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Commas are one of the most common punctuation marks in English, but they’re also one of
For example, is it grammatically correct to use a comma before that?
A comma before that is necessary when it introduces parenthetical information in the middle or at the
However, there are a few other instances where it is grammatically correct too
You should use a comma before that when it introduces a parenthetical phrase
A parenthetical element adds additional information and color to a sentence, but isn’t essential to the
In the example above, “that girl sitting in the red chair” provides extra information, or what’s
If you remove it from the sentence, the meaning remains the same
These can include commas, curved brackets, square brackets, or dashes
A comma before that is necessary when it introduces a parenthetical phrase in the middle or at
In these contexts, the comma acts as a parenthetical comma that offsets the parenthetical expression
Another way to use a comma before that is when writing the parenthetical phrase that is
It’s also grammatically correct to include a comma before that when it’s used in the
A comma after that is necessary if it occurs at the end of a parenthetical element in
This is because the comma is acting as a closing parenthetical comma
If the parenthetical phrase occurred at the end of the sentence, there would be a period after
In the example below, the comma is acting as an Oxford comma, rather than a parenthetical comma
This means you shouldn’t use a comma when that is functioning as an adjective, pronoun, determiner,
In particular, you shouldn’t use a comma before or after that when it’s used to
A relative clause is a type of subordinate clause that starts with a relative pronoun, such as
You shouldn’t use a comma to set apart a restrictive clause
That’s why we use commas or another type of parentheses to set these phrases apart
Commas aren’t used before or after that in an indirect statement either
It’s used for reporting what someone said or wrote without using their exact words
Let’s look at a few grammatically correct examples of how to use a comma before that
If that introduces a parenthetical expression, then it must be preceded by a comma
You should use a comma before that if it appears in the middle of a list too
Other than these two instances, there’s no need for a comma before that if it’s