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The comma

The comma was invented to help readers.  Without it, sentence parts can collide into one another unexpectedly, causing misreadings.

CONFUSING         If you cook Elmer will do the dishes

CONFUSING        While we were eating a rattlesnake approached our campsite.

Add commas in the logical places (after cook and eating), and suddenly all is clear.  No longer is Elmer being cooked, the rattlesnake being eaten.

    Various rules have evolved to prevent such misreadings and to guide readers through complex grammatical structures.  According to most experts, you should use a comma in the following situations.
 

             A comma tells readers that one independent clause has come to a close and that another is about to
           begin.

                       - Nearly everyone has heard of love at first sight but I fell in love at first dance.

                       - Correct - Nearly everyone has heard of love at first sight, but I fell in love at first dance.
 

Use a comma after an introductory clause or phrase.  A comma tells readers that the introductory word group has come to a close and that the main part of the sentence is about to begin.  The most common introductory word groups are adverb clauses, prepositional phrases, and participial phrases.

            - When air-conditioning arrived in the workplace it increased productivity significantly.
            - Correct - When air-conditioning arrived in the workplace, it increased productivity significantly.

            -Near a small stream at the bottom of the canyon we discovered an abandoned shelter.
            - Correct - Near a small stream at the bottom of the canyon, we discovered an abandoned shelter.
 

    Use a comma between all items in a series, including the last two.

        -Anne Frank and thousands like her were forced to hide in attics, cellars, and secret rooms.

Although some writers view the comma between the last two items as optional, most experts advise using it because its omission can result in ambiguity or misreading.
 

Use a comma between coordinate adjectives, those that each modify a noun separately.

            -Patients with severe, irreversible brain damage should not be put on life support systems.

Adjectives are coordinate if they can be connected with and:  severe and irreversible.
 

    A restrictive element restricts the meaning of the word it modifies and is therefore essential to the meaning of the sentence.  It is not set off with commas.  A nonrestrictive element describes a word whose meaning already is clear.  It is not essential to the meaning of the sentence and is set off with commas.

         RESTRICTIVE
            For camp the children needed clothes that were washable.

            NONRESTRICTIVE
            For camp the children needed study shoes, which were expensive.
 


            -On December 12, 1890, orders were sent out for the arrest of Sitting Bull.

            -Greg lived at 708 Spring Street, Washington, Illinois 61571.

            -Sandra Barnes, M.D., performed the surgery.
 
 

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The semicolon

The semicolon is used between independent clauses not joined by a coordinating conjunction.  It can also be used between items in a series containing internal punctuation.

    The semicolon is never used between elements of unequal grammatical rank.

            -Some educators believe that African American history should be taught in separate courses; others
             prefer to see it integrates into survey courses.

            -Many corals grow very gradually; in fact, the creation of a coral reef takes centuries.
 
 

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The colon

The colon is used after an independent clause to call attention to the words that follow it.  The colon also has certain conventional uses.

Main uses of colon.  After an independent clause, a writer may use a colon to direct the reader's attention to a list, and appositive, or a quotation.

       A LIST
        The routine includes the following: twenty knee bends, fifty leg lifts, and five minutes of running in place.

       AN APPOSITIVE
        There are only three seasons here:  winter, July, and August.

       A QUOTATION
        Consider the words of John F. Kennedy: "Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do
        for your country."

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More Punctuation Coming soon!
 
 

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The material found in "Reading and Writing Central" came from:

Hacker, Diana.  A Pocket Style Manual.  New York:  Bedford/St. Martin's.  2000.