English for Everybody - Beginners course

Punctuation

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.

Look at the sentences below and decide if a comma is needed in the place marked with the '?'. If yes, click on 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, click "Check".

I like apples? oranges? plums? and bananas but not mangoes.
This is ? Mrs Brown? who writes novels.
He had? surprisingly? a very good knowledge of computers.
This is a man? who won a Nobel prize? last year.
My cat? which is 7 years old? is black.
My flat has two bedrooms? a living room? two bathrooms? and a balcony.
It was already dark. My father? however? was determined to continue.
The rain? they had expected? never came.

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