Humanities › English Practice Creating Sentences With Commas Share Flipboard Email Print Maurice Alexandre F.P/Getty Images English Writing Writing Essays Writing Research Papers Journalism English Grammar By Richard Nordquist Richard Nordquist English and Rhetoric Professor Ph.D., Rhetoric and English, University of Georgia M.A., Modern English and American Literature, University of Leicester B.A., English, State University of New York Dr. Richard Nordquist is professor emeritus of rhetoric and English at Georgia Southern University and the author of several university-level grammar and composition textbooks. Learn about our Editorial Process Updated on April 15, 2019 Confused on when and where to place commas in a sentence? Almost everyone gets rusty from time to time. Here's a little exercise that can help you learn when commas are necessary or to help you dust the cobwebs off of your already acquired skills. This sentence-imitation exercise will give you practice in applying the four guidelines for using commas correctly. Instructions Use each of the four sentences below as the model for a new sentence of your own. Your new sentence should follow the guidelines in parenthesis and use the same number of commas as in the original. Example: The younger children spent the afternoon at Chuck E. Cheese, and the others went to the ball game.(Guideline: Use a comma before a coordinator—and, but, yet, or, nor, for, so—that links two main clauses.) Sample sentences: Vera cooked the roast beef, and Phil baked a pumpkin pie.Tom ordered steak, but the waiter brought Spam. Exercises I rang the bell and pounded on the door, but no one answered.(Guideline: Use a comma before a coordinator—and, but, yet, or, nor, for, so—that links two main clauses; do not use a comma before a coordinator that links two words or phrases.) I sent Elaine a basket full of apricots, mangoes, bananas, and dates.(Guideline: Use commas to separate words, phrases, or clauses that appear in a series of three or more.) Because the storm had knocked out the electricity, we spent the evening telling ghost stories on the porch.(Guideline: Use a comma after a phrase or clause that precedes the subject of the sentence.) Simone LeVoid, who has never voted in her life, is running for the post of county commissioner.(Guideline: Use a pair of commas to set off nonessential words, phrases, or clauses—also called nonrestrictive elements—that interrupt a sentence.) Cite this Article Format mla apa chicago Your Citation Nordquist, Richard. "Practice Creating Sentences With Commas." ThoughtCo, Apr. 5, 2023, thoughtco.com/creating-sentences-with-commas-1691743. Nordquist, Richard. (2023, April 5). Practice Creating Sentences With Commas. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/creating-sentences-with-commas-1691743 Nordquist, Richard. "Practice Creating Sentences With Commas." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/creating-sentences-with-commas-1691743 (accessed June 5, 2023). copy citation Featured Video