【英語文法】コンマの使い方

 コンマの使いかた

１、列挙して記述する

The potion included gobstoppers, Chewing gum, bran flakes and coleslaw.

＊andの前にコンマを置くかどうかは議論が分かれるところであるが、下記のようにandの後の単語がandで繋がる一つのセンテンスを構成する場合はコンマを用いる

His favourite puddings were ice apple pie, rhubarb crumble, and jelly and ice.

２、接続詞の前

She was a fantasic cook, but she would never be as good as her mother-in-law.

He hated his neighbours, so he never invited them round.

３、Becauseの前は通常コンマを使わない

We all had to move to higher ground because the flood waters were rising quickly.

She really did't feel hungry because she had already eaten a hearty lunch.

* becauseの前にコンマを使うこともある

I knew she would not be hungry, because my sister works in a restaurant and had seen her eating a huge meal earlier in the day.

この場合、not be hungry とsister's working in a restaurantは直接関係がないので、コンマで区切ってわかりやすく表現している

４、イントロダクションが長い場合に使用

Given the appalling weather conditions, Michael was lucky to survive the storm.

As the night drew to a close, the clubbers wandered home.

５、短い場合は使用しなくてもよい

Shortly we will be leaving for the port.

After his nap Sam felt a lot better.

６、説明文を入れるとき

コンマで挿入された分を除いても意味が変わらない

Sarah, the most intelligent pupil in the class, was always late for school

The pyramids, one of the wonders of the ancient world, lie just outside Cairo.

＊もし、説明文の意味が簡単に主語との関係を説明できるならコンマはいらない

His wife Jill was a high flyer in the city.

Jill, his wife, was a high flyer in the city.

７、文の前後で反対のことを表現するとき

He was first attracted by her money, not her stunning looks.

She is intelligent, not pretty.

He though the building was enormous, but ugly.

８、年、月、町、国の前

His home was in Streatham, East London.

My father was born on March 13, 1949.

９、いくつかの形容詞を分けるとき

The old, ramshackle, dilapidated house had a charm of its own.

That rater dull-looking, badly-dressed, clumsy man is actually a university professor.

 次回はコンマの誤用について説明します。