Commas

1. Commas • Use commas to separate items in a series. • Ex: There were books on the desk, posters on the walls, and clothing on the floor. • Ex: Dinner included a tossed salad, spaghetti and meatballs, garlic bread, and soda.

2. Commas • Use a comma before a FANBOYS when they join two independent clauses. • Ex: We did not know whether to stay,for the weather forecast had predicted rain. • Ex: The police searched everywhere,but there were no fingerprints.

3. Commas • Use commas to set off introductory elements. • Introductory words such as well, yes, and why. • Ex: Well, what do you think? • Ex: Yes, you are welcome to join us.

4. Commas • Use a comma after an introductory participial phrase and most other participial phrases (not gerund phrases). • Ex: Laughing like a child, he opened the present. • Ex: The linebacker, seeing his opening, sacked the quarterback. • Ex: Cleaning and painting my room was hard work. [gerund]

5. Commas • Use a comma after introductory subordinate clauses. • Ex: When they finished eating dinner, they played basketball until dark. • Use a comma after most introductory prepositional phrases. • Ex: After a lengthy discussion, we voted on the proposal.

6. Commas • Words used in direct address are set off by commas. • Ex: Joe, please see me about your grade. • Appositives and appositive phrases are set off by commas. • Ex: An interview with Florence Cohen, thenoted landscape artist, will appear Sunday in The Sun, our local paper.

7. Commas • Use commas to separate dates and addresses. • Ex: Hawaii achieved statehood on August 21, 1959, becoming the fiftieth state.

8. Commas • Words used in direct address are set off by commas. • Ex: Joe, please see me about your grade. • Appositives and appositive phrases are set off by commas. • Ex: An interview with Florence Cohen, thenoted landscape artist, will appear Sunday in The Sun, our local paper.

9. Semicolon • Use a semicolon between independent clauses not joined by a FANBOYS. • Ex: Read all the choices; don’t write the first answer that seems correct. • Use a semicolon between independent clauses joined by words such as for example, moreover, nevertheless, therefore, however, etc (W660) • Ex: We saw no solution to the problem;however, we refused to surrender.

10. Semicolon • A semicolon may be needed between independent clauses joined by a coordinate conjunction (FANBOYS) when the clauses contain commas. • Ex: After we ate dinner, we played basketball until dark;but we continued the game at a nearby rec center, the YMCA.

11. Semicolon • Use a semicolon between items in a series if the items contain commas. • Ex: The winners in the election were John Smith, president; Sue Jones, vice president; and Steve Brown, treasurer.

12. Quotation Marks • Use quotation marks to enclose a directquote – a person’s exact words. • Ex: My dad said,“My favorite actor is John Wayne.” • Ex: “Take care,” he warned, “that you don’t spill anything.” • Ex: He said, “My favorite movie is ‘The Godfather.’” • [Note: commas and periods are always placed inside the closing quotations]

13. Quotation Marks • Question marks and exclamation points are placed inside the quotation marks if the quotation itself is a question or exclamation. • Ex: “Is everyone present?” asked the teacher. • Ex: Were you surprised when he said, “You win”? [not …win.”?]

14. Possessive Case Nouns that take apostrophes may be classified as either regular or irregular.

15. Possessive Case • A regular, singular noun does not end with an s. • To make it possessive, add an apostrophe s. • Ex: (boy) boy’s • Ex: (house) house’s

16. Possessive Case • A regular, plural noun ends in with an s. • To form the possessive case, add only an apostrophe. • Ex: (boys) boys’ • Ex: (houses) houses’

17. Possessive Case • An irregular, singular nouns ends in s. • The use of punctuation to create the possessive case depends on the word’s length.

18. Possessive Case • An irregular, singular noun with one syllable, add apostrophe s. • Ex: (bus) bus’s • In irregular, singular noun with two syllables, add apostrophe or apostrophe s. (either form is correct). • Ex: (Jesus) Jesus’ or Jesus’s

19. Possessive Case • An irregular, singular noun with threeormore syllables, add only an apostrophe. • Ex: (hippopotamus) hippopotamus’

20. Possessive Case • An irregular, plural noun does not end in s. • To form the possessive case, add an apostrophe s. • Ex: (children) children’s • Ex: (women) women’s

21. Common writing errors • Because every preposition requires an object, clauses should not end with a preposition. • Ex: I forget who I gave my book to. (incorrect) • Ex: I forget to whom I gave my book. (correct)

22. Common writing errors • Misplaced modifiers – place phrase and clause modifiers as near as possible to the words they modify. • Ex: I bought a new computer for our family, which gave everyone trouble. (confusing) • Ex: I bought our family a new computer, which gave everyone trouble. (clear) • Ex: We formed a dodge ball team composed of freshmen named “The Gutter Balls.” (???)

23. Common writing errors • Dangling Modifiers: • A modifying phrase must clearly and sensibly modify a word in a sentence. • When there is no word that the phrase or clause can sensibly modify, the modifier is said to “dangle.”

24. Common writing errors • Ex: Carrying a pile of heavy books, her foot caught on the step. [her foot was carrying books?] • Ex: Carrying a pile of heavy books, she caught her foot on the step. • Ex: While she was carrying a pile of heavy books, she caught her foot on the step.

25. Common writing errors • Two-way Modifiers – placing a modifier in such a way that it may be taken to modify two words. • Ex: Mark said during the meeting that Joe acted like a fool. [does the phrase modify said or acted?] • Ex: During the meeting, Mark said that Joe acted like a fool. • Ex: Mark said that Joe acted like a fool during the meeting.

26. Common writing errors • Use of Correlative Conjunctions: • Correlative conjunctions must always be used in pairs. • either … or not only … but also • neither … nor whether … or • both … and

27. Common writing errors • Ex: Neither Jack nor Eric received parts in the play. • Ex: Not only was he late for school, but he also received a jug. • Ex: Both Dad and I gave blood at the Red Cross.