10 WAYS TO USE A COMMA + 4 WAYS TO USE A SEMICOLON
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Situation Example Sentence Your Sentence
Comma between 2 independent clauses
separated by a coordinating conjunction (For,
And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So).
I enjoy rain, and I enjoy thunderstorms.
Commas between items in a series/list I like to sing, dance, and read.
Comma after a conjunctive adverb (e.g.,
therefore, moreover) between 2 independent
clauses (separated by a semi-colon)
I live on campus; however, I spend most of
my time o campus.
Comma after an interjection (Indeed, yes, no,
well, etc.)
Indeed, Portland does have many bike lanes.
Comma after introductory adverbs (e.g., nally,
undoubtedly) beginning a sentence
Consequently, we adopted the possum and
named it Frederick.
Comma after a prepositional phrase beginning
a sentence
Near the coee shop, you can see the river
and bridge in the distance.
Commas around an appositive (noun or phrase
renaming another noun)
The dog, a Corgi wearing a hat, bit my ankle.
Commas around non-restrictive clause (this
is often a dependent clause which could be
removed without changing the meaning of
the sentence)
Astrid Farnsworth, who wrote A Treatise
on All Things Pie, advises us to punctuate
correctly.
Comma after a dependent clause at the
beginning of a sentence
When I found my hat, I was overjoyed.
Comma when attributing a quote Farnsworth states, “Pie is an important part
of the meal.”
Learning about punctuation can be a great way to vary your sentence structure and express ideas in new ways. You can use the table below to
learn about dierent ways to use commas and semicolons and practice with your own sentences.
10 WAYS TO USE A COMMA + 4 WAYS TO USE A SEMICOLON
Situation Example Sentence Your Sentence
Semicolon between two related independent
clauses not separated by a coordinating
conjunction.
The pie is delightful; it smells amazing.
Semicolon between two independent
clauses separated by a conjunctive adverb or
transitional phrase (e.g. accordingly, moreover,
etc.)
We found the perfect venue; however, the
weather forecast is dismal.
Semicolon in a list with internal commas Our writing course will have discussion of
genre, audience, and research in Project
1; discussion of audience, cause-eect,
and visuals in Project 2; and discussion of
audience, persuasion, and page design in
Project 3.
Semicolon in an elliptical construction (when
one or more words is removed for concision).
In year 1, we had a 10% increase in sales;
year 2, a 25% increase.
Brought to you by
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