|
|||
| Online Tutoring | Onsite Tutoring | Hours | Workshops | Employment | CAPS Home | UNM Home | Email CAPS | |||
1. Use commas to separate three or more words or phrases in a series.
Examples:
The colors of the flag are red, white, and blue.
I scraped, sanded, and varnished the old chair.
They had money, peace of mind, and even good grammar.
2. Use commas to indicate that a person is being addressed by name.
Examples:
Fred, did you take the pizza?
Did you take the pizza, Fred?
3. Use commas after phrases, clauses, or small words that introduce the main
idea
of your sentence.
Included in this group are transition words and phrases such as "however,"
"nevertheless," "on the other hand," etc.
Examples:
No, Fred did not take the pizza.
Because Kathy went to the Writing Lab often, she learned to
correct all of her grammatical errors.
After the movie, we all went home.
Consequently, Kathy was glad that she went to the Writing
Lab.
4. Use commas to set off words, phrases or clauses that comment on or give
additional information about the main part of the sentence, or otherwise interrupt
the natural flow of the sentence.
Interrupters are also called appositives or non-restrictive
elements.
Examples:
Chicago, the windy city, is my home town.
Joe, after visiting the Smiths, became a vegetarian.
Priscilla, in the meantime, went skiing.
Everyone did not, as a result, go windsurfing.
5. Use commas before coordinating conjunctions such as "and," "or,", "but" that
join two complete sentences, or when the comma is needed for clarity, emphasis, or
contrast.
Examples:
Chicago may be windy, but it's home.
Joe went to the Writing Lab several times, and he's writing
better essays as a result.
6. Use a comma before non-essential, modifying elements that follow the words
and
main clause and provide information that supplements or comments clauses on the
basic
meaning of the main clause.
Examples:
I live in New Mexico, the "land of enchantment."
Many college students struggle to pay tuition costs, which
are steadily increasing.
7. Use a comma between coordinate adjectives not joined by "and."
Coordinate adjectives each modify the noun independently.
Example:
The hiker traveled along the steep, narrow trail.
In the above sentence, both "steep" and "narrow" modify "trail." Thus they are
coordinate adjectives. Do not use a comma between adjectives that are not
coordinate -- that do not both modify the same noun.
Example:
The team members all wore lime green jackets.
In the above sentence, "lime" modifies "green," not "jackets."
8. Use a comma when noting dates and addresses.
Example:
It was on April 16, 1963 that Martin Luther King wrote his
famous letter.
Veggie-matics can be ordered from Cheapstuff Inc., 10000
First Avenue N.E., New York, New York 10070.
Center for Academic Program Support
Third Floor, Zimmerman Library, The University of New Mexico
MSC05 3020 1 University of New Mexico
Albuquerque, NM 87131-1466
Telephone: (505) 277-7205
Site Best Viewed with Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.x, 5.x, 6.x;
Opera 5.x, 6.x, 7.x;
Netscape Navigator 6.x, 7.x