How To Use Commas Esl
Whether or not you put a comma before and depends on how you re using and there s no single rule that applies to all situations.
How to use commas esl. We use commas to mark off a noun or phrase in apposition. My estate goes to my husband son daughter in law and nephew. A comma is a punctuation mark used to denote a pause in the sentence shorter than a colon or a semicolon. Use commas to separate words and word groups in a simple series of three or more items. When the last comma in a series comes before and or or after daughter in law in the above example it is known as the oxford comma most newspapers and magazines drop the oxford comma in a simple series apparently.
Learn useful comma rules and how to use commas in english with example sentences and esl worksheet. Also make sure you end a sentence with a period unless the sentence is a question in which case you should end it with a question mark. A comma is used to show the difference between two separate ideas or elements within a sentence. Milton the great english poet was blind. Of all the punctuation marks in english this one is perhaps the most abused and misused.
Period question mark exclamation point comma semicolon colon dash hyphen parentheses brackets braces. And it s no wonder. Find out more in this bitesize primary ks2 english guide. A lot of people have strong feelings about putting a comma before and in a list. Comma before and in lists.
Driven by rain we took shelter under a tree. Caesar having conquered his enemies returned to rome. The 14 most commonly used punctuation marks are. To use english punctuation correctly remember to always capitalize the first letter of a sentence as well as the names of specific people places and things. Commas can be used between statements to make a sentence easier to read.
As an esl teacher i have seen commas misused in dozens of ways. 15 rules for using a comma. There are lots of rules about comma usage and often the factors that determine whether you should use one are quite subtle. It s almost always optional to put a comma before and in a list. One simple trick i share with my students is that if they read a sentence out loud they will hear themselves momentarily pause where there should be a comma.