Therefore, there should be a comma before the word but.

Commas before a coordinating conjunction The mother went to the store but not the child. There is no comma here because the word group not the child cannot stand alone as a sentence. Here is another example: The waves splashed along the shore, and the children played in the sand.