Commas
Commas are used to separate words in a list and clauses in a sentence.
Here are some examples of commas in lists:
Her bag contained climbing shoes, rope, karabiners, chalk and a map.
He had walked through the mountains in Wales, Scotland, Norway, Turkey and Greece.
She loved dancing, paragliding, reading, yoga and singing.
Note that if you use a list of A describing word. to describe something, the last one does not use a comma. For example:
He was a grumpy, old, small-minded man.
It was a blue-skied, wide-open, beautiful day.
In a A sentence consisting of a main clause and one or more subordinate clauses. A main clause can be understood as a stand alone sentence. A subordinate clause will not make sense on its own. , use commas to separate the main and A clause that does not make sense on its own and that is connected to the main clause of a sentence. In the sentence “I took my dog to the vets because it was ill,” “because it was ill” is a subordinate clause..
For example:
- Jones runs the bakery, which is on Main Street.
- Sam Haskins, who broke his leg in a car accident, still managed to pass all his exams.
Sentence separation and comma splicing
A common mistake in writing is to place a comma where in fact a full stop is needed. This misuse of the comma creates what is called a 'comma splice'. Aim to avoid comma splices in your writing.
Proofread your work carefully and make sure you have put a full stop instead of a comma at the end of each sentence.
For example:
The room filled with smoke, I froze in panic.
This is an example of a comma splice. The comma in the middle should not be there because each half is a complete sentence in its own right.
So in fact the writer should have used two full sentences, each ending with a full stop. This would make for two short, lively sentences.
The room filled with smoke. I froze in panic.
Alternatively - a connective (joining word) could connect these two sentences:
The room filled with smoke and I froze in panic.
OR – as these two sentences are closely linked, a semi-colon would also work:
The room filled with smoke; I froze in panic.
Question
Identify the comma splices in the following piece of writing. As you find each comma, think about what would happen if it were replaced with a full stop. Remember that the two sentences each side of a full stop must be meaningful and complete.
I hadn’t been to Mo’s house before, he lived at the end of the street, next to the playing fields. His front door was a faded blue, the paint peeled from the windowsills. The door was unlocked, or rather, couldn’t lock because where the lock should have been there was instead a hole. A piece of string hung limply from it and when we arrived Mo smiled shyly, he wasn’t embarrassed, I don’t think, this was, after all, his home.
Without comma splices:
I hadn’t been to Mo’s house before. He lived at the end of the street, next to the playing fields. His front door was a faded blue; the paint peeled from the windowsills. The door was unlocked, or rather, couldn’t lock because where the lock should have been there was instead a hole. A piece of string hung limply from it and when we arrived Mo smiled shyly. He wasn’t embarrassed, I don’t think. This was, after all, his home.