4 Basic Comma Rules—Exercise
When in doubt, leave it out; however, do not underestimate the
importance of an appropriately-placed comma to avoid confusion, as these
examples show:
Before eating the children washed their hands (don’t let your reader assume you eat children!)
Although we were expecting only three fifty guests arrived (don’t make
your reader guess how many guests
arrived.)
In the following exercise, correct the
sentences with missing or faulty commas.
If a sentence is correctly punctuated, write C in the blank.[1]
_______ Having been introduced to the star once
before Harry felt at ease in her presence.
_______ The children played in the schoolyard,
for the teachers were attending a faculty conference.
_______ The
bride wanted to party for another hour but the groom was anxious to begin the
honeymoon.
_______ People
who want to buy a foreign car have a wide range of choices: Datsuns Toyotas, and Volkswagens.
_______ Before
the group moved down the road each member checked his equipment.
_______ I
have to stop at the cleaner’s and pick up the twins at school.
_______ The
short blond-haired youngster was the primary trouble-maker in the group.
_______ I
bought a dress, and a coat the other day.
_______ The
cake must bake for an hour and the cookies have to bake for forty minutes.
_______ Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came an
epic poem was written by Robert Browning.
_______ Fashionable
dress because the criteria change so often should not be used to judge another
person’s worth.
[1] Examples taken from Fitzpatrick, C. and Marybeth
Ruscica, The Complete Paragraph Workout Book.
D. C. Heath: