The comma is the simplest and most prosaic, butthe same time and the most insidious sign. Her statement implies an understanding of how speech is structured and structured, what meanings appear and disappear if you put a comma in the wrong way. Of course, in a small article it is impossible to describe in what cases a comma is put and to list absolutely everything, we’ll dwell only on the most common and simple ones.
The correct setting of commas in a simple sentence begins with knowing the rule that homogeneous members of a sentence should be separated by a comma:
I love, adore, idolize cats.
I love cats, dogs, horses.
Difficulties arise if between the homogeneous members of the sentence is the union “and”. The rule here is simple: if a single union, a comma is not needed:
I love dogs, cats and horses.
If there are more unions than one, the comma is placed before the second union and further:
I love dogs, cats and horses.
Otherwise, a comma is put before the union “a”. The rule dictates the setting of the mark in any case and also applies to the union "but" and the union "yes" in the sense of "but":
My neighbor does not love dogs, but cats.
Cats love cautious people, but avoid loud and evil ones.
Difficulties with where a comma is needed also arise when it comes to definition. However, everything is simple.
If a single definition refers to a personal pronoun, it is separated by a comma:
Satisfied, she entered the room and showed the purchase.
I saw this dog then. She, joyful, wagged her tail, trembled and jumped all the time on the host.
If you learn the rules about when a comma is put, then the third item should be a separate definition.
Separate definition implies first of all the participial revolution. It is separated by commas when it follows the word to which it refers:
A boy who has been reading travel books will never pass indifferently by a travel agency or by a store with tents and flashlights.
The cat, barely waiting for the treats, was now purring and looking tenderly at the owner.
Wed:
A boy who has read books about traveling will never pass indifferently by a travel agency or by a store with tents and flashlights.
The cat, who had barely waited for the treats, was now purring and looking tenderly at the owner.
A single verbal participle and another participle are separated by commas in both simple and complex sentences:
Having purred, the cat lay down on my lap.
The dog, moaning, nevertheless calmed down and let us talk.
Having made a number of comments about the new project, the chief retired.
The introductory words are those words that show the accuracy of the information, its source or relation to this information of the speaker.
These are such words that could potentially be expanded into a sentence:
This artist, of course, won the hearts of all his contemporaries.
Natasha does not seem to care about her father.
Leonid, apparently, does not suspect why so many people have appeared around him lately.
If there is an appeal in the sentence, and this is not a pronoun, then it must be separated by commas from two sides.
Hello, dear Leo!
Goodbye, Lydia Borisovna.
Do you know, Masha, what do I want to tell you?
Linda, come to me!
Unfortunately, ignorance of whenA comma is used when addressing, often leading to illiterate design of business letters. Among these errors are the omission of a comma when referring, and the statement of an extra comma with a pronoun:
Good afternoon, Pavel Evgenievich! (Need to: Good afternoon, Pavel Evgenievich!)
Svetlana Borisovna we also prepared for you our new samples. (Need to: Svetlana Borisovna, we also prepared for you our new samples.)
How do you think it is advisable to conclude a contract? (Need to: Do you think it is advisable to conclude this agreement?)
В общем-то все правила относительно того, в каких In cases, a comma is put in a complex sentence, reduced to essentially one thing: all parts of any complex sentence must be separated from each other by a punctuation mark.
Spring came, the sun shone, sparrows began to fuss, children triumphantly ran.
They bought him a new computer, since the old one could no longer work because of the small amount of memory and incompatibility with the new programs.
And what else to do if you don’t have fun, when there’s nothing else left?
At the head of the procession was some kind of red-haired boy, he was probably the most important one.
A comma in a complex sentence is put in all cases except for the unifying word, and if at the junction of the parts of the sentence, no other sign is needed, first of all - a colon.
If parts of a compound sentence are combined with a single word (for example, a subordinate union), then a comma between these parts of the sentence is not put:
When spring came and the birds arrived, our company somehow revived.
Wed: Spring came, the birds flew in, and our company somehow revived.
This word can be not only at the very beginning of a sentence:
We will go to this meeting only as a last resort, only if all conditions are agreed and the text of the contract is agreed.
In the conjunctionless complex sentence, a colon should be used instead of a comma, if the meaning of the first part is disclosed in the second:
It was a wonderful time: we painted what we wanted.
Now he has started the most important thing: he was making a gift for mom.
The dog did not want to walk anymore: the owners were so intimidated by its training that it was easier to sit under the table.
Many of the errors in which cases a comma is put are due to a misunderstanding of the difference between the two meanings of the word "how."
The first meaning of this word is comparative. In this case, in the sentence, a comparative turnover is separated by commas:
Aspen leaf, like a butterfly, rose higher and higher.
The second value is an indication of identity. In such cases, the turnover with "how" is not allocated with commas:
A butterfly like an insect is of little interest to people accustomed to seeing the source of heat and communication in animals.
Therefore, the sentence: "I as your mother will not let you ruin your life»Can be punctuated in two ways.If the speaker is really the mother of the listener, then the word “how” is used as a word indicating identity (“I” and “mother” are one and the same), so commas are not needed.
If the speaker compares himself with the listener's mother (“I” and “mother” is not the same thing, “I” is compared ”with“ mother ”), then commas are needed:
I, like your mother, will not let you ruin your life.
In the event that "how" is part of the predicate, a comma is also not put:
The lake is like a mirror. (Wed.: The lake, like a mirror, sparkled and reflected the clouds).
Music is like life. (Music, like life, does not last forever.)
Pay attention to when a comma is put, will help the special signs of the proposals. However, do not trust them too much.
Так, например, это прежде всего касается того, Is the comma before "to". The rule, it would seem, is unambiguous: “A comma is always put before“ to ”.” However, any rule should not be taken too literally. For example, the sentence with "to" may be:
He wanted to talk to her to find out the truth and to talk about how he lived his life.
As you can see, the rule works here, but the second “to” does not imply a comma. Nevertheless, this error is quite common:
We went to the store, just to study the prices and to see what you can buy for lunch in this city.
CorrectlyA: We went to the store just to study prices and to see what you can buy for lunch in this city.
The same goes for the word "how."It has already been said above that, firstly, a word has two meanings, and secondly, it can be part of different members of a sentence, therefore you should not trust the ordinary phrase “Before“ as ”always a comma.
The third common case of formal omensthe need for a comma - the word "yes." However, it should be treated with great care. The word “yes” has several meanings, including “and”:
He took a brush and went to paint.
Jackdaws and crows flew together, but there wasn’t any blue tits.
These formal signs should rathertreat as potentially “dangerous” places. Words like “to”, “to”, “how”, “yes” can signal that there can be a comma in this sentence. These “signals” will help not to miss the commas in sentences, but the rule concerning these signs themselves should not be overlooked in the coma case.
At the same time, when setting up commas, ratherfocus, not on the "rules", but on the meaning of the mark. The comma is generally intended to separate homogeneous members of a sentence, parts of a complex sentence, as well as fragments that do not fit into the structure of a sentence that is alien to it (references, introductory words, etc.). The rules only concretize each case. This even applies to the formula “need a comma before“ to ”.” This rule actually specifies the general principle of punctuation of complex sentences. In general, of course, when writing, you need to think!
