Comma Practice
Read the following sentences carefully and add commas as necessary. Answers are provided in the bottom of the document.
1. Scientists have studied many aspects of cancer but they admit that much more must be learned.
2. In 2001 terrorists attacked New York City with jet airliners and about 3,000 people were killed.
3. Perhaps my neighbor had the same flu infection and perhaps my uncle did as well.
4. The youngest child wrapped in warm winter clothing shoveled more snow than anyone else.
5. New medicines and diets can give people a level of health that was not previously available.
6. The last class of my day scheduled for 6:00 in the evening was cancelled because of bad weather.
7. Scientists build upon the discoveries of previous discoveries and pave the way for new information about the planets.
8. When they entered the parking lot the attendant directed them to drive to the final parking place.
9. These are all reasons I’m sure that winter will be over soon.
10. Erika is a good example of a hard-working motivated student trying to earn a scholarship and she will probably do very well.
11. Janice our next-door neighbor has not purchased a new car in ten years.
12. Our cat Patrice spent all day lying before the fire and got up only to eat her dinner.
13. In a poor family with few resources the public library is an essential part of education.
14. After she turned on the radio she heard an unfamiliar song and it lasted over five minutes.
15. Just as I expected the tire went flat one day after it was repaired.
16. Many professional athletes use steroids but few will ever admit to it.
17. We all stood quietly nervous about what the results might be.
18. Even though billions of dollars have been spent on various efforts job training programs have only a fair record of success.
19. Every few years a new tennis player arrives on the scene winning millions in tournament prizes and sponsorships.
20. The town of Detroit Michigan is known for car factories chemical plants and crime.
21. We’ve all heard various theories about the Iraq war but few of the theories really capture the war’s complexities.
22. Generations of Americans have shown that education hard work and persistence are the keys to a better life.
23. After spending three hours on the road she was ready for a break so she stopped for a late lunch.
24. Students are making greater use than ever of computers and find that computers are excellent tools for learning to write better.
25. The first task of my shift which began at 7 in the evening was to move the piles of wood to the loading ramp.
Answers
Consult your textbook for explanation of the answers. Typically, the commas below are added because:
- The sentence is compound (The sentence has two independent clauses joined by a comma and coordinate conjunction).
- The sentence has an introductory phrase (A comma appears after the introductory phrase).
- The sentence is a compound with an introductory phrase.
- The sentence has a “middle” phrase inside the kernel of the sentence.
- A comma separates items in a list or the name of a town from it state.
1. Scientists have studied many aspects of cancer COMMA but they admit that much more must be learned.
2. In 2001 COMMA terrorists attacked New York City with jet airliners COMMA and about 3,000 people were killed.
3. Perhaps my neighbor had the same flu infection COMMA and perhaps my uncle did as well.
4. The youngest child COMMA wrapped in warm winter clothing COMMA shoveled more snow than anyone else.
5. New medicines and diets can give people a level of health that was not previously available.
6. The last class of my day COMMA scheduled for 6:00 in the evening COMMA was cancelled because of bad weather.
7. Scientists build upon the discoveries of previous studies and pave the way for new information about the planets.
8. When they entered the parking lot COMMA the attendant directed them to drive to the final parking place.
9. These are all reasons COMMA I’m sure COMMA that winter will be over soon.
10. Erika is a good example of a hard-working COMMA motivated student trying to earn a scholarship COMMA and she will probably do very well.
11. Janice COMMA our next-door neighbor COMMA has not purchased a new car in ten years.
12. Our cat Patrice spent all day lying before the fire and got up only to eat her dinner.
13. In a poor family with few resources COMMA the public library is an essential part of education.
14. After she turned on the radio COMMA she heard an unfamiliar song COMMA and it lasted over five minutes.
15. Just as I expected COMMA the tire went flat one day after it was repaired.
16. Many professional athletes use steroids COMMA but few will ever admit to it.
17. We all stood quietly COMMA nervous about what the results might be.
18. Even though billions of dollars have been spent on various efforts COMMA job training programs have only a fair record of success.
19. Every few years COMMA a new tennis player arrives on the scene COMMA winning millions in tournament prizes and sponsorships.
20. The town of Detroit COMMA Michigan is known for car factories COMMA chemical plants COMMA and crime.
21. We’ve all heard various theories about the Iraq war COMMA but few of the theories really capture the war’s complexities.
22. Generations of Americans have shown that education hard work and persistence are the keys to a better life.
23. After spending three hours on the road COMMA she was ready for a break COMMA so she stopped for a late lunch.
24. Students are making greater use than ever of computers and find that computers are excellent tools for learning to write better.
25. The first task of my shift COMMA which began at 7 in the evening COMMA was to move the piles of wood to the loading ramp.