In that case, its preceded by a comma and followed by a period.Using commas incorrectly may confuse the reader, signal ignorance of writing rules, or indicate carelessness.
Although using commas correctly may seem mysterious, it can be easy if you follow a few guidelines. ![]() The length of a sentence does not determine whether you need a comma. Where you pause or breathe in a sentence does not reliably indicate where a comma belongs. You can learn to identify many of those places using the tips in this handout. These guidelines are basically all you need to know; if you learn them once, youre set for most situations. There are basically three kinds of introductory bits: small, medium, and large ones. No matter what size they are, an introductory bit cannot stand alone as a complete thought. Often these are two- to four-word prepositional phrases or brief -ing and -ed phrases. You can often spot these by looking for key wordsgroups such as although, if, as, in order to, and when. You should always have a comma before FANBOYS that join two independent clauses (two subjects and two verbs that make up two complete thoughts). Look carefully at the next two sentences to see two independent clauses separated by comma FANBOYS. In other words, if the second grouping of words isnt a complete thought, dont use a comma. Some readers (especially professors) will think of this as a serious error. They go between two complete thoughts, just like FANBOYS, but they take different punctuation. Why Who cares You just need to recognize that they are not FANBOYS (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, soremember), and youll make the right choice. Check to see if you have a complete thought on both sides of the conjunctive adverb. If you do, then you can use a period to make two sentences, or you can use a semicolon after the first complete thought. Either way, youll use a comma after the faker in the second complete thought. When giving a short and simple list of things in a sentence, the last comma (right before the conjunctionusually and or or ) is optional, but it is never wrong. If the items in the list are longer and more complicated, you should always place a final comma before the conjunction. Sometimes called a parenthetical expression or an aside, this information interrupts the main thought to add an additional comment. Occasionally, the interrupter wont actually interrupt the main thought.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
December 2020
Categories |