Chapter 36

The Comma

Use commas to separate the items in a series:

1. You need bolts, nuts, and screws.2. I will be happy to read your poem, comment on it, and return it to you.3. Mary paints pictures, Robert plays the trumpet, but Sam just sits and dreams.

Do not use commas when all three items are joined by and or or:

4. I enjoy biking and skating and swimming.

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Commas for Items in a Series

Use a comma after most introductory phrases of more than two words:

1. By four in the afternoon, everybody wanted to go home.2. After the game on Saturday, we all went dancing.

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Commas with Introductory Phrases

Use commas to set off transitional expressions:

1. Ferns, for example, need less sunlight than flowering plants.2. Instructors, on the other hand, receive a lower salary than assistant professors.

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Commas with Transitional Expressions

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Use commas to set off parenthetical elements:

1. By the way, where is the judge’s umbrella?2. Nobody, it seems, wants to eat the nut burgers.

Commas with Parentheticals

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Use commas to set off appositives:

1. Yoko, our new classmate, is our best fielder.2. A humorous and charming man, he was a great hit with my parents.3. This is her favorite food, ketchup sandwiches.

Commas for Appositives

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A one-word appositive is not set off by commas when it is essential to the meaning of the sentence.

A one-word appositive is set off by commas when it is not essential to the meaning of the sentence. The

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A relative clause is a clause that begins with who, which, or that and modifies a noun or pronoun.

There are two kinds of relative clauses: nonrestrictive and restrictive.

Commas with Restrictive and Nonrestrictive Clauses

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A nonrestrictive relative clause is not essential to the meaning of the sentence:

Raj, who is a part-time aviator, loves to tinker with machines of all kinds.

A restrictive relative clause is essential to the meaning of the sentence:

People who do their work efficiently make good students.

Commas with Restrictive and Nonrestrictive Clauses

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Use commas to separate the elements of an address. Note, however, that nopunctuation is required between the state and ZIP code if the ZIP code is included.

Please send the books to 300 West Road, Stamford, CT 06860.

We moved from 1015 Allen Circle, Morristown, New Jersey, to Farland Lane, Dubuque, Iowa.

Commas for Dates and Addresses

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Use commas to separate the elements of a date:

The sociologists arrived in Tibet on Monday, January 18, 2009, and planned to stay for two years.

John DeLeon arrived from Baltimore in January and will be our new shortstop this season.

Do not use a comma with a single-word address or date preceded by a preposition:

I expect to have completed my B.A. in physical education by June 2010.

Commas for Dates and Addresses

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1. Use a comma after answering a question with yes or no.2. Use a comma when addressing someone directly and specifically naming the person spoken to.3. Use a comma after interjections like ah, oh, and so on.4. Use a comma to contrast.

Minor Uses of the Comma

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EXPLORING ONLINE

http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/quizzes/commas_fi llin.htm

Interactive quiz: Where have all the commas gone?

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Chapter 37

Mechanics

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Always capitalize names, nationalities, religions, races, languages, countries, cities, months, days of the week, documents, organizations, and holidays.

Capitalize the following only when they are used as part of a proper noun: streets, buildings, historical events, titles, and family relationships.

Capitalize geographic locations but not directions.

Capitalize academic subjects only if they refer to a specific named and numbered course.

Capitalization

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Capitalize words of a title except short prepositions, short conjunctions, and the articles the, an, and a.

Always capitalize the first and last words of the title, no matter what they are.

Underline the titles of long works: books, newspapers and magazines, television shows, plays, record albums, operas, and films.

Put quotation marks around shorter works or parts of longer ones: articles, short stories, poems, songs, scenes from plays, and chapters from full-length books.

Titles

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The direct quotation is preceded by a comma or a colon. The first letter of the direct quotation is capitalized. Periods always go inside the quotation marks.

He said, “These are the best seats in the house.”

Direct Quotations

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Question marks and exclamation points go inside the quotation marks if they are part of the direct words of the speaker.

He asked, “Where is my laptop?”

Stewart yelled, “I don’t like beans!”

Direct Quotations

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The Colon: Use a colon to show that a direct quotation will follow or to introduce a list.

Parentheses: Use parentheses to enclose a phrase or word that is not essential to the meaning of the sentence.

The Dash: Use a dash to emphasize a portion of a sentence or to interrupt the sentence with an added element.

The colon, parentheses, and the dash should be used sparingly.

Minor Marks of Punctuation

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EXPLORING ONLINE

http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/quizzes/punct_fillin.htm

Mixed practice: test your skill with many marks of punctuation.

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Chapter 38

Putting Your Proofreading Skills to Work

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After you have written a paragraph or an essay—once you have prewritten, drafted, and revised—you are ready for the next step—proofreading.

Proofread this paragraph and make all necessary corrections:

(1) If you want to eat well and do our planet a favor become a Vegetarian. (2) Most vegetarian’s eat eggs, milk, dairy products and fish. (3) All youre giving up are leathery steak’s and overcooked chicken. (4) A vegetarian dinner might begin with a greek salad of crisp cucumbers, sweet red onion black olives, and a sprinkling of feta cheese. (5) Youll think you’re sitting in a little café overlooking the mediterranean sea. (6) for the main course, head to mexico for tamale pie. (7) a rich, flavorful dish made of pinto bean’s, brown rice, green peppers and tomatoes. (8) On the table of course is a loaf of warm bread. (9) Do you have room for dessert how about some ben and jerrys ice cream, made in vermont? (10) As you linger over a cup of french espresso coffee think how your vegetarian meal was delicious, nutritious, and a help to our planet. (11) If more people ate vegetarian the land given to raising cattle and crops to feed cattle could be used for raising grain many of the worlds hungry people could be fed. (12) To read about vegetarianism, get the best-known guide laurels kitchen: a handbook for vegetarian cookery and nutrition.

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Find and correct the errors in the following headlines:

Museum Buys Rare Oriental Rag Our Champagne Spackles with Quality Dymanic Duo Wow Boston Yanks Triumphs, Mets Stroke Out

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EXPLORING ONLINE

http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/

Proofreading instruction and practice.