Definition:
A punctuation mark ( , ) used to indicate a separation of ideas or of elements within a sentence. See Guidelines for Using Commas Effectively.
Etymology:
From the Greek, "a piece cut off"Examples and Observations:
- "Grown-ups never understand anything for themselves, and it is tiresome for children to be always and forever explaining things to them."
(Antoine de Saint-Exupery, The Little Prince) - "Water, taken in moderation, cannot hurt anybody."
(Mark Twain) - "Early to rise and early to bed makes a man healthy, wealthy, and dead."
(James Thurber) - "Marriage is a great institution, but I'm not ready for an institution yet."
(Mae West) - "A billion here, a billion there, pretty soon it adds up to real money."
(Senator Everett Dirksen) - "Curiosity killed the cat, but for a while I was a suspect."
(Steven Wright) - "I like to tell people when the final history is written on Iraq, it will look like just a comma because there is--my point is, there’s a strong will for democracy."
(George W. Bush)
Pronunciation: KOM-ah
