3190 MG Chapter 11

Set off an appositive with commas unless that appositive is essential for identifying the word being renamed.

Is this correct: After a great deal of discussion, they headed out to dinner.

Place a comma before a coordinating conjunction that is used to combine two sentences.

You must use a comma if leaving it out cold cause a serious misreading of a sentence.

The origin of the word "comma" is the Greek "komma" which originally meant what?

Commas are always needed if you move an introductory element to some other place in a sentence.

Most commonly, the appositive is a noun appearing almost immediately after another noun or pronoun that it renames.

Is this correct: A shiny, new coin

Is this correct: The music is too loud, and is giving me a headache.

What acronym helps us to remember the coordinating conjunctions?

Is this correct: I saw Lincoln whom I once dated.

Why is a comma used to set off introductory elements?

Is this correct: Because it had romance, the movie was exactly what we wanted.

Is this correct: The movie was exactly what we wanted, because it had action and romance.

Coordinate adjectives cannot be switched around--that is, they will not sound natural if switched in a sentence.

If you do not know reader expectations, the safest approach is to use a comma after all introductory elements.

Is this correct: The music is too loud and it is giving me a headache.

Is this correct: Later, they headed out to dinner.

Is this correct: A Spanish shiny coin

Use commas with adjective clauses only when the noun or pronoun is sufficiently specific and clear.

What is a group of words that together describe a person, place, or thing?

Place a comma where you could place a period (immediately before the coordinating conjunction).

If a word/group of words at the beginning of a sentence can be moved around then it is probably an introductory element?

Is this correct: Because it had action and romance, the movie was exactly what we wanted.

Is this correct: The movie was exactly what I wanted even though I hadn't planned on watching it tonight.

There is broad disagreement about whether introductory elements should be set off with commas.

When might you use a comma to set off an adverb clause at the end of a sentence?

A comma is always needed before an adverb clause that occurs at the end of a sentence.

Always use a comma before a coordinating conjunction.

Is this correct: And, they headed out to dinner.

What words have the primary purpose of connecting other words?

If you can rewrite a sentence using only the appositive in place of the noun/pronoun, you've confirmed the appositive.

Is this correct: A shiny, Spanish coin

What is the most common type of introductory element found in formal writing?

What is a single sentence that is composed of what could be two separate sentences?

What word can you place between adjectives to determine if they are coordinate (and should be separated by a comma)?

Is this correct: After some discussion, they headed out to dinner.

Adjective clauses begin with what type of words?

What is a word or group of words with no other function except to rename a previous noun or pronoun?

Pretty much everyone agrees that long introductory elements require commas.

In journalism commas are left out after introductory elements unless it would make the sentence difficult to understand.

What is a group of words that acts together to modify a verb?

When the introductory element is a coordinating conjunction, a comma is not normally used.

Is this correct: I saw a man whom I once dated.

What are words that modify nouns or pronouns?

What is a term used to refer to a word or group of words placed at the front of a sentence--before the subject and verb?

The comma used right before the coordinating conjunction at the end of a list is commonly called what?

"When I was sixteen" in "When I was sixteen, my father gave me a sailboat." is an example of what?

Is this correct: The music is too loud and is giving me a headache.

Is this correct: The music is too loud, and it is giving me a headache.

What term refers to adjectives that in the same category?

What determines if an adjective clause is to be set off from the sentence with clauses?

Use commas to separate coordinate adjectives.

What part of speech begins an adverb clause?

In general, use a comma after an adverb clause at the beginning of a sentence.

Is this correct: We invited our local politicians, Hitler and Stalin.

Trivia: In what language, according to the book, are commas inverted (curve bottom right to top left)?