- In this lesson, we're going to cover the first two comma rules you need to know for the SAT. And here's the big idea I want you to keep in mind for both of our comma lessons. If you think the answer is a comma, you should be able to name the rule.

If you can't say, "Oh, that's rule one or rule two," then you probably should not choose the comma. The SAT does not use commas randomly. A comma needs a job. So in this lesson, we're focusing on two of those jobs. Commas after introductory information, and commas with FANBOYS.

Rule one. Use a comma after introductory information. That opening information can take a few different forms. A dependent clause, a participial phrase, or another type of opening descriptive phrase that leads into the main sentence. If what these look like feel a little fuzzy to you, don't worry, you don't need to memorize all these grammar labels perfectly.

What matters is this. Recognizing the pattern. If you see a blank between the setup information and the start of the main clause, you should be thinking, "Oh, hey, I'm being tested on rule one." Or if you don't recall the number of the rule, as long as you know that a comma after introductory information is a rule, you're all good.

Let's see these in action. We're going to look at two examples. First, "After the experiment ended." That's an opening dependent clause, also known as introductory information. So it must be followed by a comma, and it is.

Then we have the independent clause after the comma, "the researchers compared their results." Depending on what lessons you've already viewed, these comma rules might feel a little repetitive. There's a reason for that. They are heavily tested, so we want to be sure you know them inside and out.

Here's the second example. "Walking through the archive." That's a participial phrase, which just means that an -ing verb begins the descriptive part. And this type of introductory info also must be followed by a comma.

And after the comma, the independent clause, "the historian noticed a damage map." Even though these two openings look a little different, they're doing the same job. They come before the main clause and provide description. Let's check out an example.

Take a moment to try this easy one, pause the video if you'd like, and resume when you're ready to roll. All right, let's do what we always do. Glance at the answer choices, and see that punctuation is changing.

We know what this question is testing. And we also know that "routes" and "the historian" are non-negotiable parts of the answer. So let's imagine that they're already where they're supposed to be. And since the proposed punctuation comes between those two words, let's mark the boundary, or just imagine that there is a mark there that we need to then fill with the appropriate punctuation.

Now, to the left of the boundary, we have "while reviewing maps of early trade routes." And we know that is introductory information in the form of a dependent clause. And to the right of the boundary, we have, "the historian noticed that several port cities appeared in the same location century after century." That's our independent main clause.

We know this structure, and we know that this is rule number one. A comma marks the boundary between introductory information and the main clause that introductory information describes. We need answer A. B is missing the comma after the introductory phrase.

C uses a semicolon, which can only link to independent clauses. And D uses a colon, which cannot be used unless the clause that comes before it is independent. Let's move right along to rule two. Use a comma before coordinating conjunction when it joins two independent clauses.

That means the pattern is first, independent clause, then a comma, then one of the FANBOYS, and then the second independent clause. The conjunction has to be one of the FANBOYS. For, and, nor, but, or, yet, and so. If you've already watched the coordinating conjunctions lesson, this is just going to be a review and confirmation that a comma plus one of the FANBOYS is one of the four comma rules that the SAT frequently tests.

Here is an important reminder about this rule. Pause the video and determine whether sentence one, two, or both, get a comma. Resume when you're ready. Welcome back. Here's what you should have tracked. Sentence one has independent clauses to the left and right of the FANBOY, "so." And we know this pattern, and we know that it must have a comma.

It's rule number two. If you said sentence one, nicely done! Now, if you said sentence two, you might've missed that the clause after the FANBOY, "and," is dependent. This does not match our pattern. When a FANBOY links an independent clause to a dependent clause, including a comma is incorrect.

But you will often see one appear on the SAT as a trap in this structure. If you're scratching your head as to why the second clause is dependent in number two, well, we remove the main subject, "he," from the second half of sentence two.

And taking out the subject is what flipped it to dependent. All right. We know that we should not give a FANBOY a comma if it's not linking two independent clauses. Let's look at some other common comma traps. Let's talk about the commas the SAT wants you to pick, but you really shouldn't.

These are not part of our numbered comma rules, but they are traps that we've seen show up on a lot of recent versions of the test. The test writers are very good at knowing where students feel like they want to pause and will stick commas in those places as traps.

So here are where commas should never go. Between a subject and a verb. There should not be a comma between the subject, "a multitude of romance writers," and its verb, "have." Next one. There should not be a comma between a verb and its object.

The comma between the verb "prepared" and its object, "a five-course meal." That's a no-no. Another comma trap? Putting a comma between a title and the name of the person who has that title. This trap appears when the title comes first.

So journalist, Noah Cruz. That's incorrect. And another one that pops up from time to time is when the SAT sticks a comma between a preposition and its object. That's another place a comma should never go. The coffee beans in, the grinder.

That is a weird awkward pause. All right. Are you ready to put your skills to the test? Try this out. It's a mini quiz. Is it a rule or a trap? Pause, evaluate, and resume when ready. Welcome back. You ready for the reveal? Here you go. Number one, that is rule number one.

Comma after introductory information. Number two. That is rule number two. A comma plus FANBOYS joining two independent clauses. Number three is a trap. Professor of linguistics is the title that Elena Ruiz has, and a comma should not separate the title from the name when the title comes first.

Number four, another trap. The comma is incorrectly separating the verb from its object. Number five, that's rule number one again, comma after introductory information. And that's that.

If you were able to correctly label these as rule one, two, or trap, you're thinking exactly the way the SAT wants you to think. Well done, you. All right, my friends, final takeaways. In this lesson, we covered the first two comma rules you need to know for the SAT.

Rule one, use a comma after introductory information. Rule two, use a comma before a FANBOYS when it joins two independent clauses. And we also looked at some tempting comma traps, places where students often insert commas, even though no comma belongs there.

A really solid way of avoiding those and other traps with commas is, if you think the answer is a comma, name the rule. If you can't name one of the rules we cover in this or the next lesson, choosing the answer with a comma is likely a mistake.

Name it before you select an answer. That's the habit I want you to build, and one we'll reinforce when you're ready for the second part of our comma lessons. See you there.