PUNCTUATION RULES

G) Subject + Verb Do not separate the subject from the verb with one comma. Example: That man sitting in the train station is the person I’m supposed to meet.

F) Coordinating Conjunctions Place a comma before a coordinating conjunction. Coordinating conjunctions are and, nor, but, so, for, or, and yet. She wanted to buy a new car, but she didn't have enough money to do so. The wind blew fiercely, and the rain poured down. Alaska was not the last state admitted into the US, nor does it have the lowest total population.

D) Semi-colon (;) Use a semicolon when you link two independent clauses with no connecting words. For example: I am going home; I intend to stay there. It rained heavily during the afternoon; we managed to have our picnic anyway.

C) Introductory Words Introductory words like however, still, furthermore, and meanwhile create continuity from one sentence to the next. Most of the evidence seemed convincing. However, the credibility of some witnesses was in question.

B) Introductory Phrases Introductory phrases also set the stage for the main action of the sentence, but they are not complete clauses. Phrases don't have both a subject and a verb that are separate from the subject and verb in the main clause of the sentence. Common introductory phrases include prepositional phrases, participial phrases, and infinitive phrases. To stay in shape for competition, athletes must exercise every day. Before the thunderstorm, the townspeople began to seek shelter.

A) Introductory Clauses (Dependent clauses at the beginning of the sentence) Introductory clauses are dependent clauses that provide background information or "set the stage" for the main part of the sentence, the independent clause. Introductory clauses start with adverbs like after, although, as, because, before, if, since, though, until, when, etc. For example: If they want to win, athletes must exercise every day.

a2 No comma if the dependent clause comes at the end of the sentence. She was happy when she ate ice cream. She was happy because her work was finished.

Three or more items in a list: AMERICAN ENGLISH: COMMA!!! 3+ I like ice cream, chocolate, and licorice. NO COMMA: TWO ITEMS: I don’t like vegetables and meat.

*)Overview only E) Non-essential elements Use commas before and after nonessential words, phrases, and clauses, that is, elements embedded in the sentence that interrupt it without changing the essential meaning. My uncle, who is eighty years old, walks three miles every day. The person checking tickets at the counter asked for a form of identification. The woman who interviewed you is my sister. Elizabeth Teague, a sweet and lovable girl, grew up to be a mentally troubled woman. HELPFUL HINT: Use commas for proper nouns, such as city names: Athens, which is in Greece, is nice. (non-identifying.) John, who is my neighbor, is nice. (non-identifying.)

Practice: 1) As the fast food industry has grown more competitive in the United States the major chains have looked to overseas markets for their future growth.

2. A decade ago McDonald’s had about three thousand restaurants outside the United States today it has about seventeen thousand restaurants in more than 120 foreign countries.

3. Within the next decade Jack Greenberg the company’s chief executive hopes to double the number of McDonald’s. The chain earns the majority of its profits outside the United States.

4. Because people eat more meals outside the home they consume more calories less fiber and more fat.

6. A number of attempts to introduce healthy dishes (such as McLean Deluxe) have proven unsuccessful.

7. A decade ago fast food restaurants sold about 20 percent of the bacon consumed in the United States now they sell about 70 percent.

9. The CDC estimates that about 280,000 Americans die every year as a direct result of being overweight

8. The cost of America’s obesity epidemic extends far beyond emotional pain and low self-esteem. Obesity is now second only to smoking as a cause of mortality in the United States.

10. The growing popularity of fast food is just one of many cultural changes that have been brought about by globalization. Nevertheless it seems wherever America’s fast food chains go waistlines start expanding.