Phrase: Group of words lacking a subject and / or verb

Clause: Group of words with both a subject and verb.

A sentence consists of two parts: the SUBJECT and the PREDICATE.

The subject tells whom or what the sentence is about. The predicate tells something about the subject

Examples: SubjectPredicate Water spilled. Dina bought the salad.

The simple subject is the main word or group of words that tells whom or what the sentence is about

Examples: The television is broken again.

Examples: The television is broken again. Who was the performer in that concert?

Examples: The television is broken again. Who was the performer in that concert? Walking to his car, Antonio whistled his favorite song.

The simple predicate is the verb or verb phrase that tells something about the subject.

Examples: Pauline was restless and bored. Did Omar memorize his lines for the show?

Recognizing complete sentences and independent clauses (clause with a subject and predicate) will help combat comma errors.

Commas are used in sentences on paper the same way that pauses are used in speech—to clarify and convey meaning.

An effective way to determine natural pauses is to read the sentence out loud.

There are many more specific rules as well. Here is a list of common comma rules to follow.

1. Put commas after introductory elements coming before the main sentence.

1.a. Put commas after introductory adverb clauses.

1.a. Put commas after introductory adverb clauses. These clauses begin with words like while, when, but, although, and like, among others.

Examples: When I ride my bike, I never fall down. Although the vote was a close one, Kennedy beat Nixon.

1.b. Put commas after introductory –ing phrases.

Examples: Foaming and splashing, the water crashed against the rocks. Running too fast, I slipped on the ice.

1.c. Put commas after introductory prepositional phrases.

Examples: Without further ado, here is the Heisman Award winner. In today’s society, money is the ultimate goal for many.

1.d. Put commas after introductory infinitive phrases. Infinitives are the word “to” + a verb.

Examples: To vote in America, a person must be 18. To be successful, you must have an education.

1.e. Put commas after other introductory phrases or words that could be misread or misunderstood.

Examples: However people do have successes without education.

Examples: However people do have successes without education. However, people do have successes without education.

Examples: Beyond the stars flashed in the dark space.

Examples: Beyond the stars flashed in the dark space. Beyond, the stars flashed in the dark space.

Examples: Yes he has made his choice.

Examples: Yes he has made his choice. Yes, he has made his choice.

2. Put commas before these 7 conjunctions when they connect two full sentences: AND, BUT, OR, NOR, FOR, SO, YET.

Examples: I tried to run, but I kept falling down.

Examples: I tried to run, but I kept falling down. I tried to run but fell down repeatedly.

Examples: The president is the leader, so he makes the final decisions

Examples: The president is the leader, so he makes the final decisions The president is the leader and makes the final decisions.

3. Put commas between words in a series of three or more.

Example: Some basic parts of speech are nouns, verbs, adverbs, and prepositions.

4. Put commas around words or phrases that interrupt sentences.

Examples: The man, however, was not fooled by the trick. The water, dashing against the rocks, foamed and splashed.

5. Use commas to set off non-restrictive elements and other parenthetical elements.

5. A non-restrictive modifier is a phrase or clause that does not restrict or limit the meaning of the word it is modifying. (Even though removing the non-restrictive element would result in some loss of meaning, the sentence would still make sense without it.)

5. You should usually set off non-restrictive elements with commas: -Dr. Forester, who teaches chemistry, will retire next year. -The getaway vehicle, which was pock- marked with rust, was parked in the driveway.

6. Commas are used in certain conventional places.

a.With numbers: St. Cloud has a population of 45,000. b.With dates: Iraq invaded Kuwait on August 2, c.With addresses: John lives at 434 Court Ave., Delbert, ND, d.With titles and degrees: My teacher is Jim James, Ph.D. e.With direct quotations: Mary said, "How are you?" "Strangely enough," he said, "I am fine.”