How to Use Commas in English to Improve Your Writing

“A woman without her man is nothing.” This sentence, without punctuation, is easy to find on the Internet. What do you think the writer of this sentence wanted to say?

So what do you think? How would you punctuate this sentence?

Here are two more ways this sentence is often written with punctuation:

• Woman, without her man, is nothing.
• Woman: without her, man is nothing.

Did you notice that with some simple commas and punctuation, the meaning is very different in each sentence? That is a powerful comma!!

Here’s the problem: it can be easy to make mistakes with commas.  And comma mistakes can change the meaning of a sentence, they can look unprofessional, or they can cause misunderstanding.

In today’s Confident English lesson, you’ll learn:

• 3 Common Mistakes with Commas and How You Can Fix Them
• 5 Useful Comma Rules for Correct, Impressive English Writing
• The Great Comma Debate and What You Should Do

(P.S. Did you know native speakers make mistakes with commas too? They do! So don’t worry, you’re not alone.)

3 Common Mistakes  to Avoid When You Use Commas in English

Greetings and Salutations

Incorrect:

• Dear, Annemarie,
• Dear Annemarie
• Hello Annemarie!
• Hi Annemarie,

In salutations or greetings, a comma is not used after Dear but it is used after words such as Hi, Hello, or Good Morning. This is proper English punctuation.

In emails, it has become common not to use a comma between a word such as Hi and the person’s name. For example:

• Hi Sue,
• Hey Lara,

For informal emails, this may be acceptable. However, in business or professional emails, I recommend you follow the proper grammar form.

Correct:

• Hello, Susan,
• Good morning, Ms. Smith.
• Dear Lara,
• Hi, Selma!

Dates

Incorrect:

• June, 2016
• 3, June 2016
• June 3 2016
• Thursday 3 June
• Thursday June 3

When the date is written with the day/month/year or month/year, no comma is needed.

Correct:

• 3 June 2016
• June 2016

If the date is written in the American format with month/day/year, a comma should be used between the day and year.

Correct:

• June 3, 2016

And finally, if the weekday is included with the date, it should be separated with a comma.

Correct:

• Thursday, 3 June
• Thursday, June 3

Example: Registration for the next Fluency School opens in on Wednesday, October 16. Have you joined the waitlist yet?

No Commas

Incorrect:

Thank you for your email which you sent me last Friday about how I can improve my writing skills learn vocabulary and speak freely because they really help me but I think I still have a question for you about how I can practice at home and how I can learn quickly.

This is only an example sentence, but it is similar to the many emails I receive.

A common error is to use no comma because you’re not sure. This can be confusing to your reader, so it’s important to follow comma rules in English.

You can start using commas today to improve your writing by following the useful rules below!

5 Comma Rules for Correct, Impressive English Writing

Commas provide necessary pauses in a sentence and create structure. The structure of a sentence provides meaning; the structure also helps you to say what you want to say. Unfortunately, it can be easy to make mistakes with the comma, which can cause misunderstanding or confusion.

Use these basic rules of commas in your writing. This will help your writing to be natural, clear, and easy to understand.

There is great debate about using the Oxford or Serial Comma. Some people argue that it helps to clarify information. Other people argue it is unnecessary because of the conjunction and/or. In the world of journalism, the Oxford Comma is often omitted (not used) to save space.

What should you do?

Generally, in the United States, the Oxford Comma is commonly used except in journalism. This means you should use the Oxford Comma for emails, business letters, research papers, academic essays, books, short stories, etc. But you should not use the Oxford Comma for a newspaper article.

However, in Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia, it is more common to omit the Oxford Comma.

These are general rules. If you are writing a paper, essay, article, or document, it is best to find out what style is accepted.

Can you explain to me the difference between the two sentences:

• Woman, without her man, is nothing.
• Woman: without her, man is nothing.

Share your answers in the comments.

Thanks for joining me and I wish you a fantastic Confident English Wednesday!

~ Annemarie

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