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Commas are
frequently used to make a writer's meaning clearer to a reader.
This is especially true when the writer adds extra words or phrases to a
sentence to introduce the sentence, to comment on the sentence, or to
add extra information about a noun. These interrupters must be set
apart from the rest of the sentence with commas
to make the meaning of the sentence clear to the reader.
One way to test whether a word or phrase is an
interrupter is to read the sentence without it. If you still have
a complete idea, the word or phrase is an interrupter and
commas will be needed to separate it
from the rest of the sentence.
There are several kinds of interrupters. Three of
them are described here: interrupters, introductory words and
phrases, and appositives.
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Interrupters,
words or phrases that interrupt the main thought of the sentence,
must be set apart from it with commas |
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Sometimes writers add comments about the ideas in the
sentence that are not really a part of the main idea. These
comments are words and phrases such as:
of course, for example, in
fact, as a matter of fact.
| Some subjects in school are harder for me than
others, for example,
I don't do very well in math. |
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| English,
in
fact, is my best subject
because I love to read and write. |
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| Suzanne,
of
course, is late again! |
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| Yesterday,
as
a matter of fact, Suzanne
was twenty minutes late for our meeting! |
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Click on the Chalk board to practice commas with
interrupters!
Words or phrases that are moved to the front before the main part of
the sentence are called introductory words.
They are called this because their whole purpose in this position is to introduce the
main sentence.
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Use commas to separate introductory words or
phrases from the rest of the sentence.
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- Introductory words or phrases
have been taken out of their normal position at the end of the sentence
and moved to the beginning to introduce it instead.
- Because these
words and phrases are out of order, they need a comma
to separate
them from the rest of the sentence to make the meaning clear.
- When you read the sentence aloud
you typically hear a pause between these words or phrases and the rest of
the sentence.
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Yes, you can
come to the mall with us on Friday after school. |
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No, I didn't get
my social studies homework done last night. |
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Nervously, I
played my piece at the piano recital. |
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After the storm,
a rainbow appeared in the sky. |
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During the night,
it snowed so hard that school was closed the next day. |
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Because I worked so hard at practice,
the coach chose me to start in
the first game. |
Click on the Chalk board to practice commas with
introductory words and
phrases!
An appositive is a word or
a group of words used directly after a noun to explain it or to rename
it.
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Use commas to set off
appositives from the rest of the sentence. |
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An appositive
adds extra
information about the noun it follows, and if it is removed, the
sentence that remains is still a complete thought. Since it is
an extra piece of information, it must be set off with
commas.
| The Empire State building,
one of New York's best known landmarks,
was once the tallest building in the world. |
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| Uncle Rick,
my
mother's younger brother, is a
basketball coach. |
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| Albany,
the
capital of New York State, is in the
eastern part of the state. |
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Click on the Chalk board to practice commas with
appositives!
There are many other
important and useful comma rules that you
should know to improve your communication when you write. Follow
the links below to the lessons that introduce them:
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