Commas & Quotes: What do you do? Yoda says… We all think…

The Rule I’m Sure You Know… Put a comma after the attribution BEFORE a quote and before the attribution AFTER a quote: ex. The coach said, “If you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball.” ex. The anchorman said, “I’m Ron Burgundy?” ex. “I am having a bad day,” he said.

Monkey in the Middle! Two commas Quote is only one sentence Quote is more than one sentence Two commas Start the second quote with a lower case letter ex. “Hi, I’m Rachel,” she said, “and I’m the new office assistant.” Use a comma in quote and period after attribution Capitalize the first letter of the next quote. If you don’t, you’ll create run- on sentences. ex. “I’ll be back tomorrow,” the substitute said. “Ms. Davis is still sick.”

In or Out? Where does it go? When the comma or period comes at the end of the quote, it ALWAYS goes inside the quotation marks! Other punctuation such as semi-colons, colons, question marks, exclamation points can go either inside the quotation marks or outside, depending on the situation.

Commas & Adjectives <Insert COPS theme song>

Adjectives…Have a Specific Order A noun determiner a the, my, this, Subjective descriptive adjective wonderful, crazy, tired, happy Factual descriptive adjectives Size Big, small, huge Shape Round, square Age Young, new, old Color Red, blue, yellow Origin American, European, Asian Material Wood, silk, glass Noun Chair, desk, laptop

“Don’t Worry, Be Happy…” Don’t worry, knowing the order of the adjectives won’t be on the quiz. However, I did show you it for a reason. Not all adjectives are “created equal”. Why is this important? Commas, of course!

Commas & Adjectives Rule: Use commas to separate two or more coordinate adjectives that describe the same noun. What’s the difference between coordinate adjectives and non- coordinate adjectives? Coordinate adjectives are equal to one another. Non-coordinate adjectives are not.

Commas & Adjectives How do you know if they are equal? Ask yourself these two questions. If you answer “yes” to both, then they are equal. Does the sentence make sense if the adjectives are written in reverse order? Does the sentence make sense if the adjectives are written with and between them?

Commas & Adjectives: Examples He was a difficult, stubborn child. (coordinate) She often wore a gray wool shawl. (non-coordinate) The suspect is a blond, tall, light-skinned man wearing a blue University of Michigan sweatshirt and green Michigan State University sweatpants.

You think you got this? Show me. In your table groups, take 5 minutes to write the best sentence you can that uses as many adjective commas as you can. ex. I like a tall, cold glass of milk with warm, chewy, chocolate chip cookies. Once you settle on a sentence, choose someone to come up and write it on the board.