Most introductory words starting off a sentence will have a comma after them. They are transitional words between the sentence before and the sentence following. Most are adverbs, words that tell things like how, why, when, where, how much. Adverbs usually end in -ly, like consequently or eventually , actually, etc.

Ex.

Accordingly, he was there.

Moreover, she was not.

Instead, I went there.

First, you are the king.

There is a good list on top of pg 37 that lists the words to set off. It also says that you no longer set off the words - hence, so, thus, or yet-  when they begin a sentence like that. No comma for those four.

Ex.

Now you are married?

Now, are you married?

Then he went there?

Then, did he go there?

(In the examples without the commas, now and then are referring to actual times either "right now" or "back then." In the other two examples, they have commas because they are filler words, like "well, are you married"

Ex.

Well, was he there?

Oh, I didn't do that.

And, gee, was she upset.

I was there and, wow, was it cool.

Ex.

A.    Yes, I do.

A.  No, he was not.

A.   Yes. I always was there.

(it will often depend on what the question is. If he is simply answering exactly what was asked and what follows the yes or no is short and adding no information , use the comma. If in doubt at all, then use the period.)

Ex.

Until I was there, I had no idea.

When you got home, what did you do?

On all of those days, was he there?

You will also use a comma after short phrases (3 words or less) if they are general and not specific. There is a list on pg 39.

They are basically filler phrases that don't mention anything real or specific.

Ex.

Above all,

as a rule,

of course,

on the whole,

in any case,

In December the flowers bloom.

During that time we were there.

At Agnes's house I saw rain.

After the concert we went home.

Ex.

To prevail, you must play dirty.

To get home, you must walk.

To achieve success, you must try.

Sometimes you will have adverb clauses at the end of the sentence or in the middle, instead of at the beginning. Anytime that they are not essential to the meaning of the sentence, and are just extra info thrown in, you will put a comma before them.

There is a list top of pg 41.

Ex.

I had 3 dogs, all of whom were fixed.

She was quite smart, though she never graduated.

You have heard testimony, none of which is relevant, about that incident.

(none of the clauses are necessary, just extra info)

When the adverbial clause is essential to the meaning, you will not use a comma.

These essential clauses are usually introduced by the following words

as, because, if, since, so, unless

(those words will not always introduce essential clauses as you will find out in the next card)

Ex.

You must listen to me if you are to figure it out.

I was there because I wanted to go.

I ran out as soon as he came in.

I did it so I could win.

You cannot find her guilty unless you are KWIRD (convinced beyond a reasonable doubt).

(without these ending clauses, the sentence wouldn't make as much sense or wouldn't tell the complete story)

I want your signature, if you don't mind.

She's smart, because only a smart person could get that answer.

Don't touch those flowers, because, you know, they might have bugs in them.

I never went there, as you will soon learn.

Don't do it, so that if he comes back, he won't know.

(it is often tough to tell, so when in doubt, use the comma)

Mary, my sister, was there.

William, the defendant, was guilty.

I handed it to Marge, our teacher.

Sometimes, there will not be commas if you have a noun that will refer to more than one thing, and then you name which one you mean, so the name was necessary.

Ex - if you have more than one defendant in a case, then naming which defendant is necessary, so no comma

The defendant Tom Selleck was there.

Ex.

My son Bob was there.

Her dog Milo was there (if you knew for a fact she only had one dog, then use commas)

My mother, Lisa, was there. (it is assumed you only have one mother, but who knows really these days)

Use a comma before the words "who" or "which" when the clause is unnecessary info.

If the who or which clause is necessary to the meaning, then no comma.

Ex.

I gave it to Agnes, who didn't want it.

I gave it to the girl who asked for it.

Agnes, whom I trusted with my life, was there.

The woman whom I trusted was there.

I went over the bridge, which didn't have that much traffic that day.

He ate the sandwhich which he had made.

(the ones that don't have commas are necessary to tell which person or which sandwich. The ones that have commas can be taken out and you still know which it is referring to)

His opinion is that foods such as pasta and pizza shouldn't be eaten.

His opinion is that desserts, such as cake and pie, should not be eaten.

(in the first example, my meaning is that only pasta and pizza shouldn't be eaten but that other foods are fine. In the second example, by putting the commas in, I am saying that no desserts should be eaten. Cake and pie are just examples of desserts, but not necessary to what I am saying)

He went to many places, like Target and Macy's (they don't need to be listed, put a comma)

My opinion is that stores like Target and Macy's are robbing you (again, not all stores, just those ones, so it is necessary and no comma)

I thought, though, that he was there.

And you are, in effect, a charlatan.

She did it, I believe, at the Y (Y referring to YMCA. Would you put Y in quotes? I dont know, tricky, but I think that I would not)

When you have clauses at the end of a sentence which start with the following words then set them off with a comma

even though

never

rather

though

though not

I was there, even though he was not.

I ended up going on Saturday, never on Friday.

Tom, rather than Joe, was there.

when "rather than" comes at end of a sentence, no commas --

I was there rather than here.

It should have been you rather than him

You may use commas around pronouns such as himself, herself, myself, yourself

when it is necessary for clarity or emphasis

He wasn't there, so I drove over, myself.

( I didnt' drive over myself)

Did you glue that stamp on, yourself?

(I am not asking if you glued it onto you)

I myself was there.

Did she give it to you yourself.

( no clarity needed, no commas)

When you have the same word repeated twice in a row, use a comma if you think there is any chance of misreading. Some are so common that there is no chance of that and you don't need commas. those are

had had

that that

What it is, is a tight-knit group.

I was very, very tired.

I got by, by doing it all.

He'd go in, in time.

Did I tell you that that was okay?

And you had had enough?

You were there, weren't you?

That was it, wasn't it?

He did that, didn't he?

You were there; right?

You were there; isn't that true?

Use commas around filler words like "like," "you know," "I mean," "okay," etc.

Do not use a comma around "like" if it is referring to about or around and is necessary to the sentence.

I was, like, there, you know, and, like, I, like, wanted to go like five feet. (the last one has no comma because it means about five feet, not exactly five feet, and is necessary to the meaning -- just poor word choice)

And like five days ago, I, like, was, okay, well, I was there.