Tips and Tricks for Using Punctuation

People frequently make mistakes with commas. Often people put them in where they think there should be a natural break in the writing, or where you might ‘take a breath’. This method doesn’t always work and can lead to problems. This is because using commas incorrectly, or not using them at all, can affect the clarity of your writing. Therefore, it is worth investing some time to learn how to use commas.

Here are six instances when you can/should use commas:

1. Separating Items in a List

Example - 'The survey indicated that there is a need for increased funding, a larger team and more work space.'

2. Before Coordinating Conjunctions

Coordinating conjunctions include words like ‘and’, ‘but’, ‘or’, ‘so’ and ‘nor’. You can use a comma before these, but this is not compulsory.

Example - 'The weather conditions for the field work were less than ideal, but it was decided we should go anyway.'

3. After Transition Words at the Start of a Sentence or Independent Clause

Examples of transition words include ‘however’, ‘furthermore’ and ‘additionally.’

Example - 'However, there have been a number of promising developments in recent years.'

4. Before and After Additional Information in the Middle of a Sentence 

Example - 'The lead researcher, who worked tirelessly on the project, won an award for innovation.'

5. When Introducing Direct Quotes

Example - 'As Jones (2012) notes, ‘there was no clear consensus from the government about what direction to take’.'

6. Between Dependent and Independent Clauses

This will be needed when you use a subordinating conjunction such as ‘although’, ‘despite’, ‘in spite of’, ‘while’ and ‘before’; when you have a participle phrase; or when you use a relative pronoun to start a non-restrictive dependent clause.

An example with a subordinating conjunction is as follows:

'Although I have never been to Scotland, I have a good understanding of its geography.'

You can also reverse this, as in the sentence below:

'I have a good understanding of the geography of Scotland, although I have never been.'

An example with a present participle (verb + ‘ing’) is as follows:

'The ‘approaches to learning’ section starts with some background information, introducing the key publications used to support the rest of the paper.'

An example with a relative pronoun is as follows:

'The results indicated the predictions were accurate, which is a useful outcome for the project.'

7. After an Adverbial Phrase at the Start of a Sentence.

An adverbial phrase adds more information about what is being done, such as where or when.

Example – 'Tomorrow evening, we will start our trip.'

A comma is not usually needed if the adverb at the start of the sentence is only one word (e.g. yesterday).

Common Errors with Commas

Visit our 'Common Errors in Grammar' guide, and look at sections 2, 3 and 12 to find out more about common errors in comma usage like Comma Splices, Run-On Sentences, and Misplaced or Omitted Commas.

A colon is used when further explanation or information is needed after a complete statement. It is useful because it can save us words by replacing phrases that we usually need to introduce that information.

There are a few guiding rules for using colons:

1. What goes before the colon should be a complete sentence (without the full stop)
2. What comes after the colon may be a complete sentence but it doesn’t have to be
3. The initial statement before the colon leaves the reader expecting more.

Examples of the Uses of a Colon

1. To introduce a quote

'Harrison (2016) gives a comprehensive definition of bullying: ‘seeking to harm, scare, or coerce someone perceived as vulnerable’.'

2. To introduce a comma separated list

'There are several reasons why spending time on writing an introduction is a good idea: it is the first part of your work people read, it gives background information, and it sets the direction of your work'

3. To introduce a bullet-point list

'The action needed to reduce the heating costs for the flats are as follows:

• insulate all roofs and walls
• install double glazing
• install new energy efficient boilers'

4. To introduce further information

'The remedial action is likely to be more costly than expected: more work is needed to excavate the base of the building, which is very time intensive.'

Common Errors with Colons

Visit our 'Common Errors in Grammar' guide, and look at section 4 to find out more about common errors in colon usage.

Semi-colons are never an essential piece of punctuation; however, they can make your writing more concise.

There are three instances where you could use a semi-colon:

1. To separate items in a list

This is similar to how you might use a comma in a list, but it emphasises the distinction between items. It is particularly useful when you have lists within lists:

'There are three major government departments in one area of the city: the department for trade, business and enterprise; the department for the environment, food and farming; and the department for energy and climate change.'

2. When using a transition word in the middle of a sentence

You can use a semi-colon when you want to introduce a new idea in the same sentence using a transition word like ‘however’ or ‘therefore’. This may be useful when the two ideas are closely linked:

'There were a number of problems with James’s idea; however, the team decided it would be the best option.'

3. To link two independent ideas (clauses) that are closely related

'The research was likely to fail; it was poorly designed.'

Common Errors with Semicolons

Visit our 'Common Errors in Grammar' guide, and look at section 4 to find out more about common errors in semicolon usage.

Clause

The smallest grammatical unit that carries meaning, made up of a subject (thing, animal or person) and a predicate (a description of what the subject is doing, or what state it is in). Sentences are formed of one or more clauses.

In the sentence 'Although the dog was big, it could run very quickly.' there are two clauses: 'Although the dog was big', and 'it could run very quickly'.

Coordinating Conjunctions

Words that allow you to join two grammatically similar elements, such as words, phrases, or independent clauses. Examples include 'For', 'And', 'Nor', 'But', 'Or', 'Yet', 'So'.

Dependent Clause

A clause that is not a complete idea on its own. In the sentence 'Although the dog was big, it could run very quickly.' there is a dependent clause: 'Although the dog was big'.

Independent Clause

A clause that forms a complete idea, which could be a sentence on its own. Every complete sentence contains an independent clause. In the sentence 'Although the dog was big, it could run very quickly.' the independent clause is 'it could run very quickly'.

Participle

Words derived from verbs that function as adjectives. In the phrase 'He is a working man', the word 'working' is a present participle. Likewise in the phrase 'Look at the destroyed building.' the word 'destroyed' is a past participle.

Participle Phrase

A phrase containing a participle that acts as an adjective. For example, in the sentence 'Walking as quickly as she could, Sarah entered the building.', the phrase 'Walking as quickly as she could' is a participle phrase, as it acts as an adjective describing Sarah's entrance to the building.

Subordinating Conjunction

A word that allows you to join a dependant clause to another clause or sentence. Examples include 'although', 'despite', 'which', 'before'. In the sentence 'Although the dog was big, it could run very quickly.', the word 'although' in the dependent clause is the word that links it to the independent clause.

Transition Words

Words that can be used to start a new sentence or independent clause and indicate that we transitioning to a new, but related, idea. Examples include, 'Furthermore', 'Therefore', 'However'.