are you ever writing a sentence and
realize that you aren't sure why you
have to write it a specific way
maybe you're proofreading your paper and
come across a punctuation mark and
you're not sure if or why that's what
goes there hello everyone and welcome to
this mometrix video lesson on commas a
comma is a punctuation mark used to
separate words ideas and phrases a
punctuation mark is a symbol or sign
used to direct the readers understanding
of a sentence for example we use periods
to mark the end of a sentence
exclamation points to show excitement
and question marks to show that the
sentence should be read as a question
commas function as a sort of pause
between parts of a sentence rather than
as an end or as a question commas are
usually placed in the sentence where you
would most naturally take a breath if
you were reading the sentence aloud we
also use commas to add emphasis to our
writing to make the reader pause and
think about what is being read and to
allow for more information to be said in
the clearest way possible today we'll
look at how and why you should use
commas in writing in speech we use comma
when giving a direct address to someone
a direct address is simply when you are
directing your sentence to a specific
person for this reason a comma must come
either immediately before or after the
address is made placement of the comma
will just depend on when the address is
made in the sentence let's look at a
couple of examples mom are you picking
me up from school in this example you
would place your comma after the word
mom to add clarity to the sentence and
to specify that it is mom you're
speaking to if we change the structure
of the sentence it might look something
like this are you picking me up from
school mom and this one the comma comes
directly before mom by placing the comma
before mom you are showing that the
question is directed towards mom rather
than
someone else here's a third way you
could use commas for a direct address in
your sentence hey mom
are you picking there from school in
each of these examples a comma is used
to show that the question is directed to
the mom if you didn't use your comma it
would be confusing as to whom your
sentence was directed this is an example
of using the commas for clarity in your
writing you should also use a comma when
writing dates and locations I'm writing
the month day and year in the middle of
a sentence you would use commas to
separate each piece of information for
example today a Friday September 14 2018
is the day mom will pick me up from
school you need to use a comma when
writing your date because without one
your sentence becomes too congested with
numbers and words and it becomes more
difficult to read using commas when
writing the day also allows for
interpreting information to be
seamlessly included in the middle of a
sentence without disrupting its flow as
I'm sure you're learning the English
language has many exceptions to its
rules such as this one if you're writing
the date with just the month and the
year do not use a comma to separate the
month and year additionally you will not
use a comma after the year my birthday
will happen during September 2018 in
this example it would disrupt the flow
of the sentence to include a comma and
force a pause where one is not necessary
when writing locations a comma should be
used to separate cities from States into
separate cities from countries a comma
is used at this time to show that the
city is part of something larger a state
or a country
additionally commas are used to separate
counties and States as well as countries
and continents let's look at some
examples mary is from Houston Texas in
this example we use a comma to separate
a city from a state she has been to
Paris France but she has not been to
Paris Texas United States of America in
this example we use a comma to separate
a city from a country and to separate a
city state and country
she lives in Harris County Texas here a
comma is used to separate a county in a
state Mary has a friend from Ghana
Africa
lastly we use a comma to separate a
country from a continent another time
you'll want to use a comma is when
you're writing and using a listing
method to describe certain objects or
situations when this happens you'll want
to use commas to separate items in your
list by separating items in a list with
a comma your sentence or sentences can
be read clearly and you won't become
tongue-tied when reading here's an
example while at the grocery store manba
apples bananas beans bread water and ice
cream in this example commas are
non-existent when you begin to write
your sentence and you want to include a
list be sure to go in and add your
commas let's see what that looks like
while at the grocery store mom bah
apples bananas beans bread water and ice
cream wow that looks so much better
don't you think
by using commas near lists each item is
perfectly distinguished from the next
each time you write a list of three or
more things you'll want to include your
commas so as to maintain the flow of the
sentence you'll want to use a comma when
adding a conjunction and if or but yet
etc to combine two independent
Claes an independent clause is a
sentence that can stand alone I mean the
sentence contains at least one subject
and verb in agreement in the case that
you are wanting to combine two complete
sentences use a comma and a conjunction
to get the job done here are some
example sentences mom went to the
grocery store she bought apples and
bananas here are two independent clauses
both containing subjects and verbs
combining these sentences with a comma
and conjunction relieves you of having
to keep writing short little descriptive
sentences by combining the two you're
adding a variety to your writing protip
writing with a variety of sentence
styles is a great way to keep your
reader interested and keep your work
interesting let's try rewriting those
sentences with a comma in a conjunction
instead mom went to the grocery store
and she bought apples and bananas that
looks so much better we were able to
combine two independent clauses both
having subjects and verbs just by adding
a comma in a conjunction
now our sentences will read smoothly
rather than being choppy like the or
before lastly a comma should be used
between two adjectives of the same
weight describing the same now this just
means that if you're using two
adjectives that roughly convey similar
meanings belong to the same category of
description and can be swapped in the
sentence without changing the meaning
you should use a comma let's work
through some examples together mom only
buys ripe grown fruit at the grocery
store in this example ripe and grown are
similar things about the fruit that mom
buys one way to test whether or not the
adjectives need a comma is to place the
word and between them and switch their
placements mom only buys ripe and grown
fruit at the grocery store mom only buys
grown and ripe fruit at the grocery
store the meaning of the sentence does
not change no matter which way you write
it for this reason that you should place
a comma between ripe and grown
if the adjectives do not describe the
noun in the same weight then a comma is
not necessary mom picked up a bag of
large old bread by accident here you
would not need a comma between large and
old these two adjectives describe
different qualities of the bread that
was bought size and age because they are
different descriptors a comma would not
be used remember we use commas to add a
pause to our sentences in order to make
them clearer for the reader when we have
a lot of information to include in our
writing it's important to make it as
easy as possible to keep up with these
are just a few instances in which you
should be using a comma and with enough
practice you'll get the hang of them if
you think your understanding comments
and want to learn more about the do's
and don'ts of using them be sure to
check our other video 10 best comma
rules and if you enjoyed this video give
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Channel see you guys next time
you
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