Punctuation

English for Everybody - Beginners course

When to use commas?

1. If the information in the sentence is needed for the sentence to make sense, commas are not usually needed. However, if the sentence has some extra information as well, this part will usually be separated by commas. Read aloud the two examples below, and notice the difference.

Mr Johns, who owns a shop on the corner, was interviewed by the local newspaper.

The man who owns the grocery store was interviewed by the local newspaper.

2. Commas are used to separate items in a list.

The man next door has one dog, two cats, a tortoise and fish. (there is no comma between tortoise and fish because they are separated by the word 'and')

3. Commas are used to separate words and phrases which are'fillers', for example: however, surprisingly, believe it or not, nevertheless etc.

It was raining heavily. My sister, however, was determined to go shopping.


When you tap 'Start' you will see number of sentences. Decide if a comma is needed in the place marked with the '?'. If yes, tap the '?', otherwise, leave the question mark in place. A green comma is in the right place. A wrong comma will be red. When you finish, tap "Check".