Here, “bath” is acting as an adjective to modify “towel”, but it’s not coordinate with “blue”.

If ever in doubt, find a page from an article that incorporates several quotations and uses it as a model for constructing sentences with quotes. Many writers do struggle with them, so don’t feel bad if you find them hard to get to grips with. We could also say healthy, strong man. Here are two common issues to watch out for in your writing. Sometimes, writers end up inserting unnecessary commas or using commas incorrectly. Quotation Marks. Many inexperienced writers run two independent clauses together by using a comma instead of a period. If you have a compound subject or a compound object in a sentence that consists of two nouns, you shouldn’t separate the parts of it using commas. Correct: Jill, who is my sister, shut the door.

Examples: Rule 15. Example: You may be required to bring many items, e.g., sleeping bags, pans, and warm clothing.

Because it’s fairly uncommon to use quotes in everyday writing, this rule can be difficult to remember. Examples: Facebook, as a Boston, Massachusetts-based company, is now known throughout the world.

Commas customarily indicate a brief pause; they're not as final as periods. The comma is the shortest pause between words. Incorrect: He walked all the way home, he shut the door. But, one day, dad … Example: Last Sunday, evening classes were canceled. Some writers omit the comma if the clauses are both quite short: Rule 3c. Fiction and nonfiction books generally prefer the Oxford comma.

Dashes are useful if you want to imply a longer pause, or draw more attention to the nonessential element of the sentence. Incorrect: The rain, and the wind battered the house. Commas separate ideas, add pauses, and help you to list things clearly.

You will improve your English in only 5 minutes per day, guaranteed! Conjunctions are words such as and, for, nor, but, yet, and so.

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Italics? Normally, you should put a comma between two complete sentences that are joined with a coordinating conjunction (and, or, but, for, nor, so, yet) that creates a single sentence with two independent clauses: Sue didn’t know whether she had enough money in her account to pay for the groceries, so she went to an ATM to check her balance. John was determined to get the unicorn slime his daughter wanted, but all the shops had sold out. Why, I can't believe this! For more on this, see Rule #8. Ultimately, it’s up to you (and your editor!)

Sometimes, you might want to include extra information within a sentence that isn’t essential to its meaning. There are some cases where you know you should use a comma – such as when separating items in a list – but there are other times when you might be unsure whether or not a comma is needed. If we already know which Freddy is meant, the description is not essential. "Why," I asked, "don't you care?". While there’s some degree of flexibility in how commas are used, it’s important to have a clear grasp of the rules. Look at the following sentence: Now, see how adding two commas changes that sentence's meaning: Careful writers and readers understand that the first sentence means I have more than one brother. You should always put a comma immediately before a quotation: John Smith told us, “You can’t come in after ten o’clock.”. But sometimes a comma in this situation is necessary to avoid confusion.
Rule 7b.

Correct: Al Mooney, Sr., is here. If the subject does not appear in front of the second verb, a comma is generally unnecessary.

I think I have them sussed and then a sentence comes along where I am doubting everything again. Best summary on commas that I have seen. They’re a tricky punctuation mark because they’re used in so many different contexts. When starting a sentence with a dependent clause, use a comma after it. Correct: The rain poured down on John and Sue. But always add a comma if it would avoid confusion. When a word or phrase forms an introduction to a sentence, you should follow it with a comma, as recommended by Purdue OWL. When you’re describing something with two or more adjectives, you can use a comma between them if those adjectives are coordinating. The commas in the second sentence mean that Bill is my only brother.

Use a comma to separate a city from its state, and remember to put one after the state, also.
When writing about locations, such as cities, states, and nations, treat the middle element as parenthetical. Rule 6. Correct: The rain and the wind battered the house. "I don't care," he said.