Commas By: A.D. Nicholas Bundt Commas are difficult. They are difficult to place and to use properly, but if placed properly, they add much to a sentence. However, placing them improperly can cause some problems. Listed are some general rules for commas.     • 1. The beginning tag. The beginning tag is written at the beginning of a sentence. This segment is irrelevent to the actual structure of the sentence, but adds more detail and information to the sentence. A comma is used to finish the beginning tag and to signal the start of the actual sentence. Ex. (Actual sentence) Billy went to the market. (Added beginning tag) Before lunch, Bill went to the market. The before lunch segment is quite unneccesary, but the segment adds more information to the sentence.     • 2. The insertion. The insertion is a statement that is placed in a sentence to add useful information, but that information is pointless to the actual sentence structure. Ex. (Actual sentence) Andrew said that he was not going to come. (Added insertion statement) Andrew said, though shyly, that he was not going to come. The way that Andrew said what he said is unnessary, but adds detail to the sentence.     • 3. The ending tag. The ending tag is the beginning tag at the end. The tag contains useless information, but adds detail to the sentence. Ex. (Actual sentence) Billy said he was going home. (Added ending tag) Billy said he was going home, not saying why. The ending tag was added to detail his statement more.     • 4. The list. The list is the listing of ideas, items, names, etc. A comma is used after each item in the list, and can be placed optionally for the last item. Ex. My mother wanted me to get apples, oranges, pears, and bananas. Or My mother wanted me to get apples, oranges, pears and bananas. Personally, I place the comma before the last item so the last two items do not look paired. <Back> Report a broken link / image to the webmaster. Last Updated: June 2, 2006

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