Candace Osmond studied Advanced Writing & Editing Essentials at MHC. She’s been an International and USA TODAY Bestselling Author for over a decade. And she’s worked as an Editor for several mid-sized publications. Candace has a keen eye for content editing and a high degree of expertise in Fiction.
Introductory phrases add color to the rest of your sentence for additional context. Some types of introductory phrases include prepositional and participial phrases.
But what are introductory phrases? How do they differ from introductory clauses? Should we put a comma after an introductory phrase? Learn these tips for using commas with introductory phrases and some sentence examples.
An introductory phrase is one at the start of a sentence that comes before the complete clause. This phrase allows the reader to understand the central message of the sentence.
An introductory adverb phrase has a comma after it to avoid confusion. This punctuation mark signals a pause before the reader gets into the author’s main message.
An introductory phrase is neither an independent nor dependent clause because it doesn’t have a subject or verb. There are several types of introductory phrases:
Here are some introductory phrase examples:
Notice how the sentence structure follows an introductory phrase, a comma, then the main clause.
An introductory clause is a dependent or subordinate clause that provides information for the main part of the sentence. This central part of the sentence is the independent clause.
Unlike an introductory adverbial phrase, the introductory clause has a subject and a verb.
Here are some introductory clause examples:
Notice how the sentence structure follows an introductory dependent clause, an intro comma, then the main clause.
Take a look at the different types of introductory phrases and how to use them with commas.
A prepositional phrase is one that starts with a preposition. Some examples of prepositions include “about,” “inside,” “to,” “for,” “on,” “across,” etc.
Introductory prepositional or verbal phrases also have a comma before them. Having one will set it apart from the main part of the sentence.
But the comma policy may be different for some style guides. Others recommend removing introductory commas if the phrase is short.
An infinitive phrase also has a comma after it and before the relevant sentence part. This phrase comprises the word “to” plus the basic verb form without an inflection.
A participial phrase is a verb phrase that can start with the -ing form of the verb or its past participle.
An appositive is any noun or a noun phrase that adds more information to the noun. It can also rename a nearby noun.
Note that some words between commas are not appositives but sentence adverbs. Some common sentence adverbs include “really,” “fortunately,” and “apparently.”
An absolute phrase also adds extra information to the primary clause. This phrase offers more context about something happening or why it’s happening.
Introductory phrases and clauses do not always require a comma, especially shorter phrases. Some people also mistake the subject of a sentence for an introductory element, even if it isn’t.
One of the many rules about commas is not to use one if the prepositional phrase is the subject of the sentence. Usually, it’s a single phrase with only five words or fewer.
Another punctuation advice is to not use a comma after a restrictive appositive phrase or when separating the subject and action.
Be careful not to remove a crucial comma as it might cause a potential for confusion.
An introductory phrase is a phrase that adds relevant information to the main clause. Practice using commas with introductory phrases to avoid the danger of confusion to readers.
Need more punctuation tips? You can also test your knowledge by taking the quiz.
