Commas, Phrases, and Clauses

Front

What is a comma?

Back

A punctuation mark used to indicate a pause between parts of a sentence or to separate items in a list.

Front

What is a phrase?

Back

A group of words that work together but do not contain a subject-verb pair.

Front

What is an independent clause?

Back

A group of words that contains a subject and a verb and expresses a complete thought.

Front

What is a dependent (subordinate) clause?

Back

A group of words that contains a subject and a verb but does not express a complete thought.

Front

How do you use commas in a list?

Back

Commas are used to separate items in a list, e.g., apples, oranges, and bananas.

Front

Where should a comma be placed in the sentence: 'Liza who was wearing a new dress yelled at the waiter'?

Back

A comma should be placed after 'Liza': 'Liza, who was wearing a new dress, yelled at the waiter.'

Front

What is the purpose of a comma before a conjunction?

Back

To separate independent clauses in a compound sentence, e.g., 'I wanted to go, but I was too tired.'

Front

Identify the phrase in the sentence: 'Before class ends, we will review.'

Back

The phrase is 'Before class ends'.

Front

What is the function of a dependent clause in a sentence?

Back

It provides additional information but cannot stand alone as a complete sentence.

Front

How do you punctuate the sentence: 'Although math makes me nervous I did well on my test'?

Back

A comma should be placed after 'nervous': 'Although math makes me nervous, I did well on my test.'