Lesson video

Hi, I'm Mr. Buckingham and I'm so glad you've chosen to join me today to learn about comma rules in four sentence types.

This lesson is going to cover a lot of ground, but I'll be here to help you master these important rules and improve your writing.

Let's get to work.

Today's lesson is called "Comma rules in four sentence types" and it comes from our unit called Five Sentence Types.

By the end of today's lesson we'll be able to use the comma for a range of purposes in four different sentence structures.

Now, if you can already write those four different sentence structures, you're probably already doing some wonderful writing.

So if you can now master the comma rules that are linked to those sentence structures, then we'll make our writing even more accurate and easier to read for our reader.

Let's get to work.

Here are keywords for today's lesson.

My turn, your turn.

Comma, relative clause and add adverbial clause.

Now we're actually going to use the comma for three different purposes in this lesson.

So let's talk them three quickly.

A comma is a punctuation mark and one use that we have for a comma is that it's used before 'but' or 'or' co-ordinating conjunctions in a compound sentence.

A comma is also used to demarcate, that means separate the first adv proverbial clause from the second main clause in an a adverbial complex sentence.

A pair of commas, that means two.

is used to demarcate, to separate out the relative clause from the main clause in a relative complex sentence.

An adverbial clause is a type of subordinate clause that begins with a subordinating conjunction, and a relative clause is a type of subordinate clause that begins with a relative pronoun.

Let's look at our lesson outline.

We're going to start off by looking at how commas can be used in simple and compound sentences.

And then we'll move on to looking at how commas are used in two different types of complex sentence.

So we've learned that a simple sentence is composed of one main clause and one idea.

And we can use commas in simple sentences even though they only have one main clause.

Let me show you how.

If we're writing an exclamation, a type of simple sentence, we could say this, "What a dirty and tidy room this is!" If we're writing a question, we could say, "Who left this dusty old book here?" And we can see both of those contains a comma.

These commas have been used to separate two adjectives in an expanded noun phrase and an expanded noun phrase is the group of words linked to a noun to add more detail and description.

So in the first example, the expanded noun phrase is "A dirty untidy room." There's our noun 'room.

' And we've got two adjectives, 'dirty' and 'untidy.

' And we've separated them with a comma.

In the question we've got the expanded noun phrase, "This dusty old book" linked to the noun 'book.

' We have the two adjectives, 'dusty' and 'old,' and we've separated them with a comma there.

If we were to command, simple sentence, we could write, "Bring me a drink, my slippers and a blanket." A statement could be, "I bought vegetables, milk, and eggs," and we can see commas here as well.

These commas have been used to separate nouns in a list, a list of nouns.

So in the first example we can see three nouns and we've put a comma between the first two.

In the second one, we've got three nouns again with a comma between the first two.

Notice how we don't put a comma between the last two nouns on the list because we use the word and instead.

And we don't need a comma before that word 'and.

' Where would you add commas into these simple sentences? And can you explain why? Pause the video and have a go.

Okay, let's take a look.

In A, we would put a comma between 'cosy' and 'knitted' because those are two adjectives.

We are using the comma to separate two adjectives.

In B, we put two commas here.

We have four nouns in this sentence, a list of four nouns.

So we're using those two commas to separate the four nouns.

We don't have a comma between 'flour' and 'sugar' 'cause we have that word 'and.

' And in C we put a comma between 'appalling' and 'silly.

' Those are two adjectives describing the noun 'silly.

' So we're separating adjectives again.

Really well done if you spotted those.

True or false, the following simple sentence should contain two commas? Please bring a coat a pair of wellies and your packed lunch.

Pause the video and decide.

Well done, that's false.

Now can you justify why? Look at the two reasons and choose the best one.

Well done, this is the right answer.

It says, when we write a list of nouns, we don't use a comma between the last two items we just use 'and.

' So we would put a comma here after coat 'cause we've got a list here of actually noun phrases, "a coat, a pair of wellies and your packed lunches." Three noun phrases.

We are just going to put the comma between "a coat, and a pair of wellies." We won't have a comma after the word wellies.

Really well done if you spotted those.

Now, commas are not just used to separate nouns and adjectives in simple sentences.

They're also used in compound sentences.

Let's look at some examples of compound sentences first of all.

"The sky was full of bright lightning, but I wasn't even remotely scared." "They could be at the park, or they could be at the cinema." "We are hardworking and we are available on that day." So how do we know these are compound sentences? Well, a compound sentence we know contains two main clauses joined by a co-ordinating conjunction by 'and' by 'but,' or by 'or.

' So let's look at these main clauses.

Here they are.

Each of these could be a sentence on its own.

"The sky was full of bright lightning," could be a sentence, and "I wasn't even remotely scared," could be a sentence.

So they're both main clauses, but they've been joined by that co-ordinating conjunction 'but.

' So we have a main clause, a co-ordinating conjunction, and a second main clause to make a compound sentence.

And the same is true for this one and for this one.

In each case, two main clauses have been joined by a co-ordinating conjunction and we use a comma before 'but' and 'or' in these compound sentences but not before 'and' and we can see that here.

So we always have a comma before 'but' and 'or' if they're making a compound sentence.

So we can see the structure of a compound sentence really clearly here.

We have a main clause, a co-ordinating conjunction, and a second main clause.

And if that co-ordinating conjunction is 'or' or 'but,' it will have a comma before it.

And that comma helps us to show where the first main clause ends.

Here's an example.

"I had a stomach ache, but I didn't need to go home." "You can join the queue, or you can pay extra to avoid it." We can see the comma here shows us that this is the first main clause.

"I had a stomach ache." And this is the second one.

"I didn't need to go home." This comma shows us this is the first main clause "You can join the queue." And this is the second one, "You can pay extra to avoid it." So which is the best co-ordinating conjunction to place after the first main clause in these compound sentences? And where do commas need to be placed? Remembering the rule we just discussed.

Pause the video and have a go.

Okay, let's have a look.

We would say "Mrs. Begum is very kind, but sometimes she criticises our behaviour" and that will have a comma before it because we've used 'but.

' "It was an embarrassing situation and we all felt very awkward for days afterwards." No comma because we've used 'and.

' And finally, "You can appreciate the food you've been given, or you can have nothing at all." With a comma because we've used 'or.

' Really well done if you remembered that rule.

Now, sometimes a compound sentence will contain commas used for different purposes, maybe two commas, maybe even more.

Let's have a look at some examples.

"We won the match, but I ended up with a huge, purple bruise on my leg." And you can see two commas there.

The first comma here has been used to separate two main clauses.

"We won the match" is one main clause.

And "I ended up with a huge, purple bruise on my leg," is the second main clause.

We've got a second comma here.

This one's to separate two adjectives in an expanded noun phrase to separate the adjectives, 'huge' and 'purple.

' So we've used two commas in the same compound sentence for two different reasons.

We could also have a compound sentence containing a comma used to separate nouns in a list like this.

"We could buy a ready-made cake mix, or we could buy eggs, butter, and sugar." Again, we've got two commas in this compound sentence.

The first one is to separate the two main clauses.

"We could buy a ready-made cake mix" and "We could buy eggs, butter and sugar" are both main clauses.

Then we have our second comma here, which is to separate the nouns in our list.

Eggs, butter and sugar are three nouns, so we need a comma between the first two.

So again, we have two commas used for different reasons.

So where should the two commas be placed in this compound sentence? We don't speak the same language but I can tell she is a kind caring person.

Should the commas be placed at A, B, C, or D? Pause the video and have a go.

Really well done, they should be placed at B and at D.

That first comma at B is separating our two main clauses.

"We don't speak the same language" and "I can tell she's a kind, caring person." And that comma at D is to separate those two adjectives in the expanded noun phrase.

The adjectives are 'kind' and 'caring.

' Brilliant work if you've already learned those rules.

So which of these sentences uses commas correctly, A, B, or C? They all say the same thing, but which one has the commas in the right place? Pause the video and decide.

Well done, the right answer is C.

This one has a comma before the co-ordinating conjunction 'or' to separate the two main clauses and it has a comma after Monday to separate out those nouns in a list.

Remember, days of the week are naming words so they are nouns as well.

Really well done if you've got those two commas in the right place.

Now, here's a tricky bit.

When a co-ordinating conjunction 'and,' 'but' or 'or' is not being used to join one main clause to another, we don't need a comma.

In other words, if it's not making a compound sentence made of two main clauses, then we don't need the comma.

Here is a compound sentence.

"I love the rhythm of this song, but I find the volume a little high." We've got one main clause and a second main clause.

We've joined them with our co-ordinating conjunction, so we do need the comma there.

This is a compound sentence, so it needs the comma before 'but.

' Look at this sentence.

"The song was beautiful but loud." Now this time we have a main clause, "The song was beautiful," but after the but is just a word.

So this isn't a compound sentence and but is not helping us to join two main clauses together.

So we don't need a comma in that sentence.

Let's look at one more.

"The song was beautiful but too short." We've got our main clause, but this time just a phrase, a group of words with no verb after the word 'but.

' So this time we don't have a compound sentence.

We are not joining two main clauses.

So again, we don't need a comma.

So which of these sentences will need a comma before the co-ordinating conjunction 'or?' Pause the video and decide.

Well done, the answer is B, because in this sentence we have a main clause joined to another main clause.

In the other examples, we don't have a main clause joined to another main clause.

It's only in B that we'll need this comma because that's the only compound sentence that we have.

Really well done if you've made that connection.

Now I'm going to show you some sentences with a comma mistake.

Let's spot and fix these ones together.

Then you can have a try on your own.

"Izzy joined the school council, and she did excellent work." "Andeep's dad is amateur boxer but he rarely wins." And, "She could play on our team, or yours." In number one, we can see we have the word 'and' as our co-ordinating conjunction.

Now remember when we use 'and' we don't need a comma before it, so that one should be removed.

In number two, we've used the co-ordinating conjunction 'but,' and that should have a comma before it, so I'll put that one in.

And number three is not a compound sentence because the word 'yours' is not a main clause.

So we shouldn't have a comma before or on that occasion.

Right, now it's your turn.

Here are three sentences.

Can you spot the common mistakes in these and fix them? Have a go.

Okay, let's take a look.

In number one, we've used the co-ordinating conjunction 'but' but the word after the co-ordinating conjunction, is just one word, it's not a main cause.

So that wouldn't be a compound sentence.

So we don't need the comma.

For number two, we've used 'or' to make a compound sentence, so we need the comma.

And in number three, we've got 'and' so we wouldn't use a comma anyway, even though this doesn't create a compound sentence anyway.

Okay, let's try our first task for this lesson.

I'm gonna show you some sentences which are missing commas, and I want you to rewrite each sentence, adding all the commas that are needed.

Here are your sentences.

Pause the video and add those commas in.

Have a go.

Okay, let's take a look.

In A, we would have commas between 'dirty' and 'old' and between 'nice' and 'clean.

' In B, we've got a compound sentence.

We'll have a comma before 'but' and between 'old' and 'comfortable.

' In C, we don't have a comma before 'and' but we do in our list of nouns.

'Pens' and 'paper' are both nouns so we need a comma between those two noun phrases.

In D, we need a comma before 'or' because this is a compound sentence and after the adjective 'boring.

' In E, we need a comma between 'warm' and 'cosy,' those two adjectives.

And then we have a list of nouns, so we're gonna have a comma after 'medicine.

' And finally in this sentence, we've got a comma before 'but' 'cause it's a compound sentence.

And then we have two adjectives, 'ancient' and 'unfair,' which need a comma in between them.

Amazing job if you managed to spot all of those.

Okay, we've done a great job learning about commas in simple and compound sentences.

So we're now gonna turn to looking at common rules in two different types of complex sentence.

Now we've learned about two different types of complex sentence.

An adverbial complex sentence might look like this.

"As the year went on, the temperature gradually rose." Here I have a subordinating conjunction starting an adverbial clause.

And an proverbial clause is a type of subordinate clause that starts with a subordinating conjunction.

We then have a main clause.

An adverbial complex sentence is made up of an adverbial clause joined to a main clause.

We also know a relative complex sentence, which might look like this.

"The meal, which was excellent, left us satisfied." This time we have a relative pronoun starting a relative clause, which is a type of subordinate clause starting with a relative pronoun.

And then we have a main clause.

"The meal left us satisfied." So a relative complex sentence is made up of a main clause joined to a relative clause.

And there are many subordinating conjunctions that can start that adverbial clause, which we can join to a main clause to make an adverbial complex sentence.

For instance, 'as,' 'while,' 'before,' 'because' and 'when.

' So if you see one of those words starting off a clause, we know it's an adverbial clause, and if that adverbial clause is joined to a main clause, we know we have an adverbial complex sentence.

And we've learned just two different relative pronouns that can start relative clauses in relative complex sentences, which are 'who' and 'which.

' So if we see a subordinate clause, which starts with a relative pronoun, we know it's a relative clause, and if that's connected to a main clause, we know we're looking at a relative complex sentence.

So using that rule, can you decide if each of these is an adverbial complex sentence or a relative complex sentence? Pause the video and have a go.

Okay, let's take a look.

In number one we have 'after' which is a subordinating conjunction.

So "After I got home" is an adverbial clause.

So this is an adverbial complex sentence.

In B, we have 'who' which is a relative pronoun, so "who had forgotten her homework" must be a relative clause.

So this must be a relative complex.

C is an adverbial complex and D is a relative complex sentence.

Really well done if you spotted those four.

Now, there's a special comma rule for adverbial complex sentences.

Let's find it out.

Here's two examples.

"When you exaggerate, you make it difficult for me to believe you." You make it difficult for me to believe you when you exaggerate." You can see one of those has a comma and one doesn't.

Let's find out why.

In the first example we have 'when' our subordinating conjunction starting this adverbial clause.

And then we have in the second one 'when,' and our adverbial clause 'here.

' So in the first example we have a comma after the adverbial clause.

And in the second example, there's no comma in front of that adverbial clause.

So here's the rule.

When the adverbial clause comes first, like in the first example, we use a comma after it.

When the proverbial clause comes second, like in the second example, we don't use a comma.

Now we can see here some diagrams to help us remember that special comma rule.

We know if we have the main clause first and then the adverbial subordinate clause, we don't have a comma.

If we have the adverbial subordinate clause first, followed by the main clause, we do have a comma.

So let's look at some more examples of that rule.

Here they are.

Now, I can always find the adverbial clause in an adverbial complex sentence by looking for the subordinating conjunction.

So in the first example, this must be the adverbial clause "As I walk past the office," because it starts with 'as' my subordinated conjunction.

It's come second in the sentence after the main clause, "The secretary called my name," so there's no comma.

But if I flip that sentence around and put the adverbial clause first, it will be followed by a comma.

The third example says, "While Lucas was talking, Jun interrupted." Now, 'while' is a subordinating conjunction, so I know this is the adverbial clause, it's come first.

So it's going to to have the comma after it.

If I flip that sentence, the main clause is first.

the adverbial clause, come second.

So we don't use a comma.

So is a comma needed in the gap in each of these adverbial complex sentences? "We frequently practise our spellings because it helps us remember them." "As we sung the song, we move to the pulse." "The suspect tried to persuade the judge he was innocent so he didn't get sent to jail." And, "Before I was even conscious, dad told me to get dressed for school." Should there be a comma in those gaps? Pause the video and decide.

Okay, let's look at number one.

Here I can see 'because' starting my adverbial clause, it's second in the sentence, so we don't need a comma there.

In number two, I see 'as' at the start, so the adverbial clause must be first.

So yes, we will need a comma.

In number three, I see that subordinating conjunction 'so,' that means the adverbial clause has come second.

So no comma is needed.

In number four, we have 'before' at the start.

So the adverbial clause must be first.

So yes, we'll need a comma in that spot.

Really, really well done if you've already got the hang of that tricky rule.

Now, we know that a relative clause often interrupts the main clause to give extra information about a noun or a noun phrase.

"The meal, which was excellent, left us satisfied." We can see that relative clause, "which was excellent," is coming after the noun phrase "the meal." And we use a pair of commas around the relative clause, which you can see here.

So we've got the relative clause with the main clause on either side, "the meal left us satisfied." We have our commas around the relative clause, and we can see the diagram to help us.

The main clause begins, we have a comma, we have the relative clause, we have a comma, and then the main clause finishes at the end.

We can work out where the commas should be placed by deciding where the relative clause begins and ends.

Now this can be tricky.

So here's an example.

"Jacob who is full of curiosity asked many questions." Now we do have a relative clause in there, but we don't have the commas.

So where should we add them? Well, we need to think where is the relative pronoun that's going to start that relative clause? And then where does the extra information about that noun, a noun phrase we're describing end? So here's the relative pronoun 'who,' so I know the first column must come before that, and the extra information about Jacob is "who was full of curiosity." So this must be the relative clause.

So the commas should go before and after that relative clause.

"Jacob, who was full of curiosity, asked any questions." And we know that the main clause on either side of the commas must make sense in its own.

It would be Jacob asks many questions.

It still makes complete sense because it's a main clause which was interrupted by that relative clause.

So where should the commas be placed to show the relative clause in this relative complex sentence? "The computer system which was very complex controlled the whole house." Pause the video and decide where you'd put the commas.

Okay, we've got a relative pronoun here 'which,' and the extra information is, "which was very complex." So we're going to put the commas on either side of that relative clause.

Really well done if you've got those correct.

And remember, the main clause on either side of those commas is going to make complete sense on its own, which would be "the computer system controlled the whole house." Really well done if you've got those commas in the right place.

Which of these relative complex sentences is correctly punctuated? Pause the video and decide.

Well done, it is B.

In B, we can see we have that noun 'earthquakes' followed by the relative pronoun 'which,' which tells us that's where the relative clause begins.

This is the extra information, "which occur rarely in the UK." And so the commas should be on either side of that relative clause.

And the information outside the commas, "earthquakes can cause huge devastation" is still a main clause.

It makes complete sense on its own.

Well done if you spotted that one.

Now we've seen that adverbial complex sentences use a comma after the adverbial clause if it comes first.

But these sentences can also use commas for other purposes.

Here's an example.

"After we'd eaten, we had the opportunity to explore the vast treasure-filled museum." We've got two commas in that complex sentence.

We've got one here after the adverbial clause because it's come first.

'After' is a subordinating conjunction.

So I know this is an adverbial clause.

We have a second comma here between the two adjectives, 'vast' and 'treasure-filled.

' So we've got that expanded noun phrase, "the vast treasure-filled museum" with the comma between our adjectives.

Now we've seen that a relative complex sentence often has a pair of commas around the relative clause, but again, they can use commas for different purposes as well.

Here's an example.

"The museum, which is in the centre of York, was full of Viking artefacts such as axes, spears and helmets." And we can see three commas in that sentence.

There are two here around the relative clause, "which was in the centre of York," but we also have one here to separate the nouns in that list, 'axes,' 'spears' and 'helmets.

' So we can see the commas have been used for different purposes in that relative complex sentence.

Now you try.

Which sentence here has all the commas used correctly? "When you visit the dentist, she will check your enamel, your molars, and your gums." Pause the video and decide which one is correct.

Well done, it is A.

You can see there we've got a comma after the adverbial clause, "when you visit the dentist," and a comma between those items in that list 'enamel,' 'your molars' and 'your gums.' There's the one after the adverbial clause, and here's the one after the first noun in our list.

Really well done if you spotted this.

Now, let's try our final task for this lesson.

I've got here some relative complex and adverbial complex sentences, and I want you to rewrite them, adding in all the commas that are needed.

Whether that's to show the end of an adverbial clause, to go around the relative clause, to separate adjectives or to separate nouns in a list.

So pause the video and add those commas in.

Okay, let's take a look.

In A, we have a comma after the adverbial clause, and between 'bright' and 'powerful.

' In B, we have commas around that relative clause and between 'toys,' 'clothes,' and 'shoes.

' In C, we have a comma after the adverbial clause, and then after 'Jacob,' in that list of nouns.

In D, we have commas around the relative clause and then after 'tennis courts' and 'badminton courts' in that list of nouns.

And in E, we have a comma after our adverbial clause and between those adjectives, 'quiet' and 'calm.

' Amazing job if you manage to get all of those in.

Wow, What a lot of learning we've done this lesson.

Let's summarise it.

We've learned that a comma can be used to separate adjectives in an expanded noun phrase and nouns in a list.

We've learned that a comma is also used in compound sentences before the co-ordinating conjunctions 'or,' and 'but.

' We've learned that we use a comma after an adverbial clause if it comes first in an adverbial complex sentence.

And we use a pair of commas around a relative clause in a relative complex sentence.

And finally, we've learned that sometimes we have to use several commas for different purposes in the same sentence.

You've done a brilliant job this lesson, and I can't wait to see you in a future one.