Comma Before or After But | Rules & Examples

Published on 25 July 2022 by Eoghan Ryan. Revised on 20 March 2023.

You must put a comma before ‘but’ when it connects two independent clauses. An independent clause can function as a standalone sentence (i.e., it has a subject and a verb).

Example: Comma before ‘but’ connecting two independent clauses
Maria hoped to go for a walk, but it rained all day.

You must use a comma after ‘but’ only when you include an interrupter. An interrupter is a word or phrase used to emphasise or qualify the statement and to express mood or tone.

Example: Comma after ‘but’ when using an interrupter
But, of course, Natia knew that more guests would arrive.
Note
The same rules apply to using commas with the other major coordinating conjunctions: commas before or after ‘and’, commas before ‘or’, and commas before or after ‘so’. Though it’s similar in meaning to ‘but’, the rules for commas before or after ‘however’ are different.

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Apart or A Part | Difference & Example Sentences

Published on 25 July 2022 by Eoghan Ryan. Revised on 2 December 2022.

Apart and a part are pronounced similarly but have different meanings and grammatical roles.

  • Apart (one word) can be used as an adverb and adjective to describe separation or distance. It can also be used as a preposition in the phrase ‘apart from’ to mean ‘except for’.
  • A part (two words) is a noun phrase meaning ‘a piece’ or ‘a segment’ of a greater whole. It can also refer to an acting role.
Examples: ‘Apart’ in a sentence Examples: ‘A part’ in a sentence
The tent was blown apart by the wind. Julie asked to be a part of our group.
The US and UK are far apart. He’s a respected actor who has played a part in Hamlet.
The siblings were born years apart A part of the puzzle is missing

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Farther vs Further | Difference & Example Sentences

Published on 25 July 2022 by Eoghan Ryan. Revised on 16 November 2022.

Further and farther are related words that can have similar meanings, depending on the context. Both can refer to distances, but further has some additional senses for which you can’t use farther.

  • Farther can be used as an adjective and an adverb. It’s used to mean ‘at a greater distance’, whether literally or figuratively.
  • Further may be used in a similar way to mean ‘at a greater distance’. But it can also be used as an adjective meaning ‘more’, as an adverb meaning ‘additionally’, and as a verb meaning ‘advance’ or ‘promote’.
Examples: “Farther” in a sentence Examples: “Further” in a sentence
Colorado is farther from New York than Iowa. Further research is needed into the subject.
We were sitting farther away from the stage than I had hoped. Geoff intended to further his career through hard work and diligence.
I’ll go this far, and no farther. Further, I intend to investigate the effects of caffeine intake on the participants’ concentration.
Note
Some style guides make a stricter distinction, saying that ‘further’ should not be used to mean ‘at a greater distance’, or that it should only refer to figurative distance. But there’s no clear consensus about this point, and some regional variation:

  • In UK English, the words are used more interchangeably to refer to distance.
  • In US English, it’s usually preferred to use ‘farther’ for distance-related meanings.

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Comma Splice | Definition, Examples, & Rules

Published on 25 July 2022 by Eoghan Ryan. Revised on 31 October 2023.

A comma splice is a grammatical error that occurs when a comma is used to join two independent clauses without a conjunction. An independent clause can function as a standalone sentence, because it has its own subject and verb.

To fix a comma splice, you can:

  • Replace the comma with a semicolon (;) to show that the two parts of the sentence are closely related
  • Replace the comma with a full stop (.) to create two separate sentences
  • Add a coordinating or subordinating conjunction (e.g., ‘and’, ‘although’) to indicate the relationship between the clauses or to emphasise one of them
Comma splice sentences Comma splice corrections
Rose likes fruit, she doesn’t like vegetables. Rose like fruit; she doesn’t like vegetables.
Eli is a volunteer firefighter, Ben is an event planner. Eli is a volunteer firefighter. Ben is an event planner.
Sam studied for his exam, he felt confident. Sam studied for his exam, and he felt confident.

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There, Their, They’re | Difference & Example Sentences

Published on 21 July 2022 by Eoghan Ryan. Revised on 11 September 2023.

Their, there, and they’re are pronounced similarly but don’t have the same meaning. You can recognise which one is correct from the context.

  • There is most commonly used to mean ‘at that point’ or ‘in that place’.
  • Their is the possessive form of the third-person plural pronoun ‘they’. It means ‘belonging to them’.
  • They’re is a shortened version of ‘they are’.
Examples: ‘There’ in a sentence Examples: ‘Their’ in a sentence Example: ‘They’re’ in a sentence
There’s not much left to say after this fight. Ann and Paul studied for their exam. They’re working on a new school project.
Don’t go there! Joe’s aunt and uncle have asked him to feed their cats while they are away. They’re from York.

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Its or It’s | Difference & Example Sentences

Published on 21 July 2022 by Eoghan Ryan. Revised on 17 October 2023.

Though they’re pronounced the same, there’s a big difference in meaning between its and it’s.

  • Its (without an apostrophe) is the possessive form of it, so it means ‘belonging to it’.
  • Its’ (apostrophe after the ‘s’) is not actually a word, even though people sometimes mistakenly use it in place of its.
Examples: ‘Its’ in a sentence Examples: ‘It’s’ in a sentence
The dog chased its tail. It’s almost two o’clock.
The article contradicted its own argument. It’s best to do some research before deciding on a topic.

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Everyday or Every Day | Difference & Examples

Published on 21 July 2022 by Eoghan Ryan. Revised on 23 May 2023.

Everyday and every day are related words that fulfill different grammatical roles.

  • Everyday (one word) is an adjective that means ‘commonplace’ or ‘ordinary’. It’s pronounced with the stress on the first syllable only: [ev-ry-day].
  • Every day (two words) is an adverbial phrase that means ‘daily’ or ‘each day’. It’s pronounced with the stress on the first and third syllables: [ev-ry-day].
Examples: ‘Everyday’ in a sentence Examples: ‘Every day’ in a sentence
We wear everyday clothes in the office on Fridays. He goes running at dawn every day.
Graduating from college is not an everyday occurrence. We repeated the experiment every day for six weeks.

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Desert or Dessert | Difference, Meaning & Examples

Published on 21 July 2022 by Eoghan Ryan. Revised on 14 February 2023.

Desert and dessert are two unrelated words that are spelled similarly. They can be pronounced differently or the same, depending on the meaning.

Spelling Pronunciation Example sentences
Dessert [deh-zert] The waiters cleared the table before serving dessert.
Desert [deh-zert] The Sahara is the largest desert in the world.
[deh-zert] I begged Adrian not to desert me, but he was determined to leave.
[deh-zert] After the conviction, everyone agreed that the culprit had gotten his just deserts.

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Breathe or Breath | Difference & Example Sentences

Published on 21 July 2022 by Eoghan Ryan. Revised on 28 November 2022.

Breathe and breath are related words with different grammatical roles.

  • Breathe is a verb that means ‘inhale and exhale air’. It’s pronounced with a long ‘e’ sound in the middle and the ‘th’ sound from ‘the’ at the end.
  • Breath is a noun that refers to the actual air you inhale and exhale when breathing (or to the faculty of breathing itself). It’s pronounced with a short ‘e’ sound in the middle and the ‘th’ sound from ‘thing’ at the end.
Examples: ‘Breathe’ in a sentence Examples: ‘Breath’ in a sentence
The room was so crowded that it was hard to breathe. It was so cold inside the room, he could see his own breath.
I could hear the sound of someone breathing. I took a minute to catch my breath and cool down.
Breathe in, hold for ten seconds, and then breathe out. Inhale, hold your breath for ten seconds, and then exhale.

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Affect or Effect | Difference & Example Sentences

Published on 21 July 2022 by Eoghan Ryan. Revised on 23 August 2023.

Affect and effect are two related words that are commonly confused. They’re pronounced similarly, and in their most common meanings they both refer to change, but they have different grammatical roles:

  • Affect is a verb that describes the act of producing a change in someone or something.
  • Effect is a noun that refers to the result or change itself, as in the phrase ’cause and effect’.
Examples: ‘Affect’ in a sentence Examples: ‘Effect’ in a sentence
Staying up late tonight might affect your performance tomorrow. Tourism has had a positive effect on the economy.
The result of the exam will affect your overall grade. The fog created an eerie effect.
The independent variable affects the dependent variable. The drug’s side effects are unknown.
Note
It’s also possible to use effect as a verb and affect as a noun, but they have different meanings and are much less commonly used than the definitions above.

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