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    • Comma Rules

    Comma Rules

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    The poor overused comma is a frequently misunderstood punctuation mark. This week’s website picks explain comma usage in as few as five rules, or as many as thirty.

    		Comma Rules Resource Handout for Classroom or Homeschool: Just $2.00

    Grammar Book: Commas5 stars

    "Rule 2. Use a comma to separate two adjectives when the adjectives are interchangeable." This is why we don't use a comma for "delicious Chinese food" (these are known as cumulative adjectives) but use the comma for coordinate adjectives such as "heavy, bulky furniture." Jane Straus's guide to commas gives us sixteen rules, followed by a quiz that sells for 99 cents. A print edition of The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation is also available for purchase.



    Grammarly Handbook: Comma5 stars

    "A little dot with a tail; how could such a thing be relevant to a language? It could, for goodness' sake, be mistaken for a smudge on the page. Yet, people get so fired up about comma use that it appears to be a matter of life or death." Starting with a definition ("A comma is a soft stop."), Grammarly presents over thirty comma rules to guide your writing, including a discussion of the Oxford comma and the comma splice.

    The Guide to Grammar and Writing: Commas5 stars

    Professor Charles Darling's comprehensive guide to commas includes eleven rules, the last of which is Use Commas With Caution. "As you can see, there are many reasons for using commas, and we haven't listed them all. Yet the biggest problem that most students have with commas is their overuse. Some essays look as though the student loaded a shotgun with commas and blasted away. Remember, too, that a pause in reading is not always a reliable reason to use a comma. Try not to use a comma unless you can apply a specific rule from this page to do so."

    Oxford Dictionaries: Comma5 stars

    "Used properly, commas make the meaning of sentences clear by grouping and separating words, phrases, and clauses. Many people are uncertain about the use of commas, though, and often sprinkle them throughout their writing without knowing the basic rules." LOL! Oxford Dictionaries keeps it simple with five straightforward comma rules: in lists, in direct speech, to separate clauses, to mark off certain parts of a sentence, and with 'however.'

    Pinterest: Comma Rules5 stars

    This Pinterest board, from pinner Leslie Howell, is chock-full of infographics, printable classroom handouts, and comma learning activities. If you have a free Pinterest account, you can follow the Comma Rules board, and you'll be alerted whenever Howell adds a new pin. If you are not a regular Pinterest user, keep in mind that you need to click twice on a pin in order to visit the originating website.

    		Comma Rules Resource Handout for Classroom or Homeschool: Just $2.00



    Honorable Mentions

    The following links are either new discoveries or sites that didn't make it into my newspaper column because of space constraints. Enjoy!

    13 Rules For Using Commas Without Looking Like An Idiot

    Purdue OWL: Extended Rules for Using Commas

    Grammar Girl: Where Do I Use Commas?

    Time for Kids: Punctuation Practice


    Cite This Page

    Feldman, Barbara. "Comma Rules." Surfnetkids. Feldman Publishing. 21 Oct. 2014. Web. 7 Dec. 2025. <https://www.surfnetkids.com/resources/comma-rules/ >.


    About This Page

    By . Originally published October 21, 2014. Last modified December 1, 2015.

    Filed Under: Grammar, Language Arts, Reference

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