A comma (,) gives a small pause to collect thought or breath in a longer sentence.
As a general rule, if you don't need a pause, don't put a comma, except:
- To separate the items in a list (NB you don't need a comma before "and"):
e.g. For lunch he bought a pie, a cream bun, an apple and a drink.
- To mark off a phrase or clause which adds extra information or explains something:
e.g. The kitten, which they had just bought, needed to be vaccinated.
- To introduce spoken words:
e.g. He said, "Go and get lost!"
- To follow spoken words:
e.g. "I'll be home by 5 o'clock," he assured his mother.Note: An exception to the above rule occurs when the spoken words end with a question mark or exclamation mark. No comma is then needed:
e.g. "Have I ever been late before?" he asked.
- To separate the names of a city and country:
e.g. Sydney, Australia
- To separate a person addressed from the rest of the sentence:
e.g. The letter is addressed to you, Jane.
- In dates:
e.g. They arrived in New Zealand on August 25th, 2002.
- To avoid ambiguity (misunderstanding) in a sentence:
e.g. The politician, said the journalist, was really unfair.
- After words like "Yes", "No", "Well" or "Oh" at the beginning of a sentence:
e.g. Yes, I am going to work now.
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The colon (:) is not quite as strong as a full stop.
It is rarely used, except:
- To introduce a list:
e.g. These are the things you will need: pens, pencils, paper and glue.- To introduce a quotation or speech:
e.g. It is just as the saying goes: "It never rains but it pours."
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The semi-colon (;) is stronger than a comma, but weaker than a colon.
It is used:
- To separate and clarify large items in a list:
e.g. Off the field trooped the players: the winning team in a happy mood, waving their arms toward their supporters; the losing side in a depressed state, hardly able to look up.- To separate two closely related sentences:
e.g. The impossible we can do at once; miracles take a little longer.