Commas
Separating items in lists
Use a comma between each item in a list, except for the last item where you use and. He packed a camera, his sunglasses, his swimming trunks and a towel. In the place of brackets In a long sentence, you can use commas to separate out extra information and make the sentence easier to read. These commas do the same job as brackets but look a lot neater in your writing. She packed her bag (which was a Christmas present from her mum) and set off for school. When you add a comma, the sentence becomes easier to read: She packed her bag, which was a Christmas present from her mum, and set off for school. Between clauses A clause is a short sentence that could stand alone. You can use commas between clauses to break up compound sentences and make them easier to read. She went to all the trouble of packing her bag, but she forgot to take it to school. |
Inverted commas
Use inverted commas around something someone has said.
'Will you stop playing games and come and eat your dinner'.
Use inverted commas around something someone has said.
'Will you stop playing games and come and eat your dinner'.