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The comma is used in many contexts and languages, mainly to separate parts of a sentence such as clauses, and items in lists mainly when there are three or more items listed. The word comma comes from the Greek κόμμα (kómma), which originally meant a cut-off piece, specifically in grammar, a short clause. [1] [2]
Punctuation in the English language helps the reader to understand a sentence through visual means other than just the letters of the alphabet. [1] English punctuation has two complementary aspects: phonological punctuation, linked to how the sentence can be read aloud, particularly to pausing; [2] and grammatical punctuation, linked to the structure of the sentence. [3]
The introduction of a standard system of punctuation has also been attributed to the Venetian printers Aldus Manutius and his grandson. They have been credited with popularizing the practice of ending sentences with the colon or full stop (period), inventing the semicolon , making occasional use of parentheses , and creating the modern comma by ...
The comma itself is widely attributed to Aldus Manutius, a 15th-century Italian printer who used a mark—now recognized as a comma—to separate words. [21] Etymologically, the word comma, which became widely used to describe Manutius's mark, comes from the Greek κόμμα (lit. ' to cut off '). [22] The serial comma has been used for ...
The first published English grammar was a Pamphlet for Grammar of 1586, written by William Bullokar with the stated goal of demonstrating that English was just as rule-based as Latin. Bullokar's grammar was faithfully modeled on William Lily's Latin grammar, Rudimenta Grammatices (1534), used in English schools at that time, having been ...
For example, "Stop!" has the punctuation inside the quotation marks because the word "stop" is said with emphasis. However, when using "scare quotes", the comma goes outside. Other examples: Arthur said the situation was "deplorable". (The full stop (period) is not part of the quotation.)
This comma even inspired an Atlantic essay to ask if it is the "most consequential comma in U.S. history." Comma usage at the time of the Constitution's signing was far from precise.
The independent clauses can be joined inadequately with only a comma (the comma splice). In general, run-on sentences occur when two or more independent clauses are joined without using a coordinating conjunction (i.e. for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so) or correct punctuation (i.e. semicolon, dash, or period).