A vírgula: regras principais

A vírgula: regras principais means “The comma and its main uses in writing”. The comma marks pauses and organizes the sentence. Formation: vírgula (,) — enumeração / vocativo / aposto / adjunto anteposto / oração explicativa / antes de conjunção adversativa ou conclusiva / verbo omitido; NUNCA entre sujeito e verbo

The comma and its main uses in writing

B2

Formation

vírgula (,) — enumeração / vocativo / aposto / adjunto anteposto / oração explicativa / antes de conjunção adversativa ou conclusiva / verbo omitido; NUNCA entre sujeito e verbo

Explanation

The comma marks pauses and organizes the sentence. Use it to: separate items in a list (no comma before the final 'e' in the standard norm: pão, leite, ovos e café); set off a vocative (João, venha aqui!); set off an appositive (Brasília, a capital, cresceu); mark fronted adverbials and reduced clauses (Ontem, saí; Ao chegar, liguei); enclose non-defining relative clauses; and before adversative (mas, porém) or conclusive (portanto, logo) conjunctions. It also marks an omitted verb: Eu quero café; ela, chá. The number-one prohibition is to NEVER separate the subject from its verb, or the verb from its direct object: 'O menino, comeu o bolo' is wrong; the correct form is 'O menino comeu o bolo'. For Spanish speakers, transfer is very strong: the rules are almost identical (vocative, appositive, no comma between subject and verb, comma before 'pero'), differing only in minor list conventions.

Examples

Brasília, a capital do Brasil, foi inaugurada em 1960.
Brasília, the capital of Brazil, was inaugurated in 1960.
João, pode me ajudar um instante?
João, can you help me for a moment?

Note

The most common mistake is putting a comma between the subject and the verb: 'O menino, comeu o bolo' is WRONG; write 'O menino comeu o bolo'. Also never separate the verb from its direct object. Remember: in the standard norm there is no comma before the 'e' that closes a list.

FAQ

A vírgula: regras principais — what does it mean and how is it used?

The comma and its main uses in writing. The comma marks pauses and organizes the sentence. Use it to: separate items in a list (no comma before the final 'e' in the standard norm: pão, leite, ovos e café); set off a vocative (João, venha aqui!); set off an appositive (Brasília, a capital, cresceu); mark fronted adverbials and reduced clauses (Ontem, saí; Ao chegar, liguei); enclose non-defining relative clauses; and before adversative (mas, porém) or conclusive (portanto, logo) conjunctions. It also marks an omitted verb: Eu quero café; ela, chá. The number-one prohibition is to NEVER separate the subject from its verb, or the verb from its direct object: 'O menino, comeu o bolo' is wrong; the correct form is 'O menino comeu o bolo'. For Spanish speakers, transfer is very strong: the rules are almost identical (vocative, appositive, no comma between subject and verb, comma before 'pero'), differing only in minor list conventions.

A vírgula: regras principais — how do you form it?

vírgula (,) — enumeração / vocativo / aposto / adjunto anteposto / oração explicativa / antes de conjunção adversativa ou conclusiva / verbo omitido; NUNCA entre sujeito e verbo

A vírgula: regras principais — any usage notes?

The most common mistake is putting a comma between the subject and the verb: 'O menino, comeu o bolo' is WRONG; write 'O menino comeu o bolo'. Also never separate the verb from its direct object. Remember: in the standard norm there is no comma before the 'e' that closes a list.

Related grammar

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