Punctuation
Commas, Semicolons, Colons
Use commas to separate items
in a series.
• EXAMPLE The main characters are Huck, Tom,
and Jim.
• If all the items in a series are linked by and, or,
or nor, do not use commas to separate them.
EXAMPLE Saul Bellow and Isaac Bashevis Singer
and Toni Morrison won Nobel Prizes.
Use to separate two or more
adjectives preceding a noun.
EXAMPLE
Lincoln was a noble, compassionate, wise
leader.
• Use when the adjectives could be
reversed or the comma could be replaced
with ―and‖.
• NOT in ―the endangered white bear‖
Use a comma after certain
introductory elements.
(1) Use a comma after a one-word adverb such as first, yes, or no and
after any mild exclamation such as well or why at the beginning of a
sentence.
EXAMPLE Yes, Hemingway is my favorite author.
(2) Use a comma after an introductory participial phrase or introductory
adverb clause.
EXAMPLES
Standing on the quarter-deck, Captain Ahab spoke to his crew.
[participial phrase]
After he had driven around the lake several times, he decided to go
to the drive-in restaurant. [adverb clause]
(3) Use a comma after two or more introductory prepositional phrases.
EXAMPLE At the end of the story, Walter Mitty imagines that he is
facing a firing squad.
PHRASE
• A PHRASE IS A GROUP OF WORDS
THAT DOES NOT CONTAIN A SUBJECT
AND A VERB. A phrase by itself is a
fragment.
• In the tree
• Led by experience
• To see the Washington Monument
• Seeing the movie Paycheck
A CLAUSE IS A GROUP OF
WORDS THAT HAS A SUBJECT
AND A VERB.
– An INDEPENDENT – A DEPENDENT
CLAUSE expresses a CLAUSE, also known
complete thought and as a SUBORDINATE
can stand alone in a CLAUSE, DOES NOT
sentence. express a complete
– Going to the mall was thought and cannot
the best thing we did stand alone in a
on Saturday. sentence.
– She always likes to – When we went to the
sleep on road trips. mall
– Because we like to
travel a lot
Use commas to set off
nonessential clauses and
nonessential participial phrases.
A nonessential clause or phrase is one that can be left out without changing
the meaning of the sentence.
NONESSENTIAL CLAUSE
Eudora Welty, who was born in Mississippi, uses her home state in many of
her stories.
NONESSENTIAL PHRASE
Lee, noticing my confusion, rephrased her question.
An essential clause or phrase is one that CANNOT be left out without
changing the meaning of the sentence. Essential clauses and phrases are
not set off by commas.
ESSENTIALCLAUSE
Material that is quoted verbatim should be placed in quotation marks.
ESSENTIAL PHRASE
The only word spoken by the raven is nevermore.
Use commas to set off elements
that interrupt a sentence.
(1) Appositives and appositive phrases are usually set off by commas.
EXAMPLE My favorite book by Claude McKay, Banjo, was first published in 1929.
Sometimes an appositive is so closely related to the word or words it refers to
that it should not be set off by commas.
EXAMPLE The poet Maya Angelou read one of her poems on Election Day.
(2) Words used in direct address are set off by commas.
EXAMPLE Your essay, Theo, was well organized.
(3) Parenthetical expressions are set off by commas.
Parenthetical expressions are remarks that add incidental information or that
relate ideas to each other.
EXAMPLE
Simón Bolívar liberated much of South America from Spanish rule; he went on,
moreover, to become the most powerful person on the continent.
Use a comma with a
coordinating conjunction to join
independent clauses.
Use a comma before and, but, or, nor,
for, so, and yet
EXAMPLE I read an excerpt from Amy Tan’s
The Joy Luck Club, and now I want to read
the entire book.
You may omit the comma before and, but, or, or nor if the
clauses are very short and there is no chance of
misunderstanding.
EXAMPLE Luke eats and then he sleeps.
Use a comma in certain
conventional situations.
(1) Use a comma to separate items in dates and
addresses.
EXAMPLES On Friday, October 23, 1994, my niece Leslie
was born. Please address all further inquiries to 92
Keystone Crossings, Indianapolis, IN 46240.
(2) Use a comma after the salutation of a friendly letter and
after the closing of any letter.
EXAMPLES Dear Rosa, Sincerely yours,
(3) Use a comma to set off an abbreviation such as Jr., Sr.,
RN, M.D., Ltd., or Inc.
EXAMPLE Is Juan Fuentes, Jr., your cousin?
SEMICOLONS
Use a semicolon between independent clauses that are closely
related in thought and are not joined by and, but, for, nor, or,
so, or yet.
EXAMPLE ―Tart words make no friends; a spoonful of honey will catch
more flies than a gallon of vinegar.‖
—Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richard’s Almanack
Use a semicolon between independent clauses joined by a
conjunctive adverb or a transitional expression.
A conjunctive adverb (such as consequently, however, or therefore)
or a transitional expression (such as as a result, for example, or in
other words) indicates the relationship of the independent clauses
that it joins. Notice in the following example that a comma is placed
after the conjunctive adverb.
EXAMPLE Dexter knew that Judy was selfish and insensitive;
nevertheless, he continued to adore her.
Semicolons, continued
Use a semicolon (rather than a comma) before a coordinating
conjunction to join independent clauses that contain commas.
EXAMPLE During the nineteenth century—the era of such distinguished
poets as Longfellow, Whittier, and Holmes—most poetry was written in
traditional metrical patterns; but one poet, Walt Whitman, rejected the
conventional verse forms.
Use a semicolon between items in a series if the items contain
commas.
EXAMPLE The summer reading list includes Behind the Trail of Broken
Treaties, by Vine Deloria, Jr.; House Made of Dawn, by N. Scott
Momaday; and Blue Highways: A Journey into America, by William
Least Heat-Moon.
COLONS
Use a colon to mean “note what follows.”
(1) Use a colon before a list of items, especially after expressions such as as follows and the following.
EXAMPLE
The magazine article profiles the following famous American authors of the nineteenth century: Edgar
Allan Poe, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Herman Melville.
NOTE Do not use a colon before a list that directly follows a verb or a preposition.
EXAMPLE The anthology includes ―The Raven,‖ ―Richard Cory,‖ and ―Thanatopsis.‖
(2) Use a colon before a quotation that lacks a speaker tag such as he said or she remarked.
EXAMPLE
Dad’s orders were loud and clear: ―Everybody up and at ’em.‖
(3) Use a colon before a long, formal statement or quotation.
EXAMPLE
Patrick Henry concluded his fiery speech before the Virginia House of Burgesses with these words: ―Is
life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it,
Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty, or give me
death!‖
Use a colon in certain
conventional situations.
EXAMPLES
5:20 P.M. [between the hour and the minute]
Deuteronomy 5:6–21 [between chapter and
verse in referring to passages from the
Bible]
Dear Sir or Madam: [after the salutation of a
business letter]
―Cold Kills: Hypothermia‖ [between a title
and a subtitle]