How to Use A Comma Correctly

Contrary to what people believe, the comma is our friend. It's handy for clarifying elements in a sentence. Sometimes the rules of commas seem uncertain. See the steps below to be sure when and how to use a comma correctly.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

1. Put a comma after an introductory phrase.
   
   Example: When Bob went walking through the woods that night, he didn't realize someone was watching him.
   
   Example: Sometimes, Bob thought walking in the woods at night was crazy.

2. Put a comma at the beginning and end of parenthetical phrases (phrases that can be eliminated from the sentence and not change the main point.)
   
   Example: When Bob went walking through the woods, which is something he had always wanted to do, he didn't realize that someone was watching him.
   
   Example: When Bob, who was having second thoughts, went walking through the woods that night, he didn't realize someone was watching him.

3. Use a comma to separate items in a series.
   
   Example: When Bob walked through the wood that night, he didn't realize someone was watching him, maybe even stalking him, and scaring the living bejesus out of him.

4. Use a comma between two parts of a sentence that could each stand alone if need be. When following this rule look for conjunctions such as and, but, therefore, however, etc..
   
   Example: When Bob walked through the woods that night, he didn't realize someone was watching him, and he didn't like the idea of it.
   
   Example: When Bob walked through the woods, he was scared, but he didn't run.

5. Use a comma to attach information to the end of your sentence.
   
   Example: When Bob walked through the woods that night, he didn't realize someone would be watching him, too.
   
   Example: Bob should stop walking through the woods, for real.

6. Use a comma to separate items in a list.
   
   Example: When Bob walked through the wood that night, he brought a lantern, a knife, a lighter, a walkman, some extra food, and a basketball.

7. Use a comma to separate quoted entries.
   
   Example: When Bob walked through the woods that night, he said aloud, "Jeez, I'm really getting tired of walking through these woods all night."

8. Use a comma for clarification. Using the steps above should take care of this, but, if it seems as if you're sentence isn't right, it's probably a comma problem.
   
   Example: Outside, Bob paused before he walked through the woods.
   
   This sentence, without the comma, would not be clear.
   
   Example: Outside Bob paused before he walked through the woods.

9. Thanks, Bob. Sorry if I scared you.

Tips & Warnings

• Commas usually come in the place in sentence where, if spoken aloud, the reader would pause for breath.
• Beware of over using commas. Overuse is a lot worse than under use. When in doubt, consult the steps.