Commas with Introductory Phrases
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LESSON
A common technique that writers use to add detail to their writing is to begin some sentences with introductory phrasesA group of words that comes at the beginning of a sentence to provide additional information about the main part of the sentence..
An introductory phrase is any group of words that precedes the subjectIn grammar, a part of speech that refers to the “doer” in the sentence (who or what). A subject is usually a person, place or thing. in a sentenceA group of words, phrases, or clauses that expresses a complete thought. A complete sentence has these characteristics: a capitalized first word, a subject and a predicate, and end punctuation, such as a period (.), question mark (?), or exclamation mark (!).. There are many types of introductory word groups and phrasesA set of words that express an idea. A phrase may or may not form a complete sentence., but the most common are prepositional phrasesA group of words that starts with a preposition and ends with a noun. For example, in the prepositional phrase, At the desk, At is the preposition and the desk is the noun. and dependent clausesPart of a sentence that contains a subject and a verb but is unable to stand on its own because it is incomplete in some way. Example of a dependent clause: Because it was a freshly picked apple, the boy ate it with delight. In this sentence, Because it was a freshly picked apple is a dependent clause. It has a subject (it) and a verb (was), but it cannot stand on its own without the second part of the sentence.. Even though it is not critical to be able to identify each of these types of introductory word groups by name, it is crucial to know how to punctuateTo use punctuation marks in a text. them. They are all punctuated in the same way, following two steps.
First, identify the subject in the sentence. Remember that this is the "who" or "what" being talked about in the sentence. Don't be fooled by subject pretendersA noun or pronoun in a phrase or clause that is not the subject of the sentence. It is referred to as a "pretender" because it can often be confused as the subject of the sentence. Example: While eating my mom's banana cream pie, I felt relieved to be home. In this sentence, mom could be seen as a subject pretender because I is the actual subject of the sentence, not mom.; not every nounA part of speech that refers to a person, place, or thing. Examples include: swimmer, lake, sunscreen. or pronounA part of speech that substitutes for a noun or noun phrase. Examples include: I, he, you, they. is the subject.
Second, see if there are any phrases or clausesA group of words in a sentence that contains a subject and a predicate. that come before the subject. If so, follow the phrase or clause with a comma(,) A punctuation mark used to group and separate information in sentences.. If there are two or more phrases and/or clauses before the subject, only put a comma after the last one.
For example, read the following sentence and notice the introductory phrase that comes before the subject, which is she. The introductory phrase is correctly followed by a comma:
Correct: When Gina registered for five classes in the spring, she had no idea that they would consume so much of her time.
Now, look at how the sentence appears without the correct punctuation:
Incorrect: When Gina registered for five classes in the spring she had no idea that they would consume so much of her time.
Without the comma, the reader is left wondering what in the spring refers to: the time when Gina registered for classes or when she didn't realize they would consume so much of her time.
Next, look at another way that the sentence could have been punctuated incorrectly:
Incorrect: When Gina registered, for five classes, in the spring, she had no idea that they would consume so much of her time.
Remember that the subject of the sentence is she. It is preceded by a subordinating clauseA type of dependent clause that begins with a subordinating conjunction. Example: After the game. The subject: the game, is modified by the subordinating conjunction: After., When Gina registered, and two prepositional phrases, for five classes and in the spring. Because there are two or more phrases and/or clauses before the subject, the comma is placed after the last one. Remember, do not put a comma between each clause or phrase.
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