Punctuation Made Easy

1. Punctuation Made Easy Or at least … well, at least you get to review it

2. http://www.dartmouth.edu/~compose/student/ac_paper/grammar.htmlhttp://www.dartmouth.edu/~compose/student/ac_paper/grammar.html Missing comma after introductory phrases • After the devastation of the siege of Leningrad the Soviets were left with the task of rebuilding their population as well as their city. • A comma should be placed after "Leningrad." (CMS )

3. http://www.dartmouth.edu/~compose/student/ac_paper/grammar.htmlhttp://www.dartmouth.edu/~compose/student/ac_paper/grammar.html Missing comma in compound sentence • Wordsworth spent a good deal of time in the Lake District with his sister Dorothy and the two of them were rarely apart. • Comma should be placed before the “and.” (CMS )

4. http://www.dartmouth.edu/~compose/student/ac_paper/grammar.htmlhttp://www.dartmouth.edu/~compose/student/ac_paper/grammar.html Comma needed for nonrestrictive relative clauses • Here you need to distinguish between a restrictive relative clause and a nonrestrictive relative clause. • Nonrestrictive (adds additional information, but does not restrict the meaning of the term it modifies, S&W 4-5, CMS )

5. http://www.dartmouth.edu/~compose/student/ac_paper/grammar.html#introhttp://www.dartmouth.edu/~compose/student/ac_paper/grammar.html#intro Comma needed for nonrestrictive relative clauses • The nonrestrictive element can be removed without changing the meaning of what it modifies. • After John left the law firm, which is the largest in the region, he started a private practice. • Nonrestrictive elements are usually identified by a “,” + “which”

6. http://www.dartmouth.edu/~compose/student/ac_paper/grammar.htmlhttp://www.dartmouth.edu/~compose/student/ac_paper/grammar.html Unnecessary commas with restrictive relative clauses • Consider the sentence, “My brother in the red shirt likes ice cream.” • If you have TWO brothers, then the information about the shirt is restrictive, in that it is necessary to defining THE brother who likes ice cream.

7. http://www.dartmouth.edu/~compose/student/ac_paper/grammar.htmlhttp://www.dartmouth.edu/~compose/student/ac_paper/grammar.html Unnecessary with restrictive relative clauses • Restrictive clauses, because they are essential to identifying the noun, use no commas. However, if you have ONE brother, then the information about the shirt is not necessary to identifying your brother.

8. http://www.dartmouth.edu/~compose/student/ac_paper/grammar.htmlhttp://www.dartmouth.edu/~compose/student/ac_paper/grammar.html Unnecessary commas with restrictive clauses • Restrictive clauses are essential to meaning. • Concrete that has been reinforced by polypropylene fibers is less brittle than unreinforced concrete.

9. http://www.dartmouth.edu/~compose/student/ac_paper/grammar.htmlhttp://www.dartmouth.edu/~compose/student/ac_paper/grammar.html Comma splice • A comma splice occurs when two independent clauses are joined only with a comma. (CMS & ) • For example: “Picasso was profoundly affected by the war in Spain, it led to the painting of great masterpieces like Guernica.”

10. http://www.dartmouth.edu/~compose/student/ac_paper/grammar.htmlhttp://www.dartmouth.edu/~compose/student/ac_paper/grammar.html Comma splice • A comma splice also occurs when a comma is used to divide a subject from its verb. • For example: “The young Picasso felt stifled in art school in Spain, and wanted to leave.”

11. http://www.dartmouth.edu/~compose/student/ac_paper/grammar.htmlhttp://www.dartmouth.edu/~compose/student/ac_paper/grammar.html Comma splice • The subject “Picasso” is separated from one of its verbs “wanted.” • There should be no comma in this sentence, unless you are playing with grammatical correctness for the sake of emphasis -- a dangerous sport for unconfident or inexperienced writers.

12. http://www.dartmouth.edu/~compose/student/ac_paper/grammar.htmlhttp://www.dartmouth.edu/~compose/student/ac_paper/grammar.html Possessive apostrophe error • Sometimes apostrophes are incorrectly left out; other times, they are incorrectly put in (her's, their's, etc.) (CMS ) • Note plural and possessive are not the same • The companies policy states … • The company’s policy states …

13. http://www.dartmouth.edu/~compose/student/ac_paper/grammar.htmlhttp://www.dartmouth.edu/~compose/student/ac_paper/grammar.html Missing comma in a series • Whenever you list things, use a comma. • You'll find a difference of opinion as to whether the next-to-last noun (the noun before the “and”) requires a comma. (CMS ) • (“Apples, oranges, pears, and bananas...”)

14. http://www.dartmouth.edu/~compose/student/ac_paper/grammar.htmlhttp://www.dartmouth.edu/~compose/student/ac_paper/grammar.html Missing comma in a series • My advice is to use the comma because sometimes your list will include pairs of things: • "For Christmas she wanted books and tapes, peace and love, and for all the world to be happy."

15. http://www.dartmouth.edu/~compose/student/ac_paper/grammar.htmlhttp://www.dartmouth.edu/~compose/student/ac_paper/grammar.html Run-on • Run-on sentences are sentences that run on forever, they are sentences that ought to have been two or even three sentences but the writer didn't stop to sort them out, leaving the reader feeling exhausted by the sentence's end which is too long in coming. (CMS ) • Get the picture?

16. http://www.dartmouth.edu/~compose/student/ac_paper/grammar.htmlhttp://www.dartmouth.edu/~compose/student/ac_paper/grammar.html Fused sentence • Fused sentences occur when two independent clauses are put together without a comma, semi-colon, or conjunction. • "Researchers investigated several possible vaccines for the virus then they settled on one."

17. Its/it's error • It’s = it is • Until the end of time • Until the earth is a burning ember falling into the sun • It’s = it is • It does not take a possessive with ‘s. (CMS )

18. The End