How To Use Commas On The Act

The remaining statements exemplify the use of a comma coupled with a coordinating conjunction to properly shift to the next point and indicate how the two clauses are related.

How to use commas on the act. Class because she was able to learn. As a rule of thumb if the phrase is longer than about four words use the comma. The basic purpose of commas is to clarify relationships between phrases and clauses. Without it the aforementioned amazing concert lineup becomes a jumbled mess. Allison enjoyed studying for art history her favorite class because she was able to learn about picasso and monet.

When an adverbial phrase begins a sentence it s often followed by a comma but it doesn t have to be especially if it s short. They re used for separate reasons. That is insert a final comma in front of the conjunction and as you are adding the last item in your list unless the final two words denote one thing. Note the following examples. Class because she was able to learn c.

These 3 punctuation marks are probably the most confusing pieces of punctuation that you will encounter on test day. 4 key rules for comma use on the act. While there s some degree of flexibility in how commas are used it s important to have a clear grasp of the rules. The comma is the most important punctuation mark to know on the act english test but you ll also need to know the comma s cousins. Do not use one of each.

An example of an extremely vital comma. Commas can be a particularly tricky punctuation mark. That s a pretty broad goal and there are a lot of different uses for commas. In summary commas contribute to the structure within a sentence consequently helping readers interpret the sentence s intent. Here s an overview of how they re used with examples.

The comma before but is simply a pause. Use two dashes or two commas. The oxford comma serves a key purpose here as florence and the machine is one musical act. Let s take a quick look at a sample act question to illustrate this rule. On the surface it looks like they should pair up but they shouldn t.