Commas with Additional Information

Use a comma if the additional information is not part of the main statement.

Example: Thank you, ladies and gentlemen, for giving me the opportunity to speak to you today.

Note:

Depending on the importance attached to it, additional information can be enclosed in brackets, commas or dashes.

Brackets – not important

Connor (Amy's boyfriend) bought the tickets.

Commas – neutral

Connor, Amy's boyfriend, bought the tickets.

Dashes – emphasised

Connor–Amy's boyfriend–bought the tickets.

Use a comma in relative clauses before who and which if the information is not essential for the understanding of the sentence.

Example: Her brother, who lives in Chicago, came to see her.

Don’t use a comma in relative clauses if the information is essential for the understanding of the sentence.

Example: Her brother who lives in Chicago came to see her. 

Don’t use a comma if the relative clause starts with that.

Example: The book that I’m reading now is interesting.

Commas with Opposites

Use a comma with opposites, even if they are separated by and or but.

Example: It was the father, and not the son, who went to the disco every Friday.

Commas with Direct Speech

Use a comma after the introductory clause.

Example: She said, “I was in London last year.”

If the direct speech is at the beginning of the sentence, put the comma before the final quotation mark. (Don’t use a full stop here.)

Example: “I was in London last year,” she said.

Don’t use a comma after direct speech if the direct speech ends with a question mark or exclamation mark.

Example:

 “Were you in London last year?” he asked. (but: He asked, “Were you in London last year?”)

 “Great!” she replied. (but: She replied, “Great!”)

Commas with Introductory Clauses

Use a comma after introductory infintive clauses.

Example: To improve her English, she practised on ego4u every day.

Use a comma after introductory prepositional clauses.

Example: Before he went to New York, he had spent a year in Australia.

Use a comma after introductory participle clauses.

Example: Having said this, he left the room.

Note: In short introductory sentences, the comma is optional and can be dropped.

Commas between Main Clauses

Use a comma between two main clauses which are separated by and or but.

Example: We ran out of fuel, and the nearest petrol station was 5 miles away.

Use a comma to separate parts of a sentences in a sequence.

Example: She ran down the stairs, opened the door, saw her boyfriend(,) and gave him a kiss.

Don’t use a comma if these parts of the sentence are separated by and or but.

Example: She ran down the stairs and opened the door and saw her boyfriend and gave him a kiss.

Note: Don’t use a comma, but a semi colon, if two main clauses are not separated by and or but.

Commas with Conditional Sentences

Use a comma if the if clause is at the beginning of the sentence.

Example: If I go to London, I will visit the Tower.

Don’t use a comma if the if clause is at the end of the sentence.

Example: I will visit the Tower if I go to London.

Commas with Enumerations

Use a comma to separate items in an enumeration.

Example: Old McDonald had a pig, a dog, a cow, a horse.

The comma before “and” is optional. (Choose the option you like best and stick to it.)

Example:

 Old McDonald had a pig, a dog, a cow and a horse.

 Old McDonald had a pig, a dog, a cow, and a horse.

Don’t use a comma before “and” if two items are a unit (“Ham and eggs” as a dish is a unit and should therefore not be separated by a comma.)

Example:

 Old McDonald had soup, ham and eggs and apple pie for dinner.

 Old McDonald had soup, ham and eggs, and apple pie for dinner.

Don’t use a comma if all items in an enumeration are separated by “and”, “or”, “nor” etc.

Example:

 Old McDonald had a pig and a dog and a cow and a horse.

 Old McDonald had a pig or a dog or a cow or a horse.

 Old McDonald neither had a pig nor a dog nor a cow nor a horse.

Commas with Adjectives

Use a comma if the adjectives are equally important and give similar kinds of information.

Example: It was a cold, windy morning.

Don’t use a comma if the adjectives are not equally important or give different kinds of information.

Example: He was a clever young man.

Note:

To check if adjectives give similar kinds of information or not, put and between the adjectives. (It was a cold and windy morning.)

If adjectives give different kinds of information, the and between the adjectives doesn't sound right. (He was a clever and young man.)

Commas with Adverbs

Use a comma after certain adverbs: however, in fact, therefore, nevertheless, moreover, furthermore, still, instead, too (meaning 'also').

Example: Therefore, he didn't say a word.

If these adverbs appear in the middle of a sentence, they are enclosed in commas.

Example: The thief, however, was very clever.

The comma is optional for the following adverbs: then, so, yet.

Example:

 So, she entered the house.

 So she entered the house.

Commas with Affirmatives, Negatives and Question Tags

Use a comma after “yes” and “no”.

Example: Yes, I can help you.

Use a comma before question tags.

Example: You are Scottish, aren’t you?

Commas with Geographic Places

Use a comma to separate parts of geographic places. The final comma is optional.

Example: Hollywood, Ireland(,) is not as famous as Hollywood, California.

Use a comma to separate parts of an address in a sentence.

Example: His address is 46 Baker Street, London, NW2 2LK, Great Britain.

Commas with Salutations

Use a comma if the sentence starts with an address to someone.

Example: Greg, can I talk to you for a second?

Use a comma with salutations in private letters.

Example: Dear Francis,

Don’t use a comma with salutations in business letters. Use a colon in American English and no punctuation mark in British English.

Example:

 BE – Dear Mr Jefferson

 AE – Dear Mr. Jefferson:

After the greeting, the comma is optional.

Example:

 Sincerely,

 Sincerely

Commas with Numbers

Use commas to separate off the thousands and millions in compound numbers.

Example: 3,460,759

Don’t use commas in decimals.

Example: $3.49

Use a comma before the year if the date is given as follows: month, day, year.

Example: April 16, 2003

Don’t use a comma if only two elements of the date are given (e.g. month and year).

Example: I was born in May 1972.

الفواصل في اللغة الإنجليزية ____ Commas in English

القاعدة الرئيسية لاستخدام الفواصل في اللغة الإنجليزية هي: الحفاظ على جملك واضحة. عدد كبير جدا من الفواصل قد يكون تشتيت؛ قليلة جدا قد يجعل النص يصعب قراءتها وفهمها.

دائما التحقق من النصوص الخاصة بك على القراءة. وهذا يتطلب بعض الممارسة، ولكن، كما يجب عليك أولا معرفة التي هي ضرورية الفواصل والتي هي اختيارية.

الفصول التالية تحتوي على تفسيرات بشأن قواعد فاصلة الإنجليزية. في تمارين لدينا يمكنك ممارسة ما تعلمته.

قوانين فاصلة:

الفواصل مع أرقام

الفواصل مع التحية

الفواصل مع الأماكن الجغرافية

الفواصل مع " الرجاء "

الفواصل مع الإيجاب، السلبيات و السؤال الكلمات

الفواصل مع الصفات

الفواصل مع Adverbs 

الفواصل مع التعدادات

الفواصل بين فقرات الرئيسية

الفواصل مع الجمل الشرطية

الفواصل مع الكلام المباشر

الفواصل مع فقرات تمهيدية

الفواصل مع معلومات إضافية

الفواصل مع الأضداد

كما الفواصل وسائل المقروئية

ِِِِِِِِِِِِِِِِِِِِِِِِِِِِِِِِِِِِِِِِِِِِِِِِِِ

The main rule for the use of commas in English is: Keep your sentences clear. Too many commas might be distracting; too few might make the text difficult to read and understand.

Always check your texts on readability. This requires some practice, however, as first you must know which commas are necessary and which are optional.

The following chapters contain explanations on English comma rules. In our exercises you can practise what you've learned.

Comma Rules:

Commas with Numbers

Commas with Salutations

Commas with Geographic Places

Commas with “please”

Commas with Affirmatives, Negatives and Question Tags

Commas with Adjectives

Commas with Adverbs

Commas with Enumerations

Commas between Main Clauses

Commas with Conditional Sentences

Commas with Direct Speech

Commas with Introductory Clauses

Commas with Additional Information

Commas with Opposites

Commas as Means of Readability

Conditional I Progressive (Conditional I Continuous)

The conditional I progressive puts emphasis on the course of an action that might take place.

Form

• A: He would be talking.
• N: He would not be talking.
• Q: Would he be talking?

Use

• action that might take place
• puts emphasis on the course of an action

Conditional II Simple

The conditional II simple expresses an action that could have taken place in the past.

Form

• A: He would have talked.
• N: He would not have talked.
• Q: Would he have talked?

Use

• action that could have taken place in the past
• if causes type III (If I had seen that, I would have helped.)

Conditional II Progressive (Conditional II Continuous)

Conditional II Progressive puts emphasis on the duration of an action that could have taken place in the past.

Form

• A: He would have been talking.
• N: He would not have been talking.
• Q: Would he have been talking?

Use

• action that could have taken place in the past
• puts emphasis on the course / duration of an action

Future II Progressive (Future II Continuous)

Future II progressive puts emphasis on the course / duration of an action taking place before a certain time in the future. It can also be used to express an assumption regarding a future action.

Future II progressive is not used very often as it can usually be replaced by future II simple.

Form

• A: He will have been talking.
• N: He will not have been talking.
• Q: Will he have been talking?

Use

• action taking place before a certain time in the future
• puts emphasis on the course of an action

Signal Words

• for ..., the last couple of hours, all day long

Conditional I Simple

The conditional I simple expresses an action that might take place.

Form

• A: He would talk.
• N: He would not talk.
• Q: Would he talk?

Use

• action that might take place
• if clause type II (If I were you, I would go home.)

Future I Progressive (Future I Continuous)

Future I progressive puts emphasis on the course of an action taking place in the future.

Form

• A: He will be talking.
• N: He will not be talking.
• Q: Will he be talking?

Use

• action that is going on at a certain time in the future
• action that is sure to happen in the near future

Signal Words

• in one year, next week, tomorrow