1. Rules for Using Commas

2. Review Independent Clause: Can stand alone. It has a complete thought.
It can be a sentence.
Dependent Clause: Can NOT stand alone. It is related to the independent clause with which it shares a sentence.

3. Rule #1
Use a comma before any conjunction that links 2 independent clauses.
and, but, for, or nor, so yet
Example: “I went for a walk in the rain, and I stopped for coffee.”

4. Rule #2 Use a comma after a dependent clause that starts a sentence.
Example: “When I went running, I saw a duck.”

5. Rule #3
Use commas to offset appositives (What we call “Set Aparts”) from the rest of the sentence.
Example: “The car, with the racing stripe, sped down the street.”

6. Rule #4 Use commas to separate items in a series.
Example: “ I saw a duck, a magician, and a store when I went running.”

7. Rule #5 Use a comma after introductory adverbs (Predicate Expanders)
Example: “Finally, I went running.”

8. Rule #6 Use a comma when attributing quotes
Example: Janie said, “I like chocolate ice- cream.”

9. Rule #7 Use a comma to separate each element in an address
Example: “I live at 123 New Street, Upper Town, PA., ”

10. Rule #8 Use a comma to separate the elements in a full date
Example: “January 30, 2015, is the last day of the school week.”

11. Rule #9
Use a comma when the first word of the sentence is freestanding “yes” or “no.”
Example: “Yes, I was the one who saw the car accident.”

12. Rule #10
Use a comma when directly addressing someone or something in a sentence
Example: “Jasper, did you make that mess?”

13. Rule #11 Use a comma between two adjectives that modify the same noun.
Example: “ I saw the big, mean dog that lives down the street.”

14. Rule #12 Use a comma to offset negation in a sentence
Example: “ I saw a dog, not a cat, when I went walking.”