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Series

Places

Dates

Titles

Interjections

Adjectives

Adverbs

Contrast

Quotes

Direct Address

Introductory

Phrases

Compound sentences

Dependent

Clauses

Nonessential Phrases & Clauses

To Prevent confusion

Do Not use a Comma

Style Guidelinesbased on MLA 8and Strunk & White

CommaRules

Use a comma after each item (except the last) in a list or series of three or more.

Series



These coordinate conjunctions may be used in series.

And

Or

Nor

Series

Ohio State, Baylor, or UCLA is my best option.

Your jersey, socks, helmet, and cleats are in the bag.

He spent the game on the bench, neither running nor hitting nor pitching.*special case


Basketball, football, and softball are the most common team sports in high school athletics.

Series

This comma just before the conjunction is called the serial comma or the Oxford Comma.


Do not use a comma with a coordinate conjunction joining only two items.

Series

xoffense, and defensewinning, or losingoffense and defensewinning or losing


Basketball, football, and softball are the most common team sports in high school athletics.Soccer, lacrosse, and swimming are popular with both males and females.Unusual sports offered by some schools include fencing, cricket, judo, and rodeo.

Series


Use a comma after the city (not the state) in a mailing address.

Places


Places

Return AddressYour NameStreet AddressCity, ST ZIP

AddressRecipient NameStreet AddressCity, ST ZIP


PlacesHeadingYour Street AddressCity, ST ZIPDate

Inside AddressRecipient NameStreet AddressCity, ST ZIP

GreetingDear Sir:


Places

National High School Hall of FameP.O. Box 690Indianapolis, IN 46206


Places

Use a comma after each part of the address in a sentence.


We traveled to Indianapolis, Indiana, to visit the National High School Hall of Fame.

Places

This rule applies when city and state or city and country are named, when state/province and country are named, or when all three are included.


Dates

Use a comma after the date and the year only when all three parts of the date are included.

On December 31, 1938, teams from Kentucky and Connecticut played in a national championship game in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Dates



Do NOT use a comma when only one or two parts of the date are given.

Mike Jordan tried out for the varsity basketball team in November 1978 and made the JV team instead.Football players graduating in 2018 can sign with a Division I or II college between February 7 and April 1.

Dates

Use a comma before and after a title or degree following a person’s name.

Titles



James Andrews, MD, is an orthopedic surgeon known for his work with famous athletes.Ken Griffey, Sr., and Ken Griffey, Jr., both played on major league baseball teams.Sherry Werner, PhD, offers clinics for fastpitch softball pitchers.

Titles


In the MLA Works Cited list, do not include titles or degrees with a person’s name.

DO include a suffix (like Jr. or IV) after the person’s first name.

Titles

MLATip

Griffey, Ken, Jr.Griffin, Robert, III.

Interjections

Use a comma before and after an interjection in a sentence (unless an exclamation mark is used).



An interjection is a word or phrase that is not grammatically related to the rest of the sentence and usually shows emotion.

Interjections

Hey! Wow

Oh, no!Yikes

hmm


Hey, would you like to go to the dance with me after the game?Aww, that’s sweet of you ... but, well, I have to babysit tomorrow.Alright, maybe some other time then, okay?Yeah, sure, maybe next week. Bye... woohoo!

Interjections


Adjectives

Use a comma between two coordinate adjectives that describe the same noun.


Coordinate adjectives are two (or more) adjectives that are equal in rank and precede a noun.

Adjectives

Quantity (Number)

Quality (judgement)

size

age

shape

color

origin

purpose

threedented

old

Rawlingsbaseball

bats

onetired, grouchy

old

baseballcoach


Coordinate adjectives are two (or more) adjectives that are equal in rank and precede a noun.

Ask these questions to decide whether adjectives are equal in rank:Can I change the order of the adjectives?Can I insert the word “and” between the adjectives?

Adjectives

one tired, grouchy old baseball coachone grouchy, tired old baseball coach

one tired and grouchy old baseball coach


Officials in an Oklahoma football controversy have been accused of making misguided, biased decisions.Random drug tests are administered in an attempt to prevent unfair, illegal doping among athletes.After suffering a severe, frightening concussion, the star quarterback quit playing football.

Adjectives

Use a comma after a transitional or conjunctive adverb.

Adverbs



A transitional adverb helps to connect one sentence or paragraph to the next by showing the relationship between thoughts.

They usually begin a sentence or independent clause.

Adverbs

First Next

Therefore

HoweverFinallyMeanwhile

In fact


First, playing high school sports requires a lot of time.Students who play sports must divide their time between practicing and studying; however, athletes have a higher mean GPA than non-athletes.

Adverbs


Adverbs

Use a comma before and after the word “too” meaning “also.”


Cheering is considered a sport, too.Dancers, too, spend hours practicing and working out.

Adverbs


Contrast

Use a comma before and after words, phrases, or clauses that show contradiction.


You tried out for the volleyball team, didn’t you?Our school doesn’t have pep rallies for the bowling team, even when they win the state championship!Horseback riding, not skiing, is the most expensive sport.

Contrast


Use a comma before beginning and end quotation marks.

Quotes


According to ESPN, “Some high school districts across the country are lowering minimum GPA requirements for student-athletes in an effort to keep them on the field and in the classroom.”

Quotes


Quotes

“We realized,” said an administrator, “that when we kicked kids off the team, they weren’t going to the library instead.”“If a kid’s able to do both—work hard and maintain in the classroom and on the field—he shouldn’t have to compete with somebody who’s one-sided,” responded one high school athlete.

Direct Address

Use a comma before and after naming the person or group being addressed.



Let’s go, Lady Panthers!Coach, I finished selling my raffle tickets for the fundraiser.Listen up, team, here’s our game plan ....

Direct Address


Introductory PhrasesUse a comma after introductory phrases of more than three words.


In order to be a top high school athlete, a player needs commitment to and passion for the sport.Without a natural athletic physique, you can still develop strength and quickness through training, practice, and hard work.According to Malcolm Gladwell’s book Outliers, it takes 10,000 hours of focused practice to become expert at any skill.

Introductory Phrases


Compound Sentences

Use a comma before a coordinate conjunction joining two independent clauses.


The coordinate conjunctions can join words, phrases, or clauses. Do not use a comma when they join two words or two phrases.

Compound Sentences

For And Nor

but or yet so

FANboys


Phrase or clause?

A clause always has a subject and a verb.

Compound Sentences

Who or What

Is or Does What


Many high school students dream of playing their sport in college, but only about six percent of high school athletes play in the NCAA.

Compound Sentences


About 1 out of every 30 high school men’s basketball players plays in college, and fewer than 1 in 10,000 eventually plays in the NBA.Ice hockey has the highest percentage of high school players go on to play in college and professional leagues, so maybe you should try that sport.

Compound Sentences


Can’t remember whether the comma should be before or after the conjunction?

Use alphabetical order: comma comes before conjunction.

Compound Sentences

Memory

Tip

Comcon

Use a comma after a dependent clause.

Dependent Clauses



A dependent clause is a set of words that contains a subject and a predicate, but does not express a complete thought.

Instead, it modifies or adds information about an independent clause.

Because teens’ bones are growing in uneven spurts, muscle and tendon injuries are common in adolescent athletes.

Dependent Clauses

Te

lls W

hy


A dependent clause that acts as an adverb in a sentence always begins with a subordinating conjunction.

Dependent Clauses

Since when AfterBecause if

Teens’ bones are growing in uneven spurts.Because teens’ bones are growing in uneven spurts


The dependent clause may come at the beginning or end of a sentence. A comma is not required if the dependent clause follows the independent clause.

Because teens’ bones are growing in uneven spurts, muscle and tendon injuries are common in adolescent athletes.Muscle and tendon injuries are common in adolescent athletes because teens’ bones are growing in uneven spurts.

Dependent Clauses


Although repeated injuries can lead to long-term problems that require surgery, injured athletes often feel pressured to play through the injury.When a sports injury occurs, it’s important to get treatment and follow a doctor’s advice about when to return to play.

Dependent Clauses


Use a comma before and after nonessential (parenthetical) words, phrases, or clauses.



Ask these questions to determine whether a phrase or clause is nonessential:Can I remove these words without changing the essential meaning of the sentence?If I remove these words, is it still clear who or what the sentence is about?


Coach Bryant, my favorite teacher, taught me to prepare mentally for the game.


The Guinness Book of World Records, which has been published annually since 1955, has information about some unusual sports records.The world record for fastest 100-meter hurdles wearing swim fins, held by Christopher Irmsher of Germany, is 14.82 seconds.



Linsey Lindberg set a record for crushing ten apples with her biceps, the muscles in the upper arm, within one minute.



To Prevent ConfusionUse a comma whenever needed to prevent confusion.


After racing, the sprinters cooled down with an easy jog.

Without asking, the team planned a surprise party for the graduating seniors.

To Prevent Confusion


Do not use a comma between subject and predicate.

Do Not Use a Comma


Adding a comma arbitrarily between the subject and predicate causes confusion for the reader.

Do Not Use a Comma

xFirst, playing high school sports, requires a lot of time.First, playing high school sports requires a lot of time.


Do not use a comma between parts of a compound predicate.

Do Not Use a Comma


A compound predicate is found in a clause with more than one verb (and verb complements).

Do Not Use a Comma

xMichael Jordan played in the NBA for fifteen seasons, and also spent one year playing minor league baseball.Michael Jordan played in the NBA for fifteen seasons and also spent one year playing minor league baseball.


Do not use a comma after the main (independent) clause in a complex sentence.

Do Not Use a Comma


Remember that the rule is to place a comma after the DEPENDENT clause. (The exception is when the dependent clause creates contrast or contradiction.)

Do Not Use a Comma

xIt’s important to get treatment and follow a doctor’s advice about when to return to play, after a sports injury occurs.It’s important to get treatment and follow a doctor’s advice about when to return to play after a sports injury occurs.


Do not leave a space BEFORE a comma.

Commas & Spacing

Words, words, and more words


Do leave a space AFTER a comma followed by a word.

Commas & Spacing

Words, words, and more words


Do not leave a space after a comma followed by CLOSING quotations or parentheses.

Commas & Spacing

Words, “My words,” and more words

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