COMMAS, DASHES AND ELLIPSES 8 th Writing

COMMA RULES! R e m e m b e r - c o m m a s s a v e l i v e s ! Let’s eat, Grandpa! Let’s eat Grandpa!

1. Between items in a series  A SERIES is a list of three or more words, phrases, or clauses.  Example: Chinese, English, and Hindi are the three most widely used languages in the world.  Being comfortable with technology, working well with others, and knowing another language are important skills for today’s workers.  My dad works in a factory, my mom works in an office, and I work in school.  Series of WORDS  Series of PHRASES  Series of CLAUSES

2. To keep numbers clear  Use commas to separate the digits in a number in order to distinguish hundreds, thousands, millions, and so on.  More than 104,000 people live in Kingston, the capital of Jamaica.  The population of the entire country of Liechtenstein is only 29,000.  NOTE: Commas are not used in years.  The world population was 6.1 billion by 2003.

3. In dates and addresses Use a comma:  Between the day and the year.  Between the year and the rest of the sentence.  On August 28, 1963, Martin Luther King, Jr., gave his famous “I have a Dream” speech.  Between the street and city, city and state, or state and country  The address to the King Center is 449 Auburn Avenue, NE Atlanta, Georgia NOTE: You do not place a comma between the state and zip code. Also, when only the month and year are given, no comma is needed.  In January 2029, we will celebrate the 100 th anniversary of Reverend King’s birth.

4. To set off nonrestrictive phrases and clauses  What is a nonrestrictive phrase or clause?  One that is NOT NECESSARY to the basic meaning of the sentence People get drinking water from surface water or groundwater, which makes up only 1 percent of the earth’s water supply. (The clause “which makes up only 1 percent of the earth’s water supply” is additional information; it is nonrestrictive— not required. If the clause were left out, the meaning of the sentence would remain clear.)

To set off nonrestrictive phrases and clauses  What is a nonrestrictive phrase or clause?  One that is NOT NECESSARY to the basic meaning of the sentence If a clause IS restrictive, it IS needed in the sentence because it restricts the meaning and would not be set off with commas. Groundwater that is free from harmful pollutants is rare. (The clause “that is free from harmful pollutants” is restrictive; it is needed to complete the meaning of the basic sentence and therefore is NOT set off with commas.)

Let’s practice! Read each sentence below. Is it correct or incorrect? Is the additional clause: restrictive (needed and therefore no commas) or nonrestrictive (not needed and therefore commas)  William Faulkner's novel, Light in August, is my favorite book.  Ed’s house, which is located on thirteen acres, was completely furnished with bats in the rafters and mice in the kitchen.  For camp the children need clothes that are washable.  Ramona’s cat, that just had kittens, became defensive around the other cats in the house.  The song “Vertigo” was blasted out of huge amplifiers at the concert.

5. To set off titles or initials  When a title, a name, or initials follow a person’s last name, use a comma between!  Melanie Prokat, M.D., is our family’s doctor.  However, she is listed in the phone book as only Prokat, M. NOTE: Commas are NOT REQUIRED if “Jr.” or “Sr.” follows a name, but CAN be used as long as you place a comma both before and after the abbreviations.  My nephew is named Jason Daniel Depew, Jr., after my older brother.

6. To set off interruptions  Use commas on both sides to set off a word, phrase, or clause that interrupts the main thought of the sentence.  Use these two tests to identify interrupters: 1. You can leave them out of the sentence without changing its meaning. 2. You can move the phrase to other places in the sentence without changing it’s meaning.

To set off interruptions  Use these two tests to identify interrupters: 1. You can leave them out of the sentence without changing its meaning. 2. You can move the phrase to other places in the sentence without changing it’s meaning.  Our school, as we all know, is becoming overcrowded again.  The gym, not the cafeteria, was expanded a while ago.  My history class, for example, has 42 students in it.  There are, indeed, about 1,000 people in my school.  The building, however, has room for only 850 students.

7. To set off appositives  A special kind of interrupter!  An appositive: a word or phrase that identifies or renames a noun or pronoun  The capital of Cyprus, Nicosia, has population of almost 643,000. (“Nicosia” RENAMES “capital of Cypress,” so the word is an appositive and needs to be set off with commas.)  Cyprus, an island in the Mediterranean Sea, is about half the size of Connecticut. (“An island in the Mediterranean sea” IDENTIFIES “Cyprus,” so the phrase is an appositive and is set off with commas.)  Do not use commas with appositives that are necessary to the basic meaning of the sentence.  The Mediterranean island Cyprus is about half the size of Connecticut. (“Cyprus” is not set off because it is needed to make the sentence clear.)

8. To separate equal adjectives  If two adjectives EQUALLY modify a noun, separate them with a comma.  Comfortable, efficient cars are becoming more important to drivers. (“Comfortable” and “efficient” are separated by a comma because they modify “car” equally.  Some automobiles run on clean, renewable sources of energy. (“Clean” and “renewable” are separated by a comma because they modify “sources” equally.)  Conventional gasoline engines emit a lot of pollution. (“Conventional” and “gasoline” do not modify “engines” equally; therefore, no comma separates the two.)

9. In Direct Address  Use commas to separate a noun that names a person spoken to in the sentence  Edgar, do you know that an interior decorator can change wallpaper and fabrics on a computer simulation before doing it in your home?  Sure, Nevaeh, and an architect can use a computer to see how light will fall in different parts of a building.

10. To set off interjections  Use commas to separate an interjection or a weak exclamation from the rest of the sentence.  No kidding, you mean that one teacher has to manage a class of 42 pupils (weak exclamation)  Uh-huh, and that teacher has other classes that size. (Interjection)

11. To set off explanatory phrases  Use commas to separate an explanatory phrase from the rest of the sentence  English, the language computers speak worldwide, is also the most widely used language in science and medicine.  More than 750 million people, about an eighth of the world’s population, speak English as a foreign language. What other comma rules do these remind you of?

12. In compound sentences  When you have two independent clauses, you can join them with a comma and a conjunction (FANBOYS)  Many students enjoy working on computers, so teachers are finding new ways to use them in the classroom.  Computers can be valuable in education, but many schools cannot afford enough of them.

13. To separate introductory clauses and phrases  Use a comma to separate an adverb clause (dependent clause) or a long phrase from the independent clause that follows it.  If every automobile in the country were a light shade of red, we’d live in a pink-car nation.  According to some experts, solar-powered cars will soon be common.  Yesterday, I got to see a solar-powered car in action!

14. To set off dialogue  Use commas to set off the exact words of a speaker from the rest of the sentence.

Quotation Marks  Around direct quotes “Sometimes, I wish I was more like Superman,” I said.  Quote within a quote “Was it Abraham Lincoln who said ‘I cannot tell a lie’?” I asked.

End Marks  We must put an end mark (., ? !) for every sentence inside the quotation marks “What were you thinking?” I asked. “I am so excited!” she exclaimed. “I love ice cream,” she said. She replied, “I love ice cream.”

Speaker Tags  A speaker tag tells us who is doing the talking.  i.e. we replied, I asked, he said, he continued etc.  **Let speaker tags help you figure out where sentences start and end.

Use a COMMA as an end mark when…  The dialogue is a statement and there is a speaker tag following. Example: “Welcome home,” she said, stepping forward to take his hand.

Use a period... If no speaker tag follows the quotation: “Welcome home.” She stepped forward to take his hand. He offered his own hand in return. “Thank you.”

When a speaker tag interrupts the speech...  Use a comma on either side. “I can’t believe,” she said, “that you are finally here.”

New Lines  We also need to start a new line every time a different character speaks. “Sure you can manage that broom, Potter?” said a cold, drawling voice. “Yeah, reckon so,” said Harry casually. “Got plenty of special features, hasn’t it?” said Malfoy.