College Composition / Unit 7 CMP 0151 short lesson, about 20 seconds
What Commas Do
Captions available
The idea
Commas mark brief pauses within a sentence and show readers which words belong together.
In practice
Most comma rules fall into a few patterns: before a conjunction joining clauses, after an introductory element, around nonessential information, and between items in a series.
Where people slip
Do not place commas by breath alone; many errors come from commas added wherever a speaker would pause.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
Builds on
Unlocks
- 0152Commas With Coordinating Conjunctions
- 0153Commas After Introductory Elements
- 0154Commas in a Series
- 0155Coordinate Adjectives
- 0156Nonessential Information
- 0161Contrasts and Shifts at the End
- 0162Commas With Quotations
- 0163Numbers, Dates, Titles and Addresses
- 0164No Comma Between Subject and Verb
- 0166Other Unnecessary Commas
- 0185Quotation Marks
- 0192Question Marks and Exclamation Points
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