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Tag Archives: Commas
How to use commas part 4
The bracketing comma Bracketing commas usually come in pairs. They are used to mark information which is not essential to the meaning of a sentence. Such non-essential information is called a “non-restrictive phrase” or a “weak interruption”. E.g.: All the … Continue reading
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Tagged Clear and concise writing, Commas, Participle clauses, Punctuation, Relative clauses
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How to use commas part 3
The gapping comma The gapping comma is very simple. It is used to avoid repetition and to show that words have been left out. For example: The blue files contain invoices from 2012; the red files, from 2013. The words … Continue reading
How to use commas part 2
The joining comma The joining comma is used to join two complete sentences into a single sentence. It must be followed by one of the following conjunctions: and, but, or, so, while, yet. Have a look at this example: The … Continue reading
How to use commas
Following up on the previous post, here’s more on how to use commas in English. There are 4 different kinds of comma. I will look at each in a separate post. 1. Listing comma 2. Joining comma 3. Gapping comma … Continue reading
Comma before “that”
Different languages have different rules about how to use commas. You cannot use the punctuation rules of your native language when you write in English – you must use English rules. Putting a comma before “that” is a very common … Continue reading
One simple way to make your English easier to read
Where possible, keep the subject of a sentence next to its verb. This will help prevent readers from “getting lost” as they read, and will also make your English sound more native-like. In the example below the announcement is the … Continue reading
“According to…” and “in accordance with…”
Although these phrases are often used interchangeably they have slightly different meanings, so we should be careful how we use them. “According to…” is usually used when you restate something someone told you or something you have heard or read … Continue reading
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Tagged Clear and concise writing, Commas, Useful everyday phrases
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An important point about how to write numbers
When we write numbers in English we use commas where continental European countries often use points, and points where continental Europeans use commas. So, for example, while many continental Europeans would write 45.678,90 (forty-five thousand, six hundred and seventy-eight and … Continue reading
“Which” and “that” with relative clauses
“Which” and “that” are very commonly used in relative clauses. In the following examples the underlined sections are the relative clauses: Unfortunately we cannot open the documents that you emailed earlier as they have been corrupted. The conduct of the … Continue reading
Common Mistakes in Business English 