Year 4 — Punctuation

Commas and paragraphs

Use commas correctly in more situations (lists, fronted adverbials, joining clauses), and punctuate a whole paragraph accurately from start to finish.

Back to Year 4

💡Understand

Commas are used after a fronted adverbial (Later, she left.), in a list (apples, pears and grapes), and to separate two main clauses joined by 'and', 'but' or 'or' when both clauses could stand alone. A well-punctuated paragraph uses ALL your punctuation skills together correctly.

“Slowly, the sun rose over the hills, and birds began to sing.”

The first comma follows the fronted adverbial ('Slowly,'). The second comma comes before 'and' because it joins two clauses that could each stand alone: 'the sun rose over the hills' and 'birds began to sing'.

🔍Spot it

Why is the comma used in this sentence?

Question 1

Yesterday, we went to the beach.

💡 'Yesterday,' is a fronted adverbial, followed correctly by a comma.

Question 2

I packed sandwiches, crisps and juice.

💡 The commas separate items in a list.

Question 3

The rain stopped, and the sun came out.

💡 Both 'the rain stopped' and 'the sun came out' could stand alone — the comma joins them before 'and'.

🧠Think about it

Why doesn't every sentence with 'and' need a comma before it, like 'I ran and jumped'?

✍️Try it

Should this sentence have a comma before 'and'?

The dog barked and wagged its tail.

Question 1

Does this sentence need a comma before 'and'?

💡 Check if both parts could be complete sentences on their own.

📝Practise

Decide if a comma is needed before 'and', or identify the comma's purpose.

Question 1

"The bell rang and the students filed out." Does this need a comma before 'and'?

Question 2

"She sang and danced." Does this need a comma before 'and'?

Question 3

"Carefully, he opened the box." Why is there a comma here?

Question 4

In one word, what should both parts of a sentence be able to do, if a comma is needed before 'and'?

💡 Reread the Think About It section.

Question 5

"We bought bread, milk and cheese." Why are commas used here?

Question 6

"Finally, the rain stopped, and everyone cheered." How many different comma uses appear here?

🎯Apply

Read the passage, then answer the questions below.

Eventually, the storm passed, and the village slowly began to rebuild. Volunteers arrived carrying tools, supplies and blankets, ready to help however they could.

Question 1

Why does 'Eventually,' have a comma after it?

💡 It's a single word at the very start, before the main clause.

Question 2

Why does the comma appear before 'and the village slowly began to rebuild'?

Question 3

Name the three items volunteers carried, separated by commas.

💡 It's the list in the second sentence.

🏆Challenge

Can you write a sentence with a fronted adverbial AND a comma joining two main clauses, like the example in Apply?

🔄Review

A quick mastery check — 3 questions.

Question 1

"He ran quickly." — does this need a fronted adverbial comma?

Question 2

"I opened the door and looked inside." Does this need a comma before 'and'?

Question 3

"The team trained, and they won the match." Does this need a comma before 'and'?