Punctuation Basics: The Comma

The Comma

1. Place a comma after a full date (Month, Day, Year) or a location (City, State).

Examples:

• On October 31, 2012, many little kids all over the United States will go trick-or-treating.
• Last night in San Fransisco, California*, thousands of baseball fans took to the streets to celebrate the Giants' World Series victory!
• *This rule only applies if it is in the format of "City, State" or "City, Country" or "State, Country."

 2. Commas & Clauses

• Dependent Clause, Independent Clause
• Examples:
• At my birthday party on Wednesday, I ate a really yummy chocolate cake.
• If Clark and Lois dress up for Halloween, I hope they think of using a Superman theme for their costumes.
• When Bennett got down on one knee to ask for her hand in marriage, Meredith was shocked.
• If you fix the plumbing, we will agree to the rental agreement.

• Independent Clause, [conjunction] Independent Clause
• Molly is the singer in the band, and Desmond wants to marry Molly.
• The taxi never came, so we took the subway.
• Wait for me at the library, or walk and meet me at the science building.
• I love opera music, but he loves rap music. I'm not sure how far this relationship will go.
• *Exception to this rule: When two or more verbs share the same subject, they do not need a comma. We distinguish these from two independent clauses and call them compound predicates.
• Examples:
• She washed the dishes in the sink and vacuumed the rugs in the den.
• He read the morning news and drank his coffee.
• **Independent clauses must include a conjunction. If a comma is included without a conjunction, we call that a comma splice. 


• Independent Clause [no comma] Dependent Clause (*If a sentence begins with an independent clause, you do not need to include a dependent clause.)
• Examples:
• We will agree to the rental agreement if you fix the plumbing.
• Meredith was shocked when Bennett got down on one knee to ask for her hand in marriage.
• However . . . if the dependent clause is just an aside or after thought, you do need to include a comma.
• At last he arrived, when the ice cream had melted.
• I'd like to sit at the front of the roller coaster, if you don't mind.

Instructions for Class - 10/4/12

In case you missed the announcement on Tuesday, Dr. Knutson will be wandering hither and yon today, so class will be held online rather than in our regular classroom. You will receive credit for class attendance by submitting comments while watching the live broadcast. Read the following instructions carefully so you'll be able to participate: 

Viewing the Broadcast

Dr. Knutson will be broadcasting class using Google+ Hangouts On Air. In order to view the broadcast, you will need to go to Dr. K's Google+ page. The broadcast will begin at 1:35 and will be in the form of a live YouTube video in Dr. K's stream. Please be on time to view the broadcast—don't wait until 1:35 to open up your laptop. 

Submitting Comments

We'll be using Twitter and Twubs to track class discussion. Twubs is a great tool that collects tweets with a common hashtag in one place and allows you to follow the conversation that will be happening among your classmates. If you have a Twitter account, use the hashtag #cs404 to submit your comments. If, for whatever reason, you don't want to have a Twitter account, you have two options: (1) Set up a Twubs.com account and post your comments directly on the #cs404 Twub page, or (2) Email your comments to the TAs and we will post them for you on the page as soon as we receive them. Whatever method you choose, please be watching the Twubs page during the broadcast so you can actively observe and participate in the conversation.