1. Commas in Sentences

2. A Series of Items In a series of three or more items, use a comma after every item except the last one. Ex. Some of Canada’s provinces are Quebec, Ontario, and British Columbia.

3. Dates, Addresses, and Letters
Commas in Dates – Use a comma between the day and the year. Use a comma after the year if the sentence continues.
Ex. He was born on June 25, 2007.
Ex. He was born on June 25, 2007, in a small town in Alaska.
Commas in Addresses – Use a comma between the city/town and the state/country. Use a comma after the state/country if the sentence continues.
Ex. Holly Anderson lives in Preston, Connecticut.
Ex. Holly Anderson, of Preston, Connecticut, put a message in a bottle.

4. Compound Sentences Use a comma before the conjunction that joins the two independent clauses of a compound sentence. Do not use a comma to separate parts of a compound predicate. Ex. The capital of Canada is Ottawa, but Montreal is Canada’s biggest city.

5. Complex Sentences
In complex sentences, use a comma when the dependent clause is comes BEFORE the independent clause. Do not use a commas when the dependent clause comes AFTER the independent clause.
Ex. When the mailman arrives, my little brother always runs outside to get the mail.
Ex. My little brother always runs outside to get the well when the mail man arrives.

6. Introductory Phrases Use a comma after an introductory word or phrase
Introductory Phrases Use a comma after an introductory word or phrase. Ex. Before the end of our trip, we took a group picture in front of Niagara Falls.

7. Interruptions Use commas to set off one or more words that interrupt the flow of thought in a sentence. Ex. Most of Canada’s population, I might point out, lives close to the U.S.

8. Appositives Use commas to set off appositives that add extra information but are not needed to make the meaning of the sentence clear. Ex. The biggest city, Montreal, is the largest French speaking city outside France.

9. Nouns of Direct Address Use commas to set off nouns of direct address
Nouns of Direct Address Use commas to set off nouns of direct address. Ex. Jill, bring me your agenda. Ex. Juan, give me a piece of your sandwich.

10. Interjections
Use a comma after interjections (a word that expresses emotion) unless an exclamation point or question mark is needed.
Ex. Yes, your homework is due today.
Ex. Huh? That doesn’t make any sense.
Ex. Yuck! This tastes awful.

11. Adjectives Without “And” Use commas between two or more adjectives of equal rank that modify the same noun. The adjectives are of equal rank if you can substitute the word and for the comma. Ex. Canada and the U.S. have a peaceful, cooperative relationship.

12. Use a comma whenever the reader might otherwise be confused. Ex
Use a comma whenever the reader might otherwise be confused. Ex. Before autumn, leaves start turning colors in the cool Canadian air.