Why are commas needed?

It is impossible to do without commas in writing. They help you understand the meaning of what is written, choose the correct intonation, and highlight a word or phrase.

In text, the comma performs various functions. For example, in a sentence... a comma separates parts of a complex sentence, and in a sentence... it emphasizes an address, etc.

Really, why do we need commas? How often do they put us in difficult situations? There are so many rules in the Russian language! And yet, it is impossible to do without commas.

But think about how you can describe some situations in literature without using intonation? It's one thing when a person speaks. Then he can use his voice as a means of highlighting words and phrases. What to do when it comes to writing something?

Let's turn to the text. In a sentence...commas are placed...And in a sentence.

We are convinced that commas are needed, they are simply necessary. In spelling, commas are the basis of punctuation. An educated person must be literate, and for this he must write without errors and use commas correctly.

Comma(,) - punctuation mark. In Russian, this sign is used in writing:

• 1. to highlight (isolate): definitions, circumstances, appeals, clarifications, interjections, introductory words, etc.
• 2. to separate parts of a complex, complex or complex non-union sentence;
• 3. between direct speech and indirect
• 4. when listing homogeneous members (separation function)

A comma is a punctuation mark. This is a small but very important sign. To understand how important commas are, it is enough to recall the example “execute cannot be pardoned.” The meaning of what is written largely depends on where the comma is placed. You could write a whole essay on why commas are needed, but we will talk about specific cases and examples.

The comma is used to highlight and separate parts, highlight one or more elements, and arrange intonation. When reading, a comma can be understood as a short pause. She orients and guides a person.

Why are commas needed in text?

Let's continue our discussion of why commas are needed, with examples and rules for placing commas. For example, commas are used to separate homogeneous members of a sentence if there is no conjunction between them: “Mom bought bread, butter, cheese and cookies at the store.” Without commas, such a listing would visually merge into one stream of words.

Commas are also used to highlight circumstances: “The task was completed despite the difficulties.” To highlight participial and participial phrases: “The children returned home, having had plenty of fun on the street.”

Why are commas needed in written communication?

A comma must be used to highlight requests: “Dear Olga Leonidovna, yesterday I received your letter.” Now there are a few real-life examples in which the absence or presence of a comma after an address changes the meaning: “The idiot threw out important documents!” If there is no comma after the word “idiot”, it means that we are talking about some idiot who has seriously messed up, but if there is a comma after the word “idiot”, then the interlocutor is called an idiot, and apparently it was he who screwed up.

A comma is used to highlight interjections: “Oh, this is so unexpected!”, so the semantic load on the interjection increases. If you read such a sentence without a comma, you get the feeling that this is a joke or sarcasm. This is why commas are needed in writing, especially if you communicate with your interlocutor through correspondence. If you place commas incorrectly, you may be misunderstood.

Commas are needed to highlight clarifications: “Expect a call tomorrow evening, after 18.00.” This way we draw a person’s attention to the clarification itself, and it will be more difficult to miss and not notice. To highlight the introductory words: “Undoubtedly, a small miracle happened that day.” In such a sentence, if you remove the comma, the meaning can also change, the emphasis can shift to the words “that day”, to the word “happened” or to the word “small”, and each time the meaning of what is written will change.

Now let's talk about why commas are needed in complex, complex and complex sentences. Commas are used to separate simple sentences as part of a complex sentence: “It was hot outside and there was warm rain” and a complex sentence: “She calmed down when she found out that there was no reason to worry” and a complex non-union sentence: “The grass is turning green, the sun is getting warmer , thoughts don’t come to mind.” Now let’s look at examples of how the structure of a complex sentence is disrupted if there are no commas in it: “The sun was shining in the air, there was warmth in the air, and swallows were flying beautifully.” When reading, you may get very strange simple sentences: the sun will shine in the air and the warmth will waft beautifully. Finally, commas are used to separate direct and indirect speech: “She said I looked like an idiot.”

Thus, commas help divide the whole into parts, help highlight one or more elements and semantic parts with a certain intonation.

In the XIV-XV centuries. At first, the role of the comma differed little from that of the period. Today it is used to isolate and separate parts of a sentence. The full list of cases of its use is very wide. But we can highlight the main ones.

A comma is placed between parts of a complex sentence. There are many options here: these parts can be part of a compound or complex sentence, be allied or non-allied. But a comma helps to see the boundaries of the parts. For example: “Masha is a boy, and Petya is a boy,” “The children walked in the forest until it got dark,” “Dad came home early, and the children were happy about it.”

A comma also separates homogeneous members of a sentence if there is no between them. But if there are conjunctions and they are repeated, a comma is also needed. “Red, yellow and pink flowers grew in the meadow”, “Blue, red, yellow and pink flowers grew in the meadow.”

Most often, schoolchildren are introduced to the comma for the first time, which distinguishes an address to someone. For example: “Sharik, give me your paw”, “Mom, help me.” But a comma can indicate in writing both isolated members of a sentence, interjections, and inserted constructions or words. For example: “It is convenient for a student sitting on the first desk to copy assignments from the board,” “Oh, how the roses smell!”, “Unfortunately, we will not be able to come to the holiday,” “Nikolai, amazingly, was not late for the meeting.”

Many people consider it obligatory to put a comma before the word “how,” but this is only true in the case of a comparative phrase: “Cats are as curious as little children.” And if “as” means “as”, there is no need for a comma: “She participated in the rally as a representative of the trade union.”

To thoroughly study all the uses of commas, even a school course of the Russian language is not enough. There are exceptions to many rules; in addition, some writers use the so-called author’s punctuation, when the placement of commas may, to some extent, not obey generally accepted rules.

Tip 2: What unusual punctuation marks are there in different languages?

According to statistics, every fifth person on the planet uses social media. networks for communication, and technological advances allow us to translate texts from most world languages. However, even if the meaning of what is said is clear, the peculiarities of punctuation can lead to confusion. After all, many languages ​​have unusual punctuation marks.

Spanish

In Spanish there is an unusual exclamation point. Unlike the Russian language, where a question mark and an exclamation mark are placed at the end of a sentence, the Spaniards write these signs in , but upside down. It looks like this: ¿Cómo estás? - How are you? ¡Qué sorpresa! - What a surprise!

Romanian language

In Mongolia, instead of an ellipsis, a square (□) is used.

In Romanian and a number of other European languages, quotation marks in a column for direct speech are written at the bottom at the beginning of the quotation and at the top at the end of the quotation, for example: “Ce faci?”, întreaba ea. - How are you? – she asked.

Turkish language

In Turkish, a small letter under the letters C and S completely changes their sound: C (je) – Ç (che), S (ce) – Ş (she).

Greek language

In Greek, the system of punctuation marks is the same as in Russian, but they are used differently. The traditional semicolon (;) in Greek is a question mark and is placed at the end of an interrogative sentence. And instead of a semicolon, the Greeks write a period ( ).

Hindi

In Hindi, the period at the end of a sentence is indicated by a vertical line - |.

Thai language

In Khmer, the official language of Cambodia, a square (□) is used to mark the end of a sentence, an abbreviation, or as an ellipsis.

The Thai language has a number of unusual punctuation symbols. The ๆ sign means that the word written before it must be repeated again. If there is a noun in front of this symbol, this means that it is used in the plural. This sign is also written after an adjective to enhance its meaning.

๛ – this sign marks the end of the story. It is usually used at the end of a book or article.

ฯ – Thais use this sign to mark an abbreviation. The symbol ⠰⠆ is also used.

Ethiopian language

The Ethiopian language has punctuation marks that resemble the punctuation system adopted in Europe, but with some changes. For example, a question mark is three vertical dots, and the end of a sentence is indicated by four dots - colons on the right and left. A comma is two dots placed vertically with a short horizontal line above them. If you draw another horizontal line under this sign, you get an Ethiopian colon. A semicolon in Ethiopia is indicated by two dots arranged vertically with a short horizontal line between them.

Europeans began to use punctuation marks even before the new era. The history of European punctuation began with Alexandrian grammars. During this time, the icons that separated the ends of the semantic parts or the emotional coloring changed several times. In general, the punctuation system used in European and some other languages ​​developed by the fifteenth century.

Instructions

Consider texts in one of the European languages, Japanese, Sanskrit and Ethiopian. You will see that Japanese text consists of more than just characters. There you can find both periods and semicolons - although it may be upside down. As for the passage in Sanskrit, there is a vertical line at the end of the sentence.

Slavic languages ​​use the same punctuation system as Russian, regardless of the type of writing. At the end of a sentence there is a period, question mark or exclamation mark. Parts of a sentence, address, homogeneous members are separated by commas. Moreover, the rules by which these signs are placed have a lot in common with Russian ones. In Slavic languages, semicolons, colons, dashes, and ellipses are used. Externally, these signs look exactly the same as Russian ones.

Germanic languages ​​also use punctuation marks similar to Russian ones. In German or text you will find periods, commas, dashes, and everything else. Basically, the rules of arrangement coincide with Russian ones - in the same way, a sentence ends with a period, a question mark or an exclamation mark, an address is highlighted with a comma, etc. But there is also. For example, in some languages, subordinate clauses may not be separated by commas.

There are some differences in Romance languages. If French, Italian or Portuguese use almost the same periods, commas and question marks as Russian, then Spanish punctuation has some differences. An interrogative sentence and an exclamation are highlighted with corresponding signs on both sides, with the sign at the beginning of the phrase. From the perspective of a non-native Spanish speaker, Spanish writing appears to be more expressive than any other language.

The European punctuation system has had a great influence on languages ​​belonging to other language families. Hungarians, Estonians and Finns, who speak Uralic languages, adopted punctuation marks from their neighbors.

Although punctuation rules are similar in different European languages, there are some differences in spelling. For example, quotation marks are different in Russian and English. In some languages, an exclamation-question mark is used to enhance the emotional attitude to what is being said. The exclamation mark comes first, then the question mark. In Russian, in such cases, the first question mark appears.

As for dashes and hyphens, an em dash is used to separate parts of a sentence, a hyphen is used to break words and separate parts of a compound word. The rules of usage in European languages ​​are similar. But, for example, in Chinese the hyphen is used only in cases where it stands next to letters of the Latin alphabet.

The placement of appropriate punctuation marks in sentences plays an important role. Writer K.G. Paustovsky compared them to musical notes that “prevent the text from falling apart.” Now it is even difficult for us to imagine that for a long time the usual small symbols were not used when printing books.

Instructions

Punctuation marks appeared in Europe with the spread of printing. The sign system was not invented by Europeans, but was borrowed from the ancient Greeks in the 15th century. Before their appearance, texts were difficult to read: there were no spaces between words or the recording was undivided segments. In our country, the rules for placing punctuation marks began to operate only in the 18th century, representing a branch of the science of language called “punctuation.” The founder of this innovation was M.V. Lomonosov.

I have been studying at our school for four years. In one lesson we talked about the comma. And now I know that with just one punctuation mark, one comma, I can just change the entire essay, the entire meaning.

Read the sentence and try adding a comma. Execution cannot be pardoned. Is it impossible to execute or is it possible to execute?

One sign can decide a person's fate. And he will remain without a head or with a head, alive and well. This is how they wrote in the old days, when executions existed. This is a joke example.

And now, in the days of the Internet, it’s not so scary. But it is also necessary to pause in words and place signs. So that the person who reads it understands you correctly. I think this is the most important thing.

Also, while reading, you will be able to understand by the signs where to read smoothly, where you need to stop or summarize everything.

Recently, in a literature lesson, one student was reading a story, but he read it so monotonously that only a few understood it. Our speech is words on paper, while our feelings or emotions are commas in the text. And if we are learning a poem, then punctuation marks will help us remember it faster. I checked it works. The poem is broken up into blocks by commas. Each block is a complete thought. This makes it easier to learn and remember. This way the poem lingers in memory longer.

For other subjects, except Russian and literature, commas are also needed. How else do we divide numbers in mathematics? True, there is another way, for example, adding a space. But the gap may not be noticed. And they will definitely notice the comma.

We also love listening to audio books or radio and songs. What will happen if we hear an inexpressive and monotonous mooing, like that student in the class.

With these small examples, I told you about the importance of a simple comma. These are like flags in a game where we have to pause for a moment.

Why do we need commas report

The comma is the most used punctuation mark. It can be either disjunctive or emphatic, and it has many functions that can be divided into two groups: a comma between parts of a sentence and a comma between parts of a complex sentence.

Learning the rules of comma placement occurs along with mastering the syntax. Students learn about a new syntactic structure and remember the rules for its isolation. The simplest and most understandable way is to place a separating comma between members of a sentence if they are homogeneous members (White, green and red buttons were scattered on the floor).

But this is not the only case of using this punctuation mark within a sentence. Commas highlight common definitions (Leaves that had fallen from the trees lay on the ground) and clarifying circumstances of time, place and manner of action (There is a good beach on the shore, not far from the village). Also subject to isolation are circumstances expressed by the participial phrase (He read the book, thinking about something completely different) and introductory constructions if they are in the middle of the sentence (In the case, in my opinion, there is not enough evidence).

A comma separates simple sentences that are part of a complex sentence. A comma is placed between parts of a non-conjunctive and compound sentence provided that the simple sentences are connected by relations of simultaneity or sequence (Autumn has come and the leaves have fallen). Even in a complex sentence, this punctuation mark is used if there is a relationship of opposition or explanation between the parts of the sentence (It’s already December, but there has been no snow yet). To separate parts of a complex sentence, a comma is always used, regardless of the type of subordinate clause. But if both simple sentences have a common secondary member, then a comma is not needed in this case (Birds chirped in the forest and hedgehogs rustled in the grass).

The comma is the most versatile punctuation mark. There are many rules associated with it that you need to know well in order to avoid mistakes in the future.

Several interesting essays

• Essay based on Turgenev's story Bezhin meadow 6th grade

  In the Chernsky district of the Tula province, the main character hunted black grouse. He got lost, and only in the evening he came to a place called Bezhin Meadow. Often in his stories I.S. Turgenev describes

• Historical basis of the Tale of Igor's Campaign (what events is the work dedicated to?)

  The Tale of Igor's Campaign is a work of fiction that is based on true events. This work is based on the campaign of Prince Igor Svyatoslavovich against the Polovtsians

The work is included in the cycle of Pushkin’s works “Belkin’s Tale” and, according to the writer himself, is written in the genre of a sentimental story.

• Essay The main problems of Sholokhov's novel Quiet Don

  In addition to the well-known epic novel by Leo Nikolaevich Tolstoy “War and Peace,” there is another equally important one. It was written by Mikhail Sholokhov. The work is called “Quiet Don”. It took a long time to create

The history of the Don Cossacks goes back centuries. During the time of Ivan the Terrible, the Cossacks fought with the Crimean Khan, Queen Catherine loved the Cossacks, they enjoyed great privileges

It is not easy for everyone to remember in which cases it is necessary to use a punctuation mark such as a comma. Sometimes people either put extra commas or don’t use them in places where they are needed.

Some may think that if these commas were not there at all, then there would be much fewer problems with written Russian. But is this really so? After all, if we are talking about long sentences, then without commas complex sentences would be a jumble of words.

What if you write only simple sentences, after which you put only periods? Then such sentences would be more reminiscent of some kind of “stumps”, devoid of both emotion and intonation.

There is no way to do without commas in writing, because they highlight constructions in sentences that are not part of the overall structure of the sentence. These punctuation marks are necessary both for listings and for delimiting simple sentences within a complex one.

Constructions such as participial and adverbial phrases, addresses and clarifications, introductory words and interjections, definitions and circumstances are also distinguished. Using commas, we also separate direct speech from indirect speech. Such punctuation marks are also used to separate whole and fractional parts.

If we talk about the semantic meaning of commas, then these punctuation marks help create intonation in sentences. In the place where the comma is, we will definitely pause, thus highlighting the significant parts both semantically and emotionally.

The comma also takes on the function of dividing a sentence into semantic blocks, but at the same time combining them. In other words, a comma is a connecting element that fills all parts separately and the entire sentence with meaning.

Let us recall the well-known example in which the comma carries a huge semantic load: “Execution cannot be pardoned.” Depending on where the comma is placed, the meaning of phrases can be interpreted in completely different ways. Only a correctly placed punctuation mark can give a specific meaning. It happens that extra commas can not only complicate the perception of the text, but also distort the meaning of what is written.

The functions of the comma are quite diverse. Without this punctuation mark, it will simply be impossible to convey the meaning of written speech to the addressee.