Commas

Consider the following: A panda walks into a café. 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 manual 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.”

L.I.E.S One way to remember common uses of the comma is through the acronym LIES.

L Lists: Susan bought grapes, cantaloupe, cherries, bananas, and apples to make a fruit salad.

I Introductions: In fact, Susan is allergic to fruit. Therefore, she will not eat her creation. Before cutting the fruit, Susan must put on a surgical mask.

E Extra Information: Susan, who is making the fruit salad for her husband Sergio, breaks into hives if she comes into contact with any type of fruit. Sergio, out of consideration for Susan, has fruit only once a year on his birthday.

S Side-by-Side Sentences: Sergio enjoys fruit, but he has learned to live without it. Susan and Sergio make compromises for one another, so they have a happy marriage.

L.I.E.S LISTS INTRODUCTIONS EXTRA INFORMATION SIDE-BY-SIDE SENTENCES

Back to the panda… “Panda. Large black-and-white bear-like mammal, native to China. Eats, shoots, and leaves.