THE RULES FOR COMMAS

IN COMPLEX SENTENCES
Complex sentences are the most common type in the English language, and you probably
use them every day, even if you don’t know what they are.

Basically, a complex sentence is an independent clause and a dependent clause. It could

function like this:

Independent + dependent

I’ll eat pizza when I’m in Italy.

OR:

Dependent + independent

When I’m in Italy, I’ll eat pizza.

Notice how in the second example I included a comma between the two clauses. Why? I did
this because when the dependent clause comes first, the two clauses should be split by a
comma. However, when the independent clause is first, there should be no comma.

Here are some more examples:

If you really want to go, please take your brother with you.

Please take your brother with you if you really want to go.

I won’t bother you unless you ask me to.

Unless you ask me to, I won’t bother you

IN COMPOUND SENTENCES
Compound sentences are another really important sentence type, and you must know how
to use them to succeed in IELTS writing. That means knowing the order of information as
well as the right punctuation. Basically, they are made of two independent clauses
together, and they can be joined together in a few ways. However, as we’re just looking at
commas today, I will focus on those.
To make this kind of sentence, you need to put two independent clauses together and join
then with a comma and a coordinating conjunction (that means one of the following: for,
and, nor, but, or, yet, so)

She wants to go shopping, but he wants to get lunch.

 I found a cave, and he saw a bear.

She doesn’t like horror movies, nor does she like thrillers.

Guns are dangerous, yet Americans are reluctant to ban them.

LISTS
Items in a list should be separated by a comma, and there should be one comma between
each item. These can be actual items (noun objects) or lists of ideas or actions.

He bought potatoes, carrots, and onions.

Last year, the most popular holiday destinations were Paris, Madrid, and Athens.

Do you want to go to the cinema, the mall, or the beach?

We’re going to go bowling, skating, and dancing.

SOME COMMON MISTAKES WITH COMMAS

The most common errors with commas are comma splices and run-on sentences. A
comma splice is where two independent clauses are divided by a comma and nothing else:

The cat likes cat food, the dog likes dog food.
A run-on sentence is one where there should be a comma, but there is none:

Last week we saw a show in London and then we went out to a fantastic restaurant.
It is quite common for people to include commas where they are not needed, and some
people think that commas reflect a brief pause in speech, or a gap before an idea. This is
INCORRECT.

It is clear, that we need to get our affairs in order.

Finally, referring to the complex sentence rules above, people often include a comma
before the word “because”; however, you should remember that “because” is a
subordinating coordinator and thus introduces a dependent clause. If it follows an
independent clause, it should never be preceded by a comma:

I want to visit France, because I think it’s romantic.