Commas. Why We Need Commas? We need them in order to make sense of sentences: commas let readers...

Commas

Why We Need Commas?

• We need them in order to make sense of sentences: commas let readers better understand your meaning in writing

• Purpose of Lesson: To understand the 6 rules of comma usage and for you to apply these rules to your own writing.

Rule #1: Use Commas to Separate Items in a Series (or a List)

• Turn to page 315

• Read 14f until you get to “EXERCISE #2”

STOP READING ON PG 317 AT “Exercise 32”

Use these anytime you have a list of ANYTHING!

• A list can be single words Example: I love the beach, plays, and reading.

• A list can be phrases (meaning not complete sentences)

Example: I enjoy running at the beach, going to plays, and reading on rainy days.

• A list can be many clauses (meaning complete sentences)

Example: The lights dimmed, the curtain rose, and the orchestra began to play.

Rule #1: Use Commas to Separate Items in a Series (or a List)

PRACTICE

Complete Exercise #2

Questions #1-6

You must write out the ENTIRE SENTENCE and HIGHLIGHT the placement of the comma

Example:1. The basketball game was fun, lively, and engaging.

ANSWER KEY1. Carlos and Anna and I made a piñata, filled it with small toys, and hung it from a large tree.

2. I sanded the boards, Ignacio primed them, and Paul painted them.

3. Last week I read the novel The Lucky Stone, the short story “Flowers for Algernon,” and the poem “Legacy II.”

4. Most flutes used by professionals are made of sterling silver, fourteen caret- gold, or platinum.

5.We know what we will write about, where we will find our sources, and how we will organize our reports.

6. Sqaunto became an interpreter for pilgrims, showed them how to plant corn, and stayed with them throughout his life.

RULE #2: Use Commas to Sperate Two or More Adjectives before a Noun

• Read page 318: 14g

• Stop reading at Exercise 3

Place a comma between two adjectives describing a noun Example: The cute, small dog ran frantically Example: The clever, enthusiastic dog trainer called the dog to attention.

NEVER place a comma before the noun itself The cute, small, dog ran frantically.

PRACTICE

Complete #1-6 on page 318 under “Exercise #3”

You must RE-WRITE the entire sentence and HIGHLIGHT the comma placement

Example: 1. The bright, big sun came up behind the mountain.

ANSWER KEY1. They made a clubhouse in the empty, unused storage shed.

2. The book describes the harsh, isolated lives of pioneer women.

3. What a lovely, haunting melody that song has!

4. Katie Couric’s upbeat, intelligent approach to interviewing makes her an effective television newsmaker.

5. The delicate, colorful wings of the hummingbird vibrate as many as two-hundred times each second.

6. The hot, unrelenting wind blew across the desert.

DAY 2 COMMAS

TONIGHT’S HOMEWORK

On page 317 complete questions#7-10 andOn page 318 complete questions #7-10

Must re-write sentences on your paper and highlight commas

You may write them on your “Comma Practice” Sheet.

Rule#3: Use commas with coordinating conjunctions (FANBOYS) when they join independent clauses

Read pg. 319 and stop at “Oral Practice on pg. 320

Rule#3: Use commas with coordinating conjunctions (FANBOYS) when they join

independent clauses

Coordinating Conjunctions are known as FANBOYSF: ForA: AndN: NorB: ButO: OrY: YetS: So

Example:I enjoyed the Play Evita, but Wicked is still my favorite.

The LA Lakers are an old team, yet their players still are good.

PRACTICE

Complete “Oral Practice” Questions # 1-6

You must re-write the sentence and highlight the comma.

ANSWER KEY1. Human beings must study to become architects, yet some animals build amazing structures by instinct.

2. The male gardner bower bird builds a complex structure and carefully decorates it to attract mate. C

3. This bird constructs a dome-shaped garden in small trees, and underneath the tree lays a carpet of moss covered with brilliant tropical flowers.

4. The he gathers twigs and arranges them in a three-foot wide circle around the display. C

5. Tailor ants might be called the ant world’s high rise workers, for they gather leaves and sew them around tree twigs to make nests like the one’s shown on left.

6. These nests were built on tropical trees, and the nests may be one hundred feet or more above ground.

Interrupters • Place a comma anytime you have information in the

sentence that is not needed to understand the whole meaning:

-if information is just extra -if information just clarifies something

Example: The best basketball team, which is the San Antonio Spurs, is currently in a slump.

Example: My friend, Kourtney, believes Miley Cyrus is behaving appropriately.

Example: Josh overcame his acrophobia, which is the fear of high places.

Answer Key1. Estefan, badly injured in a bus accident in 1990, made a remarkable comeback the

following year.

2. The accident, which occurred on March 20, 1990, shattered one of her vertebrae and almost severed her spinal cord.

3. The months of physical therapy required after the accident were painful for the singer. C4. Less than a year later, performing in public for the first time since the accident, she sang

on the American Music Awards telecast January 28, 1991.5. On March 1 of that year, launching a yearlong tour of Japan, Europe, and the United

States, she and the band gave a concert in Miami.6. Estefan, who was born in Cuba, came to the United States when she was two years old.7. Her family, fleeing the Cuban Revolution, settled in Miami where she now lives with her

husband and their children.8. The album that was released to mark Estefan’s successful comeback is titled Into the

Light. C9. It contains twelve songs, including the first one written by the singer after the accident.10. Appropriately, that song, inspired by a fragment that her husband wrote as Gloria was

being taken to surgery, is titled “Coming Out of the Dark.”

Rule #5: Dependent Clauses/Introductory Clauses

Example:1. Even though he had an idea it would happen,

Mark was still surprised when his friends threw him a surprise party.

2. As cars become more fuel efficient, the price goes higher.

Practice Rule #5

Answer Question # 1-7 on page 327

Re-Write entire sentence

Highlight comma placement

Answer Key1. Issued in 1991, the stamp honoring inventor Jan Matzeliger is part of the U.S Postal

Service’s Black Heritage Stamp series.

2. Since the Postal Service began issuing the series in 1978, the stamps have become popular collectors items.

3. Originally picturing only government officials or national symbols, U.S. stamps now feature a wide variety of people, items, and events.

4. As stamps become more varied, stamp collecting becomes even more popular.

5. Because stamps portray our country’s culture, they fascinate many people.

6. C

7. C

Rule #6: Conventional

Dates: Friday, October 6, 2013

Addresses: 522 Candler Lane, York, PA 98703

Salutations:Sincerely yours,

PRACTICE RULE #6:

Answer Questions #1-5 on page 329

Re-Write sentence and Highlight commas

PRACTICE RULE #6: Answer Key

1. 11687 Montana Avenue, Los Angles, CA

2. Dresser Road at North First Street in Lynchburg, Virginia

3. From December 1, 2001 to March 15, 2002

4. Dear Joanne,

5. Sincerely yours,