The Period and The Comma

The Period and The Comma

1. The Period (.)

   • Use 1: At the end of a complete sentence that is a statement.
     • He met him at the park.
   • Use 2: When speech is reported.
     • Where is my daughter? His father asked where her daughter was.
   • The period is the stop sign at the end of a sentence. When you reach the period, it’s all over. Whatever thought you were trying to convey has been delivered.
   • Use 3: Use a period with abbreviations.
     • Dr. Swanson flew to Washington, D.C., at 7 p.m.
   • Use 4: Decimal points & Currency.
     • It costs $ 22.50 each.
   • Use 5: With parentheses, quotation marks and question marks.
     • He was the youngest (and the shortest) of all his brothers.
     • The Presenter began his speech with the word “Motivation.”
     • Last Monday he asked, “Do we have class this week?”

2. The Comma (,)

   • There’s nothing much to punctuating a sentence, really, beyond a little comma sense. Get the commas right and the rest will fall into place.
   • Use a comma to separate clauses (Big chunks of a sentence each with a subject a verb) joined by and or but.
     • Tina hadn't left the city in months, and by Friday she was climbing the walls.
   • Use commas to separate a series of things or actions.
     • She packed a toothbrush, a hair dryer, her swimsuit, and her teddy bear. She finished packing, paid some bills, ate a few Oreos, and watered the plans.
     • NOTE: The final comma in those last 2 sentences just before and, can be left out also.
   • Use commas before and after the names of people you’re talking to.
     • “Good-bye, Mom. Dad, be good,” she said, and hung up the phone.
   • Use commas before and after a quotation.
     • Tina said, “Let’s see” or: “Let’s see,” said Tina.
   • Use a comma after an introductory phrase if a pause is intended.
     • As usual, she checked to make sure the stove was turned off. Of course, it always was. You see, Tina was a bit compulsive.
   • Use a comma around an aside-information that could just as well go in parentheses.
     • Her upstairs neighbor, the one with the tattoos, promised to feed her cat.
   • Use a comma when you want to emphasize too (meaning “also”).
     • Laura offered to clean the litter box, too.
   • Use a comma around a which clause.
     • So she took a taxi, which was really expensive.
   • Do not use commas around THAT clauses.

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