Improve your Writing (Comma Rules Part 1)

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Mastering the comma is unlikely and unnecessary. Not every grammar guides have the exact same rules and for some a comma use is a matter of preference. They had a quick practice in the work we had which I think will be a great thing to share with you.

“FANBOYS” Conjunctions (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so)

When joining two independent sentences with a FANBOYS conjunction, a comma in placed before the conjunction. Remember to always ask yourself if the sentence that comes after that conjunction could stand alone. Place a comma before the conjunction if this is so.

Quick Practice
Cover the answers and practice this rule with the following sentences. Not all the sentences are incorrect.

1 Commas can be hard to learn but the “fanboys” rule is easy to understand.
2 My dog Skip has made a new friend down the street and around the corner.
3 You can go to the store with me or you can clean up your room.
4 I was allergic to milk when I was young but now I drink it all the time.
5 Do you want to go to the movie first and then dinner?

Answers
1 Commas can be hard to learn, but the “fanboys” rule is easy to understand.
2 My dog Skip has made a new friend down the street and around the corner.
3 You can go to the store with me, or you can clean up your room.
4 I was allergic to milk when I was young, but now I drink it all the time.
5 Do you want to go to the movie first and then dinner?

Dependent Clauses

Use a comma to separate a dependent clause from the rest of the sentence, if a sentence begins with a dependent clause. A sentence will need a comma if it begins with any of the words below. Some of the most common dependent clause words:
If...When...As...Although...Whenever...Before...After...Since...Unless... Until...Whatever...While...

Quick Practice
Cover the answers and practice this rule with the following sentences. Not all the sentences are incorrect.

1 If the school board approves our proposal the high school will build a new gym.
2 Before going to the big game next week I need to go buy new shoes.
3 I will see you after your vacation to Thailand.
4 Unless the price of gasoline goes down we can’t go to Disneyland next year.
5 I want to take pictures of bears as we drive through Yellowstone Park.

Answers
1 If the school board approves our proposal, the high school will build a new gym.
2 Before going to the big game next week, I need to buy new shoes.
3 I will see you after your vacation to Thailand.
4 Unless the price of gasoline goes down, we can’t go to Disneyland next year.
5 I want to take pictures of bears as we drive through Yellowstone Park.

Follow-up elements

We can place a comma just before the end of a sentence that serves as an afterthought. This generally leads to a short follow-up questions at the very end of the sentence.

Examples:
It is the first house on the left, I believe.
I love getting gifts for Valentine’s Day, especially jewelry.
The house was quiet, almost too quiet.
This is just the one we need, right?

Items in a Series

You should always use a comma to separate 3 or more items in a sentence. This could also be phrases that you separate. Many people commonly put the comma before the first item or phrase. This is incorrect always start putting commas after the first item or phrase.

Incorrect: I am looking for a partner who is, trustworthy, caring, and funny.
Correct: I am looking for a partner who is trustworthy, caring, and funny.

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Just on a little side note for self improvement. I will be doing 1 push-up for every 1$ earned on my posts and will give a short feedback every day at the end of each post. As promised I will be doing 126 pushups, today, for yesterdays post. Any not done will carry onto the next day. 30 is carried over. I am in so much pain as I am very stiff, I doubt I will be able to do pushups today