How To Use Commas

Use a comma after phrases of more than three words that begin a sentence.

• Correct Example: To get a gold medal, you must dedicate yourself to a training routine.

Use a comma after the date and year if they are used together. If its only the month and year, no comma is needed.

• Correct Example: I was born on January 1, 1973, the same day the new year begins.

No comma is needed to separate nouns or noun clauses in a compound subject.

• Incorrect Example (no comma needed): The music teacher from your high school, and the football coach from mine are married.

The Pause: Just because you are pausing in your thoughts while typing doesn’t mean that the reader is pausing in their reading!

Combining Sentences: Do not use a comma to simply join 2 complete sentences. Use a conjunction (remember Conjunction Junction?)

• Incorrect Example: The Chicago Cubs are going to lose tomorrow, they really have bad pitching.
• Correct Example: The Chicago Cubs are going to lose tomorrow because they really have bad pitching.