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Punctuation
Rules.

Stop guessing where the comma goes. Start knowing.
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Punctuation isn't about where you pause. It's a small set of rules.

Hi, I'm Victor.

Your Instructor
  • Founder of High Performance Tutoring (est. 2011)
  • Chief architect of HPT's SAT program
  • 23 years teaching & tutoring math, science & test prep
  • PhD candidate in mathematics
  • Helped hundreds of students raise their SAT score
  • Helped thousands of students improve their grades
The myth that costs points

It's not about
where you pause.

What they taught you
"Put a comma where you'd take a breath."
The runner crossed the finish line, she raised her arms in triumph.
Feels right. It's wrong: that comma joins two full sentences.

Good news: punctuation is a short list of rules. Learn them, and you stop guessing.

01
What Makes a Sentence

Start with the
building block.

Every punctuation rule depends on one thing: knowing a complete sentence when you see one.

What makes a sentence?

A COMPLETE SENTENCE
Has a subject and a verb, and it can stand on its own.
A few complete sentences
The dog barked.
✓ subject + verb
Maria won the race.
✓ subject + verb
The old bridge collapsed.
✓ subject + verb

Read it aloud. If it could stand alone and feel finished, it is a complete sentence.

Some phrases only look complete.

Three ways a phrase falls short. Click through each one.

1
NO VERB
The tall building near the park
A subject, but it never does anything.
More like this
A long line of cars on the freeway
My favorite song from that movie
2
NO SUBJECT
Ran down the street after the bus
An action, but who did it?
More like this
Jumped the fence and kept going
Waited for hours in the cold
3
LEANS ON MORE
When the bell rang
Subject and verb, but "when" leaves you hanging.
More like this
Because the road was closed
Although she practiced every day
THE SNEAKY ONE · that / which / who
The man that yelled at me yesterday ______
"Yelled" looks like the verb, but it only describes the man. There is still no main verb, so the thought is not finished.

Complete, or not?

1 Snow fell overnight. ✓ complete
2 When the lights dimmed in the crowded theater × not · “when”
3 The runner from the visiting team crossed the finish line first. ✓ complete
4 The scientist who discovered the comet last spring × not · “who” describes
5 The museum near the river displays ancient maps. ✓ complete
02
The Four Marks

Four marks.
One job each.

Meet the semicolon, colon, dash, and comma, one at a time.

;

The semicolon

USE CASE 1 · JOIN TWO SENTENCES
Complete sentence
;
Complete sentence
✓The rain finally stopped; the game resumed.
✓Maria studied all night; she still felt nervous.
× The team celebrated; winning the title.
“winning the title” is not a complete sentence.
USE CASE 2 · SEPARATE COMPLEX LIST ITEMS
When the list items already contain commas, use semicolons so the groups stay clear.
A
;
B
;and
C
✓The tour visited Paris, France; Rome, Italy; and Tokyo, Japan.
✓The panel had Dr. Lee, a biologist; Ms. Ortiz, an engineer; and Mr. Kane, a teacher.
:

The colon

Complete sentence
:
List, definition, example, or explanation
The Colon Rule
A colon must follow a complete sentence, and whatever comes after it must explain or clarify that sentence.
✓I have three favorite colors: red, white, and blue.
✓Last weekend I visited Lagoon: the largest theme park in Utah.
×The ingredients you need are: flour, sugar, and eggs.
It ends on “are,” which is not a complete sentence, so no colon.
—

The dash

USE 1 · LIKE A COLON
Complete sentence
—
List, definition, example, or explanation
✓She finally reached her goal — a spot on the varsity team.
✓He packed the essentials — water, snacks, and a map.
×The tools you need are — a hammer and nails.
It ends on “are,” so the left side is not a complete sentence.
USE 2 · PARENTHETICAL PHRASE
Part of a sentence
—
Parenthetical phrase
—
The rest of the sentence
✓The old bridge — built a century ago — still stands.
✓My cousin — a talented pianist — is visiting this weekend.
×My cousin — a talented pianist, is visiting this weekend.
Match the marks: a dash on one side needs a dash, not a comma, on the other.
,

The comma

The Comma Rule
Don't use a comma unless it is necessary. A comma marks a rule, not a pause, so when in doubt, leave it out.
Use 1 · A list of 3 or more
A, B, and C
The flag is red, white, and blue.
Use 2 · A parenthetical phrase
Part of a sentence, Parenthetical phrase, The rest
My cousin, a pianist, is visiting.
Use 3 · Two sentences + a conjunction
Complete sentence, conjunction Complete sentence
It rained, so we moved the game indoors.
Use 4 · After an intro phrase
Intro phrase, Complete sentence
After the long hike, we finally rested.
🔄
FANBOYS
the 7 conjunctions
For And Nor But Or Yet So
,

Comma misuses

Four commas the SAT wants you to cut. Each one below is wrong:
Misuse 1 · Two complete sentences
Complete sentence, Complete sentence
×The rain stopped, the game resumed.
Misuse 2 · A subject and its verb
Subject, Verb
×My grandmother, bakes fresh bread.
Misuse 3 · A title and its name
Title, Name
×The author, Jane Austen, wrote six novels.
Misuse 4 · A prepositional phrase
Sentence, Prepositional phrase
×She has a real gift, for storytelling.
03
Boundary Rules

How to join clauses.

What goes between two sentences?

Complete sentence
?
Complete sentence
The SAT gives you the two sentences and four choices for the gap. Every option is always, sometimes, or never correct:
Always allowed
Period.
Semicolon;
Comma + conjunction, and
Sometimes allowed
Colon:
Dash—
Never allowed
Comma alone,
Conjunction aloneand
Nothingrun-on

How do you fence off extra information?

Part of a sentence
┊
Parenthetical phrase
┊
The rest of the sentence
The Parenthetical Test
A phrase is parenthetical only if you can lift it out and the sentence still reads correctly on its own.
Commas , ,
My brother, a doctor, lives in Ohio.
Dashes — —
My brother — a doctor — lives in Ohio.
Parentheses ( )
My brother (a doctor) lives in Ohio.
×
The two marks must match. My brother, a doctor — lives in Ohio. mixes a comma with a dash. The SAT loves this trap.
04
Practice

Let's practice
what you learned.

Practice 1 of 5

Sentence
The violinist Regina Carter has recorded jazz standards, folk melodies from West Africa, ______ concertos.
Which choice conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
Aand, classicalcomma after ‘and’
Band; classicalsemicolon splits a simple phrase
Cand classical✓ item follows ‘and’ directly
Dand: classicalcolon needs a full sentence
THE RULE
In a list, the final item follows the conjunction directly. No comma, semicolon, or colon after “and.”

Practice 2 of 5

Sentence
The Harlem Renaissance poet Countee Cullen ______ often wrote in traditional forms, favoring the sonnet even as his contemporaries experimented with free verse.
Which choice conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
A, a leading figure of the movement,✓ matching comma pair
B, a leading figure of the movementopens, never closes
C, a leading figure of the movement—comma opens, dash closes
Da leading figure of the movement,closes, never opens
THE RULE
Extra information dropped into a sentence must be fenced by a matching pair: open and close it with the same mark.

Practice 3 of 5

Sentence
Because the printing press made books far cheaper to produce, ______ across sixteenth-century Europe.
Which choice conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
Aliteracy spread✓ subject meets its verb
Bliteracy, spreadsplits subject from verb
Cliteracy spread,splits verb from its phrase
Dliteracy; spreadsemicolon needs two sentences
THE RULE
Never wedge a mark between a subject and its verb. The intro clause already supplied the only comma this sentence needs.

Practice 4 of 5

Sentence
Honeybees share the location of food with a waggle dance. The angle of the dance signals direction ______ duration signals distance.
Which choice conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
Aitsrun-on, no mark
B, itscomma splice
C, and its✓ comma + conjunction
D, and, itsextra comma after ‘and’
THE RULE
Two complete sentences join with a comma plus a FANBOYS conjunction. A comma alone is a splice; no mark is a run-on.

Practice 5 of 5

Sentence
Geologists studying the ancient supercontinent had long puzzled over one striking pattern ______ rock formations appear on coastlines now separated by thousands of miles of ocean.
Which choice conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
A, identicalcomma splice
B: identical✓ colon after a full sentence
C; and identicalsemicolon + ‘and’ double up
Didenticalrun-on, no mark
THE RULE
A colon follows a complete sentence and introduces an explanation of what came before it.
What we covered

The whole hour, start to finish.

01
A complete sentence
Subject, verb, and a complete thought, or it's only a fragment.
02
The four marks
Semicolon, colon, dash, and comma, each with one clear rule.
03
How to join clauses
What is always, sometimes, or never allowed between two sentences.
04
Practice
You applied every rule on real SAT questions.

Cover the mark, check each side, and the rule tells you what fits.

Your punctuation checklist.

✓Start with the sentence test: cover the mark and ask if each side is a complete sentence
✓Don't use a comma unless absolutely necessary: a list, a parenthetical pair, joining with a FANBOYS conjunction, or after an intro
✓To join two complete sentences: a period, semicolon, colon, or comma + FANBOYS. Never a lone comma
✓Fence removable extra info with a matching pair: two commas, two dashes, or two parentheses
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Further practice and resources.

PRACTICE
Targeted practice problems on today's skills.
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NEXT WEEK
Writing & Grammar: Sentence Structure & Transitions
Thursday, Sept 24  ·  5:00 PM PT
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