Skip to the content
  • Assessments
    • ACT®
    • SAT®
    • WorkKeys®
    • State-Based Assessments
  • Products
    • Professional Development
    • Practice Testing + Online Course
    • Curriculum
    • Bell Ringers
    • Boot Camp
    • The College Playbook
  • State Solutions
    • Alabama
    • Florida
    • Kentucky
    • Louisiana
    • Mississippi
    • North Carolina
    • Oklahoma
    • Tennessee
    • Texas
  • Resources
    • About Us
    • Blog
    • Customer Stories
    • Webinar Recordings
    • News and Media
  • Pricing
  • Partnerships
    • Partnerships
    • ACT Online Prep, Powered by MasteryPrep
    • ACT WorkKeys Curriculum
  • Customer Login
    • MasteryPrep Login
  • Assessments
    • ACT®
    • SAT®
    • WorkKeys®
    • State-Based Assessments
  • Products
    • Professional Development
    • Practice Testing + Online Course
    • Curriculum
    • Bell Ringers
    • Boot Camp
    • The College Playbook
  • State Solutions
    • Alabama
    • Florida
    • Kentucky
    • Louisiana
    • Mississippi
    • North Carolina
    • Oklahoma
    • Tennessee
    • Texas
  • Resources
    • About Us
    • Blog
    • Customer Stories
    • Webinar Recordings
    • News and Media
  • Pricing
  • Partnerships
    • Partnerships
    • ACT Online Prep, Powered by MasteryPrep
    • ACT WorkKeys Curriculum
  • Customer Login
    • MasteryPrep Login

The Must-Know Comma Rules for the ACT

  • November 12, 2019

Commas. We love them. We hate them. And, sometimes, don’t, know, when, to, use, them. 

No matter how much we dislike commas, it’s hard to argue against their importance, including on the ACT. Take these two sentences for example:

“Let’s eat, Grandma.”
“Let’s eat Grandma.”

Without the comma, Grandma would be in big trouble come dinnertime.

Knowing when and how to use commas the key to a higher ACT score. In fact, comma usage makes up 20% of your English score. It’s important to familiarize your students with all the grammar rules concerning commas so that they are prepared for this high-stakes assessment.

  • 6 Important Comma Rules for the ACT

Below are six guiding principles for understanding commas on the ACT, drawing on insights from the MasteryPrep Boot Camp for the ACT.

  • When in doubt, commas out:
If you must blindly guess on a punctuation question, eliminate the obvious run-on sentences, then go with the choice that uses the fewest commas.
  • Removing (rather than adding) commas is the norm on the test:

On the ACT, you’ll often need to remove unnecessary commas rather than add essential commas.

  • Commas are used to separate ideas:

Commas separate independent clauses when linked with a coordinating conjunction. Coordinating conjunctions can be remembered by the acronym FANBOYS: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so. For example:

INCORRECT: He shined his shoes and his friends waited in the living room.
CORRECT: He shined his shoes, and his friends waited in the living room.

  • Commas cause pauses:

Commas mark a brief pause in the sentence. The place where the comma is at indicates a natural pause when reading the sentence aloud. If the pause is missing, get rid of the comma!

  • No solo comma:
You shouldn’t have one solitary comma between a subject and its verb. Two commas may separate the subject and verb to mark an interrupting thought, but just one comma is an error. For example:

INCORRECT: The soft cat, ready for a nap jumped on the couch.

INCORRECT: The soft cat, jumped on the couch.

CORRECT: The soft cat jumped on the couch. (no commas between subject and verb)

CORRECT: The soft cat, ready for a nap, jumped on the couch.

  • Use commas to set off non-essential phrases from the part of the sentence they modify, but don’t use commas for essential phrases. For example:
Non-Essential:

INCORRECT: My uncle who lives far away is coming to visit for Thanksgiving.

CORRECT: My uncle, who lives far away, is coming to visit for Thanksgiving.


Essential:

INCORRECT: The movie, that played in the park, was one of my favorites.

CORRECT: The movie that played in the park was one of my favorites.

Explore MasteryPrep Boot Camps for the ACT

MasteryPrep Online and In-Person Boot Camps are strategy-focused workshops that give students the final push they need to score college-ready on the ACT.
Learn More

More Posts

Designing a Mastery-Based Learning Environment for Test Readiness

These six principles can help teachers evolve existing instructional time into a more mastery-based environment focused on readiness.

Read More »
January 8, 2026

Preparing Students for WorkKeys Success with MasteryPrep

The U.S. is facing a serious national talent shortage—and a major reason is that our education system hasn’t kept pace with a rapidly changing job

Read More »
January 5, 2026

What Texas Districts Need to Know About STAAR Prep

State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) carry significant implications for students, educators, and school systems across the state.

Read More »
December 22, 2025
« Previous Next »
MasteryPrep-Logo-RGB-reg mark
Facebook-f Instagram Twitter Linkedin

Company:

  • Blog
  • Join Our Team
  • Contact Us
  • Partnerships
  • ACT Online Prep Partnership
  • Customer Stories
  • MasteryPrep Help Center
  • Blog
  • Join Our Team
  • Contact Us
  • Partnerships
  • ACT Online Prep Partnership
  • Customer Stories
  • MasteryPrep Help Center

Assessments:

  • ACT®
  • SAT®
  • WorkKeys®
  • ACT®
  • SAT®
  • WorkKeys®

Products:

  • Professional Development
  • Practice Testing + Online Course
  • Curriculum
  • Bell Ringers
  • Boot Camps
  • The College Playbook
  • Professional Development
  • Practice Testing + Online Course
  • Curriculum
  • Bell Ringers
  • Boot Camps
  • The College Playbook

State Solutions:

  • Alabama
  • Florida
  • Kentucky
  • Louisiana
  • Mississippi
  • North Carolina
  • Oklahoma
  • Tennessee
  • Texas
  • Alabama
  • Florida
  • Kentucky
  • Louisiana
  • Mississippi
  • North Carolina
  • Oklahoma
  • Tennessee
  • Texas

View our Privacy Policy  |  View our Terms of Use

Copyright 2025 MasteryPrep. All Rights Reserved. ACT® is the registered trademark of ACT Education Corp. Some items in MasteryPrep programs are the copyrighted content of ACT Education Corp. and are reproduced with permission.
SAT® is a trademark of the College Board. MasteryPrep LLC has no affiliation with College Board. MasteryPrep SAT programs are not approved or endorsed by College Board.
The Texas Success Initiative Assessment 2.0 (TSIA2) is an ACCUPLACER® exam, which is a trademark of College Board. MasteryPrep has no affiliation with College Board or the Texas Success Initiative (TSI).
WorkKeys® is a registered trademark of ACT Education Corp. The WorkKeys programs are not approved or endorsed by ACT Education Corp.

View our Cookie Policy

MasteryPrep-Logo-RGB-reg mark
Facebook-f Instagram Twitter Linkedin

Company:

  • Blog
  • Join Our Team
  • Contact Us
  • Partnerships
  • ACT Online Prep Partnership
  • Customer Stories
  • MasteryPrep Help Center
  • Blog
  • Join Our Team
  • Contact Us
  • Partnerships
  • ACT Online Prep Partnership
  • Customer Stories
  • MasteryPrep Help Center

Assessments:

  • ACT®
  • SAT®
  • WorkKeys®
  • ACT®
  • SAT®
  • WorkKeys®

State Solutions:

  • Alabama
  • Florida
  • Kentucky
  • Louisiana
  • Mississippi
  • North Carolina
  • Oklahoma
  • Tennessee
  • Texas
  • Alabama
  • Florida
  • Kentucky
  • Louisiana
  • Mississippi
  • North Carolina
  • Oklahoma
  • Tennessee
  • Texas

Products:

  • Professional Development
  • Practice Testing + Online Course
  • Curriculum
  • Bell Ringers
  • Boot Camps
  • The College Playbook
  • Professional Development
  • Practice Testing + Online Course
  • Curriculum
  • Bell Ringers
  • Boot Camps
  • The College Playbook

View our Privacy Policy  |  View our Terms of Use

Copyright 2026 MasteryPrep. All Rights Reserved. ACT® is the registered trademark of ACT Education Corp. Some items in MasteryPrep programs are the copyrighted content of ACT Education Corp. and are reproduced with permission. SAT® is a trademark of the College Board. MasteryPrep LLC has no affiliation with College Board. MasteryPrep SAT programs are not approved or endorsed by College Board. The Texas Success Initiative Assessment 2.0 (TSIA2) is an ACCUPLACER® exam, which is a trademark of College Board. MasteryPrep has no affiliation with College Board or the Texas Success Initiative (TSI). WorkKeys® is a registered trademark of ACT Education Corp. The WorkKeys programs are not approved or endorsed by ACT Education Corp.

View our Cookie Policy