

- All words in dictionary separated by commasw serial#
- All words in dictionary separated by commasw professional#
- All words in dictionary separated by commasw series#
Eleanor, his wife of thirty years, suddenly decided to open her own business.
All words in dictionary separated by commasw professional#

Use a comma to set off parenthetical elements, as in "The Founders Bridge, which spans the Connecticut River, is falling down." By "parenthetical element," we mean a part of a sentence that can be removed without changing the essential meaning of that sentence. If you would like some additional guidelines on using a comma after introductory elements, click HERE. If there is ever any doubt, use the comma, as it is always correct. It is permissible to omit the comma after a brief introductory element if the omission does not result in confusion or hesitancy in reading. Use a comma to set off introductory elements, as in " Running toward third base, he suddenly realized how stupid he looked." See the note BELOW regarding the use of a comma between two independent clauses when the second independent clause begins with a parenthetical element or adverbial clause. When speaking, we do sometimes pause after the little conjunction, but there is seldom a good reason to put a comma there.įor additional information on coordinating conjunctions, click HERE. We cannot say that the comma will always come before the conjunction and never after, but it would be a rare event, indeed, that we need to follow a coordinating conjunction with a comma. One of the most frequent errors in comma usage is the placement of a comma after a coordinating conjunction. If there is ever any doubt, however, use the comma, as it is always correct in this situation.

Use a comma + a little conjunction (and, but, for, nor, yet, or, so) to connect two independent clauses, as in "He hit the ball well, but he ran toward third base."Ĭontending that the coordinating conjunction is adequate separation, some writers will leave out the comma in a sentence with short, balanced independent clauses (such as we see in the example just given).
All words in dictionary separated by commasw serial#
In newspaper writing, incidentally, you will seldom find a serial comma, but that is not necessarily a sign that it should be omitted in academic prose. This last commathe one between the word "and" and the preceding wordis often called the serial comma or the Oxford comma. Using a comma between all the items in a series, including the last two, avoids this problem. However, there are situations in which, if you don't use this comma (especially when the list is complex or lengthy), these last two items in the list will try to glom together (like macaroni and cheese).

"He hit the ball, dropped the bat, and ran to first base." You may have learned that the comma before the "and" is unnecessary, which is fine if you're in control of things.
All words in dictionary separated by commasw series#
Use a comma to separate the elements in a series (three or more things), including the last two. If your computer is equipped with PowerPoint, click on the PowerPoint icon to the right for a brief PowerPoint presentation on comma usage.
