Commas in a List
You use commas to separate these when there are three or more in a sentence.
items in a series
A complex sentence contains an independent clause and.....
dependent clause
A compound sentence is made of two independent clauses joined by this.
coordinating conjunction
A comma is needed between these two parts of a U.S. location.
city and state
Correct this: “I bought apples bananas and grapes.”
I bought apples, bananas, and grapes.
Add the comma: “When the bell rings we will start.”
When the bell rings, we will start.
Insert the comma: “I wanted pizza but we were out of cheese.”
I wanted pizza, but we were out of cheese.
Fix: “I’m traveling to Dallas Texas this weekend.”
I’m traveling to Dallas, Texas, this weekend.
Fix the sentence: “She packed shoes socks sunscreen and a towel.”
She packed shoes, socks, sunscreen, and a towel.
Identify the dependent clause: “Although it was raining, we went outside.”
Although it was raining
Give the acronym for the seven coordinating conjunctions.
FANBOYS
True or false: When a city and state appear in the middle of a sentence, TWO commas are needed.
True
Add the necessary commas: “On our trip we saw a house covered in vines a car painted bright orange and a dog wearing sunglasses.”
On our trip, we saw a house covered in vines, a car painted bright orange, and a dog wearing sunglasses.
True or false: A comma is ALWAYS required in complex sentences.
False
Identify the conjunction: “He tried his best, yet he couldn’t finish.”
yet
Correct this: “She moved from Portland Oregon to Denver Colorado.”
She moved from Portland, Oregon, to Denver, Colorado.
Identify the three items in this list that require commas:
“The dog barked loudly ran in circles and chased its tail.”
barked loudly,” “ran in circles,” and “chased its tail.
Is a comma needed?: “We stayed inside because the storm was intense.”
No comma needed.
Fix the run-on: “The sun set we kept walking.”
The sun set, and we kept walking.
The rule: After the state name, you need a comma unless this type of punctuation follows instead.
a period, question mark, or exclamation mark