Eliminate unnecessary punctuation that breaks subject–verb or other tight relationships.
Do not break tight grammatical pairs like subject-verb or verb-object with stray punctuation.
Core Idea
Some grammatical relationships are so tight that no punctuation should interrupt them: subject–verb, verb–object, and preposition–object. Even when these elements are long or complex, inserting a comma between them is an error.
Understanding
Students often add commas where they'd naturally pause while speaking. But a spoken pause doesn't always mean a written comma.
Never place a comma between:
A subject and its verb (no matter how long the subject is)
→ Wrong: "The professor who published three papers last semester, announced her retirement."
→ Right: "The professor who published three papers last semester announced her retirement."A verb and its direct object or complement
→ Wrong: "The study demonstrated, that sleep deprivation impairs memory."
→ Right: "The study demonstrated that sleep deprivation impairs memory."A preposition and its object
→ Wrong: "The funding was allocated to, rural school districts."
→ Right: "The funding was allocated to rural school districts."
The SAT tests this by making the subject or verb phrase long enough that a comma "feels" natural. The trick is to strip the sentence down to its core: find the subject, find the verb, and make sure nothing separates them.
One exception: paired commas around a nonessential element between subject and verb are fine ("The professor, who is retiring, announced her decision"). But a single comma between subject and verb is always wrong.
Step by Step
- Identify the sentence's core: subject → verb → object.
- If a comma appears between the subject and verb, check: is it part of a pair setting off a nonessential element?
- A single comma between subject and verb is always wrong—eliminate that choice.
- Similarly, check for stray commas between verbs and their objects, or prepositions and their objects.
- If the subject is long and complex, don't let its length trick you into adding a comma before the verb.
Misconceptions
- "Long subjects need a comma before the verb so the reader can breathe." Written English doesn't follow speech rhythms. No comma goes between subject and verb regardless of length.
- "A comma always goes before 'that.'" Not when 'that' introduces a noun clause functioning as a direct object ("She believed that..."). A comma before "that" in this position breaks the verb–object bond.
- "If there's a comma after an appositive before the verb, you only need one comma." Nonessential elements need commas on both sides—or no commas at all. A single comma is never correct.
Worked Example
The ongoing restoration of wetland habitats along the Gulf Coast of the United ______ hundreds of native plant and animal species that had been displaced by decades of industrial development.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
Select an answer to see the explanation