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  • Hello and welcome to another Isles writing video.

  • Today we are looking at a grammar topic.

  • The topic is when and how to use commas.

  • I open this video that we can go over some of the different ways that we should be employing commas in our task one and test two responses on the Isles exam.

  • If you find this video helpful, please visit my blawg at isles isles dot com.

  • I wanted to start today's video with the definition regarding what Akama is.

  • Com is a grammatical device that separates words, praises clauses.

  • Rules for common use differ between the US and the UK, and, as you know, on your eyelids examination, you can follow us or UK spelling and grammatical rules.

  • But it's important that you are consistent.

  • So if you start your essay, for example, spelling things the way a British person would spell them, and then if you start employing comma rules the way an American would, that would be a mistake.

  • So a few things to keep in mind are that dates are written differently between the UK and the US, So in the UK, the date today would be written 16 July 2012 verses in the U.

  • S.

  • Where it would be written July 16 comma 2012.

  • And the use of commas in a list of now.

  • NHS, for example, also differs.

  • So if I were writing the way a British person would write, I would write, I am going to the store to buy milk, comma eggs and cheese.

  • However, an American would right.

  • I'm going to the store to buy milk, comma, eggs, comma and cheese, and so that the American rule is that if you have three or more announcing the list that you put a comma before and and the final now, so a couple of small things to remember there commas and the rules regarding comma use are subject to a number of exceptions.

  • But in today's video, I would like to present to you the most common and widely accepted rules for comma use, and I hope that thes rules help improve your writing.

  • So let's start bye talking about when commas should be used.

  • So the 1st 1 that most people know is that commas are used in lists or when giving multiple adjectives or adverbs.

  • So when you're Eilts essay there may be an instance when you are giving an example or talking about that example, and you want to qualify that example.

  • So you want to share some adjectives to describe or to show to amplify certain points about the example that you're giving, and you may want to use multiple adjectives to do this.

  • So let's take an example here.

  • So, for example, now this pretend this is in my Isles essay.

  • So I'm sharing a real example.

  • For example, Americans are often criticized for being impulsive, oops, impulsive, comma, indiscriminate, screaming it comma careless consumers.

  • So, for example, Americans are often criticized for being impulsive, comma, indiscriminate, comma, careless consumers.

  • Consumers is there now, so there is no common that goes before it and the last adjective in the list.

  • But as you can see after each adjective impulsive, indiscriminate, we include a comma.

  • Now, another instance, when we use commas is too separate independent clauses, uh, independent clauses, joined by a coordinating conjunction.

  • Now I know these maybe new terms for some of you, so let me just quickly explain what these are not nearly as complicated as they sound.

  • An independent clauses, simply a group of words that can that can stand alone as a sentence.

  • Okay, So if I had the phrase the other day, this is not an independent claws.

  • The other day is not a full sentence.

  • A coordinating conjunction is Avery fancy phrase describing just words that link two different ideas together and show the relationship between those ideas.

  • So these air words like and write some things down.

  • And but or, um, for okay, so they show a certain relationship between two ideas.

  • Now, if we were to join two ideas with and the relationship would be different than if we were to join them with.

  • But so when we have two independent clauses and when we join them with with a coordinated conjunction, we need to use a comma to separate the two independent clauses.

  • Now, let me give you an example.

  • So if I were to write this, maybe this is the thesis of my of my essay.

  • So the city of Dubai is known for its role boats.

  • See advise, known for its role as a Middle Eastern import hub case.

  • That's the first independent Klaus.

  • Now let's put the 2nd 1 in here, and this is one of the reasons international companies gravitate to it.

  • Okay, Now, uh, these sorts of mistakes I see regularly in aisles essays that students submit to me online.

  • Here we have to clauses that could be their own sentence.

  • This is one of the reasons international companies gravitate to.

  • It is a sentence in itself.

  • The city of Dubai is known for its role as a Middle Eastern import hub is also a sentence that can stand by itself.

  • And we've joined these two with the coordinating conjunction.

  • And now because we've done this, we have to use a comma.

  • Okay, as we have here now, I just want to point out something very quickly.

  • Sometimes students are curious when they see symbols like, um, like a semi colon.

  • And they wonder, when do I ever use a semi colon?

  • A semi colon Looks like this down at the bottom, so semi colons can be used instead of this combination.

  • So if I were to stick a semicolon here in here, this would be grammatically correct.

  • But the thing is that this is not the stylistic norm in English.

  • People would would typically Wright comma and and okay, now, commas, air also used to separate dependent clauses that come before independent clauses, so separate dependent clauses that come before independent clauses.

  • Okay, now way already defined.

  • What an independent clauses.

  • It's a group of words that can stand alone as a sentence.

  • A dependent clause is a group of words that cannot stand alone as a sentence.

  • So how do you know if what you're dealing with is a dependent clause?

  • Well dependent clauses usually not 100% of the time but usually begin with dependent words.

  • So let's take this in your teeth.

  • So dependent clauses usually begin with dependent words, for example, words like when after a while.

  • For as so, for example, if I said while he was at the store, she and then whatever so while he was at the store, that's not an independent clause.

  • That's not a full sentence.

  • That's dependent clause.

  • It needs Maur information for it to be considered part of a full sentence.

  • So let me share an example.

  • This example could be perhaps the thesis of an essay.

  • So as it is widely known, that Canada it is an immigrant country coma, it is not surprising that Canadian cuisine it is quite he collected.

  • Okay, so now this sentence has an independent clause, which, as we were saying before, this is the part of the sentence that could stand by itself as its own sentence.

  • It is not surprising that Canadian cuisine is quite a collecting.

  • That's a full sentence.

  • The beginning is a dependent clause.

  • This is the part of the sentence that cannot stand as an independent sentence, as it is widely known that Canada is an immigrant country.

  • That's not a full sentence.

  • Now, when this comes before independent clause, we have to separate them with a comma.

  • So let me share another example Wild.

  • Many would agree at Western ideological thought differs from Eastern Coma.

  • The two schools share numerous similarities.

  • It's been a page break in here.

  • While many would agree that Western island ideological thought differs from Eastern, the two schools share numerous similarities.

  • Here We have an independent clause, and here we have a dependent clause now is it pointed out, before dependent clauses can often be identified by the dependent word that they have at the beginning.

  • So if we took this dependent word away and we just had many would agree that Western biological thought differs from Eastern.

  • That is actually an independent clause by itself.

  • But because we have this word here, it's indicating to the reader that this is not a full and complete thought that there is something that this dependent clause is modifying.

  • This dependent clause is modifying or augmenting the independent clause that follows it.

  • Okay, so there's a comma that separates that, too.

  • Now, let's talk about letters.

  • Commas are used as you know, in letters.

  • And those of you taking the general exam may want to take note of this.

  • Now, those of you taking the academic exam don't stop watching yet.

  • We're gonna get to task one, uh, common use in a second.

  • So commas air used in letters two indicate direct address.

  • So, um, I'll give you an example in a second.

  • But commas can be used to show a degree of emotion, for example.

  • Anger irritation was commonly but even sometimes understanding.

  • So, for example, if I was writing a letter and perhaps my task, one question told me I would be writing a letter to tell somebody that they were being let go from a job, for example, we might want to write something like this.

  • I am writing to you, Comma John Comma, to inform you that's your employment will be terminated as of whatever the danger or whatever.

  • But the important thing here is that we are directly addressing John.

  • So we've already stated you.

  • And now we're stealing John.

  • And this gives our letter a sense of I don't want to say urgency, but a sense that something important or an important message is being expressed to John.

  • And to indicate this, we are talking to him directly.

  • Okay, so this is an interesting use of commas that you can employee in your letter, but you cannot use this to address a company.

  • So you wouldn't say I am writing to you Microsoft Corporation to inform you that.

  • And then whatever this would, this is typically used for names.

  • Now, let's go on to a couple of topics.

  • A couple of instances that you should avoid.

  • So never do this.

  • Never separate subjects from boobs.

  • So if we were to write something like the degree to which money acts as a motivator need we'll change it to a workplace motivator.

  • Comma is often debated.

  • I see these kinds of mistakes all the time.

  • The degree to which money acts as a workplace motivator Comma is often debated.

  • Now we cannot put a comic here.

  • This is not a combination of an independent claws and another independent claws.

  • This is not a combination of a dependent clause and an independent clause.

  • So we would not want to put our comma right before our work.

  • That doesn't make any sense.

  • Never do this.

  • Never separate a bird and its object.

  • So, for example, um, if we're writing our task one response and we have sent in something like this the points is clearly indicate, comma, that, uh, continued increase can be expected into the foreseeable future.

  • Ciel future.

  • Okay, here we would not want to put a comma or verb indicate would not be followed by a common here.

  • I see a lot of students that I'm not sure exactly why, but when they have the word that they often feel is though they need to put a comma before it or after it.

  • Sometimes I'm not exactly sure why that is, but no, you do not need a comma here.

  • Do not separate a proposition and an object propositions are those little irritating words that you have to include to show the relationship between different things.

  • So on at under.

  • Before, between these sorts of words, If I was to show an example eso a task one sentence might read, the trend continues.

  • A steady climb 2 to 4000 units in February.

  • Okay, so maybe we were given a graph and were describing what happens in the graph.

  • And there's a point in the graph where a trend is seen.

  • It's going up, and it hits 4000 units in the month of February.

  • So the trend continues.

  • A steady climb to 4000 units in February is a sentence that does not need any coma at all.

  • Okay, I hope that this video helps clear up and he issues you have with using commas and your else work.

  • There is a user on YouTube.

  • His videos.

  • I find very, very helpful.

  • He's a grammarian.

  • His name is Mister.

  • Uh, I believe it's false.

  • Tho.

  • Th you can try searching for his work.

  • I've sent him a question in the past.

  • He responded very, very promptly.

  • So if you have questions of your own, perhaps you'd like to send them to him.

  • I wish you the best of luck in your studies and in your pursuit of bands.

  • Nine.

  • Have a nice evening.

Hello and welcome to another Isles writing video.