COMMA

We will make sure you never have trouble using commas again.

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What’s a comma?

It is a punctuation mark, yes punctuation, and it is very important when you are writing something because commas help us give meaning to the words we are writing. 

Commas represent a brief pause when reading or talking and they help us to separate items in a list as well.

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Why are commas important?

Commas can be used in many situations and I can promise you, you will need to use them at some point in your life mainly in your English/Writing class.

Commas are mainly used to create a brief pause, which separates clauses, adjectives, contrasted elements and objects in a list but they can also help you out to clarify and emphasize what you are trying to communicate. 

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When not to use commas

Never use a comma at the end of a sentence. 

Commas only indicate a brief pause, not a full stop.

Never use a comma to separate two subjects if they are doing the same thing.

They like being together don't worry.

Never use a comma before the first item of a list

See it looks ugly: Felicity bought, milk, flour, eggs and some berries.

See it looks nice: Felicity bought milk, flour, eggs, and some berries. 

Never use a comma to separate items if you already chose a conjunction.

Our friend comma would not be necessary in a sentence that looks like this: She didn't like color green or blue or yellow for the birthday dress.

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There are different commas which can be used in different cases, for example

1. The Comma for Compound Sentences

i.e. Sarah played with her sister, and their dad cooked dinner

2. The comma that divides words in a list

i.e. Phil's favorite boardgames are guess what, jinga, and lizards.

3. The comma for Dependent Clauses

i.e. When I eat, I like to listen pop.

4. The comma used for Appositive sentences

i.e. Chris, the one who plays Captain America, is blonde.

5. The comma that goes after introductory words

i.e. Yes, I would like to be in your team.

6. The comma that separates the names of the person from the rest of the sentence

i.e. Zoe, is that your bag?

7. The comma used for cities and states

i.e. My best friend lives in London, England. 

8. The comma used for dates

i.e. That milk expired on December 19, 2014.