1. COMMA SENSE

2. 1. Easy stuff first
a. In numbers……………1,000,000 dollars!
b. In letters………………..A, B, C…….just kidding! No, the letters you write. Dear John,…..Sincerely, Nicholas Sparks
c. Between a city and state/country………….Philadelphia, PA
d. Between the day and year…….July 4, 2014

3. 2. Introductory words.
Sometimes that word is the name of the person to whom you are talking.
Ex: Steven, I would like to buy a parakeet.
Sometimes it is a word like well, oh, or however.
Ex: Well, I guess I’d like to try the escargots.
Adverbs
Ex. Quietly, I tiptoed in the house.

4. Your turn!
Punctuate the following sentence: Sadly he took his bassoon and went home.

5. 3. Introductory Prep Phrases
A comma goes after it
Ex: In the back of the refrigerator, a moldy jar of mayonnaise sat beside a plate of greenish-looking pork chops.

6. Introductory clauses are the ones that make complex sentences
Ex: If you eat a lot of candy of any kind and never floss or brush your teeth, your teeth may rot.
Because I didn’t do my homework, I failed the class.
When you go to the store, don’t forget to buy apples.

7. Your turn!
Punctuate the following sentence: Although she denies it I’m not at all surprised that Sheri ate your Jell-O.

8. Your turn! Punctuate the following sentence:
While we watched Megan lunge for the aquarium that was about to topple off the table we all held our breath.

9. Teacher Joke!!! Q: What’s the difference between a cat and a comma?
A: A cat has claws at the end of its paws, but a comma is a pause at the end of a clause

10. 5. Interrupters
It is also possible to add a word or group of words somewhere in the middle of the sentence, interrupting the flow of the sentence
Ex. Jerry and his brother, incidentally, walked to school on Monday.
Ex. Jerry and his brother, by the way, walked to school on Monday.
Ex. Jerry and his brother, the one who kind of smells, walked to school on Monday.

11. Your turn! Punctuate the following sentence:
The most important things the astronauts took to the moon not counting a ton of powdered vegetables was a shiny roll of duct tape.

12. 6. Ending Stuff Stuff can also be tacked on to the end of sentences.
Ex. I want more ice cream, Mom. I want it now, by the way.

13. Your turn!
Punctuate the following sentence: I must have that lobster in the window the one with the sumptuous tail.
NO!!!!!!

14. 7. Nonessential “EXTRA” information
These are details that don’t HAVE to be there to get the basic meaning of the sentence, but they are. It’s similar to the last three rules.
EX: My mom, the newest hairstylist at Maxine’s Salon, just earned employee of the month.
EX: My mom, who is the newest hairstylist at Maxine’s Salon, just earned employee of the month.

15. Another teacher joke!

16. 8. Lists and Lists
Commas can serve as little dividers in lists. Whenever you have a list (or a series) of items, you need to separate them so that they don’t run into one another. You can separate them with the words and or or, or you can separate them with commas.
Ex: Calvin liked sausage, sugary cereal, and prune tarts for breakfast.
Ex: Hobbes enjoys pouncing on Calvin, lounging in front of the fire, playing Calvinball, and eating tuna.

17. Your turn!
Punctuate the following sentence: Bella used her babysitting money to buy Lip Smackers bubble gum a Halloween afro wig and Oreos.

18. What’s wrong with this picture?

19. 9. Compound Sentences **what could replace the “,and”???
When you have two simple sentences joined by a conjunction, you need to put a comma BEFORE the conjunction
Ex: George ate an enchilada, and Julian gobbled up four tacos and an order of refried beans.
**what could replace the “,and”???

20. Your turn!
Punctuate the following sentence: Turkeys are not exactly known for their great brain power and nobody thinks that worms are likely to win scholarships to Harvard.

21. 10. Side by Side
When two adjectives occur side by side in a sentence, they are called coordinate adjectives and should be separated with a comma. If the word and or or separates two adjectives, then no comma is needed.
Ex. Qudsia loves playful, cuddly puppies.

22. Your turn!
Punctuate the following sentence: The lonely dejected slug sat on a soggy bun.

23. Last teacher joke! (for now)