"Gabrielle, look out!" yelled Xena.
"Xena, where are we going?" asked Gabrielle.
A comma looks like this: , Commas have several uses:
Gabrielle was tired, but she kept walking.
Gabrielle ran her fingers through Xena's long, soft hair.
Gabrielle ate chicken, fish, and berries for lunch. Xena jumped up, spun around, and drew her sword.Note that if any of the items in the list use commas, the list separator becomes a semicolon:
Xena jumped up; spun around; and drew her sharp, shiny sword.
Seeing Gabrielle fall, Xena hurried forward. Since she was hungry, Gabrielle ate some berries. If you love chocolate, you should try Oreos.
Dammit, Xena abandoned Gabby again. No, I'm not hungry. Oops, I broke the frying pan.
Xena, who is from Amphipolis, is sitting next to you.BUT
The woman sitting next to you is from Amphipolis.Note the difference between the two sentences above. In the first, the main point is that Xena is sitting next to you. The fact that she's from Amphipolis is not important. If you have constructed the sentence properly, you should be able to remove everything between the commas and still have a coherent sentence. In this case, it would be "Xena is sitting next to you." In the second sentence, the fact that she's from Amphipolis is the main point of the sentence, hence no comma is used.
There are three general types of word/phrase that should go between these commas:
"Xena," said Gabrielle, "what are you doing?" "I don't know why," said Xena, "but I feel like cuddling."BUT
"I'm tired, Gabrielle," said Xena. "Let's get some sleep."Note that in the third example, a period follows the speaking verb rather than a comma. This is because two sentences are spoken: if you had moved the speaking verb to the end, you would have "I'm tired, Gabrielle. Let's get some sleep," said Xena.
Also note that after a spoken quotation, the next word should ALWAYS be uncapitalized, unless of course it is a name.
The following examples are ALL incorrect:
"Gabrielle, stop it." cried Xena. "Gabrielle, stop it!" Cried Xena. "Gabrielle, stop it," Cried Xena.The correct forms would be:
"Gabrielle, stop it," cried Xena. "Gabrielle, stop it!" cried Xena.
Above the mountains rose like purple shadows.Try putting a comma in different parts of the above sentence and see how different the meanings are.
My sister Sarah has a cat. My sister, Sarah, has a cat.The first sentence implies that I have more than one sister. The name Sarah indicates which sister I am speaking of at the moment. The second sentence implies that I have only one sister. The commas setting off her name indicate that the name is a nonessential qualifier. (Remember, try removing everything between the commas.)
Sarah, my sister, has a cat. Sarah, my sister has a cat.The first sentence is, again, an example of nonessential qualifier. I could say "Sarah has a cat" and presumably you know that Sarah is my sister. The second sentence is addressed to Sarah. I am telling Sarah that my sister, whose name is not specified, has a cat.
Xena has many skills: running, jumping, fighting, and sewing.Incorrect:
Xena's skills include: running, jumping, fighting, and sewing.
Xena is a warrior: she spends a lot of her time fighting battles.
Gabrielle was in pain: she had just sprained her ankle.
Also note that some people like to capitalize the first letter of the first word after the colon: They believe it is more stylistically appropriate. The previous sentence is an example. Whether or not to capitalize is up to you; just be careful to be consistent. (Read my note on consistency.)
Gabrielle likes oranges; cherries; and red, yellow, and green apples.
This is Xena's and Gabby's whip.
|Translation: This whip belongs to Xena and Gabby.|
This is Xena and Gabby's whip.
|Translation: This is Xena, and this is a whip belonging to Gabby.|
The exception to the possessive rule - and the one which gives most people a lot of trouble - is the word "its" meaning "belonging to it." Unlike most possessives, "its" does not contain an apostrophe. It is just one of the many cases where the English language is unnecessarily complex. The trouble with English is not that it has too many rules - it's that there are too many exceptions to the rules. But "its/it's" is a case wherein it's good to remember Case 1 from above. If the word is "it's," ask yourself, "What letter has been removed?" The answer clearly is "i." The letter i from "it is" has been replaced by the apostrophe.
So, to clarify:
Its = belonging to it. "The frying pan has a dent in its handle."
It's = it is. "It's not my fault the frying pan is dented!"
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