Commas are important!

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Commas are important!

• A panda walks into a bar. He orders a sandwich,
  eats it, then draws a gun and fires two shots in
  the air.
• "Why? Why are you behaving in this strange,
  un-panda-like fashion?" asks the confused waiter,
  as the panda walks towards the exit. The panda
  produces a badly punctuated wildlife manual and
  tosses it over his shoulder.
• "I'm a panda," he says, at the door. "Look it
  up."
• The waiter turns to the relevant entry and, sure
  enough, finds an explanation.
• "Panda. Large black-and-white bear-like mammal,
  native to China. Eats, shoots and leaves."

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They can cause confusion

• Eat here and get gas!
• Eat here, and get gas!
• Slow children playing
• Slow, children playing

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Commas

• When to Use Them!

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Basic Jargon

• Independent Clause Can stand by itself. Has a
  subject and a verb.
• Ask yourself If I left out the other stuff, does
  the sentence still make sense?
• Dependent/Subordinate Clause Has a subject and a
  verb, but it cant stand on its own
• Phrases Like a dependent clause, but it does not
  have both a subject and verb.

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Examples Identify Ind. And Dep. Clauses

• While Alex was sleeping, the teacher was talking.
  
• Christine went shopping because she needed new
  clothes.
• Although I do not like ketchup, I like tomatoes.

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A Little More Jargon

• Compound Sentence Made up of two independent
  clauses.
• Ex Grace likes photography and Monica likes
  photography.
• Complex Sentence One independent clause, one
  dependent clause
• Ex When it started raining, Arthur came in from
  recess.

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Rule 1

• Use a comma after a dependent clause or word
• Ex However, I dont like it
• Ex While Alex was sleeping, the teacher was
  talking
• However, dont put a comma after the independent
  clause when a dependent clause follows
• Ex She was late for class because her alarm
  broke.

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Rule 2

• Use a comma after a phrase
• Ex To win the girl, Alex sent her roses.
• Ex Having finished the test early, Claire left
  the room.

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Rule 3

• Use a pair of commas in the middle of a sentence
  to set off clauses, phrases, and words that are
  dependent
• Ask the question If you left out the clause,
  phrase, or word does this sentence make sense?
• This Tuesday, which happens to be my birthday, is
  the day I have a test
• The food, on the other hand, is rather bland.

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Adjective Commas

• Coordinate adjectives Equal status in describing
  noun
• Non-coordinate adjectives Unequal status in
  describing the noun
• Ask does the sentence make sense if the
  adjectives are written in reverse order?
• Ex Annie was a difficult, stubborn child.
  (coordinate needs comma)
• Ex Shahriar wore a pink wool sweater
  (non-coordinate)