Comma abuse is one of the most common problems in writing.  Some were taught to place a comma wherever there is a "breath" or a pause in the sentence.  Some place commas where they "sound right."  These informal rules may work some of the time, but you need a foolproof plan to navigate the waters of junior high school writing assignments.  Follow the instructions carefully, and you will be using commas like a pro (or at least like an 8th grader) in about an hour!

The navigation buttons move you quickly between lessons.  Each lesson contains only the basics, but there will be links to other sites where more detail is provided.  Feel free to follow those links, but don't forget to bookmark this page now, so you can return whenever you want to continue the lesson.

Let's start with verbs!