Commas are used to separate elements in a sentence including independent clauses joined by coordinating conjunctions, items in a list, and adjectives of equal rank. Commas also set off nonessential elements and are used in dates, addresses, and introductory phrases. The document provides examples of proper comma usage in different contexts and cites references.

1. Commas
By: Wayne Jaramillo and Stephen Trujillo

2. • Comma: A punctuation mark (,) used to separate
sentence parts.
• A comma can be used to separate two independent
clauses which are joined by a coordinating
conjunction.
Ex: The boss got mad yesterday, today he fired Bob.
Ex: There was a disaster drill yesterday, we all hid
under our desks.

3. •A comma can be used to separate words or
groups of words in a sentence.
Ex: Tomorrow bring your paper, pencil, binder,
and calculator we are having a math test.
Ex: Pigeons, crows, chickens, and turkeys are all
of avian species.

4. •We can use a comma to separate adjectives of
equal rank modifying the same noun.
Ex: For Halloween my brother wanted to be a
ghoulish, creepy, scary, vampire.
Ex: We went to the store to get meat, vegetables,
and seasons to make dinner.

5. •A comma is also used to separate an
introductory clause or long phrase from the
rest of the sentence.
Ex: After the long wait, we finally got into the
restaurant.
Ex: After yesterday I never wanted to see another
candy again, but mom brought home a big bag
full.

6. •A comma can be used to, set off non-essential
material in a sentence.
Ex: The fire, however, was out before we the
house got warm.
Ex: my mom, with, my aunt went on vacation.

7. •When writing a street address and dates use
commas to separate city's, towns, states, and
dates.
Ex: When I moved to 257B, Tribal Road 1708,
Bosque Farms, New Mexico 84322 on August
25, 2011, I had a hard time adjusting.

8. Work cited page
Merriam Webster's pocket dictionary, Pocket
reference library, (page 68)
The university of New Mexico 2011-2012
academic weekly agenda (back pages for
punctuation).