Day 3 Commas 2

1. Day 3 • Commas 2

2. Commas… • To set of nonrestrictive phrases and clauses. • Use commas to set off information that is not necessary to the basic meaning of the sentence. • Example: • People get drinking water from surface water or groundwater, which makes up only one percent of the earth’s water supply.

3. Unrestricted = not necessary, not required, additional information. • Restricted = necessary, required information. • Restricted phrases or clauses are not set off with a comma. • Example: • Groundwater that is free from harmful pollutants is rare.

4. To set off titles or initials • Use commas to set off a title, a name, or initials that follow a person’s name. (Use only one period if an initial comes at the end of a sentence.) • Example: • Melanie Prokat, M.D, is our family’s doctor. However, she is listed in the phone book as Prokat, M.

5. To set off interruptions • Use commas to set off a word, phrase, or clause that interrupts the main thought of a sentence. • Examples: • There are, indeed, about 1,000 people in my school. (word) • The gym, not the cafeteria, was expanded a while ago. (phrase) • Our school, as we all know, is becoming overcrowded again. (clause)

6. Identify interruptions by using the following test: • You can leave them out of a sentence without changing the sentence’s meaning. • You can place them other places in the sentences without changing the sentence’s meaning. Homework: • Please complete pages ____________ in your notebook. • Homework is due next class meeting. • 10 points

7. Practice! • Complete “Comma 2” in your notebook on the left side. Title your page “Comma 2.” You only have to write the answer. • You may not leave when the bell rings if you did not finish the assignment. • You have 15 minutes. You may work together. We will correct your answer in class.

8. Day 4 • Commas 3

9. To set off appositives • Commas set off an appositive from the rest of the sentence. • An appositive is a word or phrase that identifies or renames a noun or pronoun. • Examples: • The capital of Cyprus, Nicosia, has a population of almost 643,000. • Cyprus, an island in the Mediterranean Sea, is about half the size of Connecticut. • The Mediterranean island Cyprus is about half the size of Connecticut.

10. To separate equal adjectives • Use commas to separate two or more adjectives that equally modify the same noun. • Adjectives are describing words that modifies nouns. • Examples: • Comfortable, efficient cars are becoming more important to drivers • Some automobiles run on clean, renewable sources of energy. • Conventional gasoline engines emit a lot of pollution.

11. Use these tests to help you decide if adjectives modify equally. • Switch the order of the adjectives; if the sentence is clear, the adjectives modify equally. • Yes: Efficient, comfortable cars are becoming more important to drivers • No: Gasoline conventional engines emit a lot of pollution. • Put the word and between the adjectives; if the sentence is clear, use a comma when and is taken out. • Yes: Comfortable and efficient cars are becoming more important to drivers. • No: Conventional and gasoline engines emit a lot of pollution.

12. Homework: • Please complete pages ____________ in your notebook. • Homework is due next class meeting. • 10 points

13. Practice! • Complete “Comma 3” in your notebook on the left side. Title your page “Comma 3.” You only have to write the answer. • You may not leave when the bell rings if you did not finish the assignment. • You have 15 minutes. You may work together. We will correct your answer in class.