{"id":2782,"date":"2016-07-22T15:28:27","date_gmt":"2016-07-22T15:28:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sgz2.studyguidezone.com\/?page_id=2782"},"modified":"2021-10-20T20:21:40","modified_gmt":"2021-10-20T20:21:40","slug":"comma","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.studyguidezone.com\/comma.htm","title":{"rendered":"Comma Usage Practice Questions"},"content":{"rendered":"

1. Stephen was away at camp, but we met his mother, father, sister, and brother.<\/strong>
\nA. Stephen, was away
\nB. was away, at camp
\nC. sister and brother
\nD. No error<\/p>\n

2. They lived in a large rambling house across the street from the school.<\/strong>
\nA. across the street, from
\nB. rambling, house
\nC. large, rambling
\nD. No error<\/p>\n

3. He was a sickly underdeveloped baby.<\/strong>
\nA. underdeveloped, baby
\nB. sickly, underdeveloped
\nC. He was, a sickly
\nD. No error<\/p>\n

4. Will you John be willing to take on this project?<\/strong>
\nA. Will you, John, be
\nB. Will you, John be
\nC. Will you John, be
\nD. No error<\/p>\n

5. We are as you may be aware very excited about the upcoming renovations.<\/strong>
\nA. We are as you may be aware, very
\nB. We are, as you may be aware, very
\nC. We are, as you may be aware very
\nD. No error
\n
\n6. The Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., had two sons named Dexter Scott King and Martin Luther King, III.<\/strong>
\nA. The Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., had two sons named Dexter Scott King, and Martin Luther King, III.
\nB. The Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. had two sons named Dexter Scott King and Martin Luther King, III.
\nC. The Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. had two sons named Dexter Scott King and Martin Luther King III.
\nD. No error<\/p>\n

7. I liked the colors blue and green and red was Doug\u2019s favorite.<\/strong>
\nA. blue, and green and red
\nB. blue, and green, and red
\nC. blue and green, and red
\nD. No error<\/p>\n

8. You can help me with this, can\u2019t you?<\/strong>
\nA. You can, help me
\nB. You can help me, with this
\nC. You can help me with this can\u2019t you?
\nD. No error<\/p>\n

9. She said, \u201cHow do you do?\u201d<\/strong>
\nA. She said \u201cHow do you do?\u201d
\nB. She said \u201cHow, do you do?\u201d
\nC. She said \u201cHow do, you do?\u201d
\nD. No error<\/p>\n

10. He considered the proposal, but did not actually adopt it.<\/strong>
\nA. He considered, the proposal but did not actually adopt it.
\nB. He considered the proposal but did not actually adopt it.
\nC. He considered the proposal but, did not actually adopt it.
\nD. No error<\/p>\n

Answers – Comma Usage<\/h2>\n

1. D: This sentence is punctuated correctly. Commas are used to separate items in a series of three or more words or word groups. Using a comma to separate the subject and the verb is incorrect. Separating the adverb (\u201caway\u201d) from the prepositional phrase (\u201cat camp\u201d), which both modify the verb \u201cwas\u201d and indicate where, is incorrect. Omitting the last comma before \u201cand brother\u201d makes the meaning of the sentence unclear. It makes it seem as though the sister and brother are a single entity.<\/p>\n

2. C: When using two adjectives that could have \u201cand\u201d between them (\u201clarge and rambling\u201d), separate the adjectives with a comma. If \u201cand\u201d cannot be inserted, no comma is used. Consider the sentence \u201cThey own an expensive summer home.\u201d You would not say \u201cThey own an expensive and summer home.\u201d \u201cAcross the street from\u201d is a prepositional phrase modifying the noun \u201chouse.\u201d It indicates where and provides a connection to \u201cthe school.\u201d Interrupting this phrase with a comma is incorrect. The adjectives modify the noun \u201chouse.\u201d There is no reason to put a comma between \u201crambling\u201d and \u201chouse.\u201d<\/p>\n

3. B: When an adjective ending in \u201c\u2013ly\u201d is used together with one or more adjectives, separate it from the other adjective(s) with a comma. (An \u201c-ly\u201d word is an adjective, not an adverb, if you can use it without the other adjective. \u201cHe was a sickly baby\u201d without the adjective \u201cunderdeveloped\u201d is still a complete sentence, so \u201csickly\u201d is an adjective here. However, in \u201cThe walls were painted a sickly green,\u201d the word \u201csickly\u201d is an adverb modifying the adjective \u201cgreen.\u201d The sentence is incomplete without \u201cgreen.\u201d In this case, no comma is used.) Placing a comma between \u201cunderdeveloped\u201d and \u201cbaby\u201d is incorrect; commas are not inserted between the last (or only) adjective and the noun it modifies. Commas are not inserted between a copula or linking verb (\u201cwas\u201d) and its complement (\u201ca sickly\u2026\u201d).<\/p>\n

4. A: When directly addressing someone by name in the middle of a sentence, surround the proper name (\u201cJohn\u201d) or title (e.g. \u201cDoctor\u201d) with commas. Placing a comma before the name but not after it is incorrect. Placing a comma after the name but not before it is also incorrect. The only times one comma is used are (1) when the name is at the beginning of the sentence (\u201cJohn, will you do this?\u201d) and (2) when the name is at the end of the sentence (\u201cWill you do this, John?\u201d).<\/p>\n

5. B: When a phrase or clause interrupts the flow of a sentence, set it off by placing commas before and after it. \u201cAs you may be aware\u201d interrupts the statement \u201cwe are very excited\u201d and separates the linking verb \u201care\u201d from its complement \u201cvery excited.\u201d Putting only one comma after the interruption is incorrect, as is putting only one comma before the interruption.<\/p>\n

6. C: While it is still very common to see commas used before and after \u201cJr.\u201d and \u201cSr.,\u201d commas are no longer required after these abbreviations. Moreover, a comma has never been needed before numbered name suffixes like \u201cII,\u201d \u201cIII,\u201d \u201cIV,\u201d etc. A comma is not used before \u201cand\u201d when it connects only two names or words. Commas are only used when a series consists of three or more words or word groups.<\/p>\n

7. C: A comma can be added to this confusing sentence to make its meaning clearer. In this sentence, blue and green were the colors the author (\u201cI\u201d) liked, while Doug\u2019s favorite color was red. Without the comma after \u201cblue and green,\u201d the sentence reads \u201cblue and green and red.\u201d This makes it difficult to understand that \u201cred was Doug\u2019s favorite\u201d is an independent clause that is separate from \u201cI liked the colors blue and green,\u201d which is the first independent clause. Placing a comma between \u201cblue\u201d and \u201cgreen\u201d is incorrect. They are part of the same phrase modifying \u201ccolors,\u201d are only two words, and are already separated by the conjunction \u201cand.\u201d<\/p>\n

8. D: It is correct to use a comma to separate a declarative clause from a question within the same sentence. It is incorrect to place a comma between an auxiliary verb (\u201ccan\u201d) and a verb (\u201chelp\u201d). It is incorrect to place a comma between \u201chelp me\u201d (verb and object) and \u201cwith this\u201d (a prepositional phrase modifying \u201chelp\u201d). It is also incorrect to write this kind of sentence with no comma at all.<\/p>\n

9. D: It is correct to use a comma to introduce a quotation shorter than three lines. (Longer quotations are introduced with a colon, and are indented.) Omitting the comma before the quotation is incorrect. Placing a comma between the adverb \u201cHow\u201d and the auxiliary verb \u201cdo\u201d is incorrect, as there is no reason to separate them. There is also no reason to separate the auxiliary verb \u201cdo\u201d from the subject \u201cyou\u201d with a comma. There is no pause within the quotation. There are no parts to set off within the quotation. Finally, the meaning of the quotation is not unclear.<\/p>\n

10. B: When a sentence contains two verbs but only one subject and the subject is not repeated before the second verb, do not use a comma. If the word \u201che\u201d had appeared between \u201cbut\u201d and \u201cdid not actually adopt it,\u201d then you would use a comma to separate the two independent clauses. Because the subject is not repeated, the second clause is dependent. It is incorrect to place a comma between the verb \u201cconsidered\u201d and its object \u201cthe proposal.\u201d It is incorrect \u2014 and a common error \u2014 to place a comma after \u201cbut\u201d instead of before it when a dependent clause follows.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

1. Stephen was away at camp, but we met his mother, father, sister, and brother. A. Stephen, was away B. was away, at camp C. sister and brother D. No error 2. They lived in a large rambling house across the street from the school. A. across the street, from B. rambling, house C. large, … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-2782","page","type-page","status-publish"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.studyguidezone.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2782","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.studyguidezone.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.studyguidezone.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.studyguidezone.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.studyguidezone.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2782"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.studyguidezone.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2782\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13230,"href":"https:\/\/www.studyguidezone.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2782\/revisions\/13230"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.studyguidezone.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2782"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}