Basic Rules for Using Commas

Academic degrees

Academic degrees require periods

Money

Amounts of money, except in leagal documents , are wirtten in figures. Amounts less than one dollar are written figures with the word cents following. In writing even sums of money, omit the decimal and double zeors.

introductory phrases

Use a comma after relatively lengthy introductory phrases or dependent(subordinate) clauses. ex) In order to be successful, one must learn to write well.

direct quotation

Use a comma before a direct quotation. Also, as shown in the example, commas and periods as well, go inside the quotation marks. ex) When we asked if he had studied for the test, Paul replied, "Only a little." and his grade showed it!

Conjuctions

Use a comma before the conjunction(and, for, but, or, nor,so) that joins the two independent clauses in a compound sentence ex) I like working outside, and I also enjoy reading.

Dates

Use a comma to separate a date from the year and the year form the rest of the sentence.

two independent clauses

Use a comma to separate two independent clauses that are joined by the conjunctions and, but, or, and nor. The comma is placed before the conjunction.

Prepositional phrases

Use a comma to set off a prepositional phase of four or more werds at the beginning of a sentence. Exception(Of course,)

series of three or more words

Use a comma to set off a series of three or more words, phrases, or clauses unless each word, phrase, or clause is separated by a conjunction. Be sure to put a comma before the last item in the series. ex) Jeremy, Doug, David, and Mark were chosen to play first string on the basketball team.

Name of a person you are addressing

Use a comma to set off the name of a person you are directly addressing. (Dr Evans, will you be able to attend the conference?)before and after the name if the name is not the beginning or ending of a sentence

hyphen

Use a hyphen to join the compound adjectives before a noun the modify as a unit. The word and cannot be placed between these adjectives because the sentence would not read correctly. ex: The well-known author died last month. Natalie owned a fast-growing accounting firm.

semi colon & conjunctions

Use a semi colon before a conjunction joining two indepent clauses if either clause contains one or more commas.

semi colon & transitional adverbs

Use a semicolon before a transitional adverb that joins two independent clauses. a comma follows the adverb.

apostrophe

Use an apostrophe to fror the possessive of nouns.For all singular nouns, add's. For a plural noun not ending i s, add ' s. For plural nouns ending in s add an ' after the s.

non essential items

Use commas before and after non-essential elements(parts of the sentence providing information that is not essential in order to understand its meaning). ex) Horace Mann Elementary, which is the smallest school in the district, enrolls only 160 students.

however and nevertheless

Use commas before and after words and phrases like however and nevertheless that serve as interrupters. ex) Adam did not like math. He was, however, very successful in his math class.

Percentages

Percentages are written in figures followed by the word percent. The % symbol is used in tables ad statistical data

house numbers

Spell out ht e hounse number one and use figures for all other house numbers. Spell out numbers ten and below used for names of streets; use figures for numbers above ten. used as streets names.

cooridinating adjectives

Use commas between coordinate adjectives(of equal importance) that modify the same noun. Do not separate adjectives of unequal importance. A good way to determine if the adjectives are of equal importance, is to reverse them in the sentence. If the sentence does not read well after the reversal, do not use a comma between them. ex) By the end of the game, the field was a slippery, wet mess.

Items in a series

Use commas to separate items in a series. ex) Amy ordered two hamburgers, a Coke, and a large order of fries.

Dates and places

Use commas to separate the elements of dates and places ex) The date was June 12, 1999. ex) He was born in St. Cloud, Minnesota.

Figures

Use figures for numbers that follow an identifying noun. Use words for numbers tat precede the indentifying noun unless the number is above ten. Use words for numbers that begin a sentence. If the term number precedes a figure, uns the abbreviation No

numerals

Nouns that preceed numerals are capitalized ewcept in the case of page. paragraph, line, note, size and verse, Do not capitalize nouns when the follow numerals.

Formal or legar writing Dates

the day of the monty and the year are usually written in figures. When the date appearso in the body of a letter, the year is customarily omitted if it is the same as that which appears on the dateline.It is not necessary to use st. d, or th in dates unles the day is written befor or is separated from the month. (He turned 50 on January 4, 2011

two adjectives

use a comma to separate two adjectives that are of equal rand and modify the same noun. The word and could be placed between these adjectives, and the sentence would still read correctly. ex: The intelligent, beautiful woman was her daughter.

semi colon

use semi colon between two closely related independent clauses that are not joined by a conjunction. ex: I often enjoy reading a good book; I don't watch much television.