Tài liệu Common erros in English part 5 pptx

COMMAS

(a) A comma should never divide a subject from its

verb. The two go together:

My parents, had very strict views.

My parents had very strict views.

Take extra care with compound

subjects:

The grandparents, the parents, and the children,

were in some ways to blame.

The grandparents, the parents, and the children

were in some ways to blame.

(b) Commas should never be used in an attempt to

string sentences together. Sentences must be

either properly joined (and commas don't have

this function) or clearly separated by full stops,

question marks or exclamation marks.

Commas have certain very specific jobs to do within

a sentence. Let us look at each in turn:

(i) Commas separate items in a list:

I bought apples, pears, and grapes.

She washed up, made the beds, and had

breakfast.

The novel is funny, touching, and beautifully

written.

The final comma before 'and' in a list

is optional. However, use it to avoid

any ambiguity. See (ix) below.

(ii) Commas are used to separate terms of address

from the rest of the sentence:

Sheila, how nice to see you!

Can I help you, madam?

I apologise, ladies and gentlemen, for this delay.

Note that a pair of commas is needed in the last

example above because the term of address

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