Comma Madness!

Comma Splice A run-on sentence with only a comma separating the sentences. Ex: New York City had a total of forty-three newspapers in 1898, only twenty-three were written in English. Ex: In the 1940s, fans in Brooklyn cheered for the Dodgers, people in the Bronx supported the Yankees. Ex: The students have to park on the street, the parking lot is full.

Ways to Fix a Comma Splice Coordinating conjunction (FANBOYS) Ex: New York City had a total of forty-three newspapers in 1898, but only twenty-three were written in English. Period Ex: In the 1940s, fans in Brooklyn cheered for the Dodgers. People in the Bronx supported the Yankees. Semicolon Ex: The students have to park on the street; the parking lot is full.

Commas and Quotation Marks Introduce quotations with a comma Alice said, “I don’t live here any more.” According to the Arizona Daily Sun, “Local activists and political leaders are not happy about Gov. Doug Ducey signing a bill into law that prohibits local governments from banning or charging for the use of plastic shopping bags.” If the speaker tag comes at the end, put a comma inside the quotation marks “Don’t go in there,” they warned me. Think, “Punctuation to the left of quotation.”

Commas with Introductory Phrases/Clauses and Direct Address Examples of introductory phrases Alerted by 911, the firefighters raced to the store. To swim the English Channel, you’ll need to train for over a year. When you give a speech, look at your audience. Direct Address: When you are talking directly to someone John, please answer the phone. Barry, do you know where my backpack is? How come you don’t like reading, Annie?