Mastering Commas in 8th Grade

What is the purpose of a comma in a sentence?

• To emphasize a word

• To replace a period

• To indicate a pause, separate items, clarify meaning, or separate clauses.

• To indicate a question

Identify the correct placement of commas in the following sentence: 'I bought apples oranges bananas and grapes.'

• I bought apples, oranges, bananas, and grapes.

• I bought apples, oranges bananas and grapes.

• I bought apples oranges, bananas and grapes.

• I bought apples, oranges, bananas and grapes.

Which of the following sentences uses commas correctly? A) 'My brother who lives in New York is visiting.' B) 'My brother, who lives in New York, is visiting.'

• My brother who lives in New York, is visiting.

• My brother who, lives in New York, is visiting.

• B) 'My brother, who lives in New York, is visiting.'

• My brother, who lives in New York is visiting.

How many commas are needed in this sentence: 'After dinner we went to the park and then to the movies'?

• 2

• 1

• 0

• 3

Choose the sentence that correctly uses commas: A) 'I want to go to the beach, but it is raining.' B) 'I want to go to the beach but, it is raining.'

• A) 'I want to go to the beach, but it is raining.'

• I want to go to the beach but it is raining.

• I want to go, to the beach but it is raining.

• I want to go to the beach but it is, raining.

What is the rule for using commas in a list of three or more items?

• Only use commas for two items.

• List items without any punctuation.

• Use semicolons to separate items.

• Use commas to separate items, and 'and' or 'or' before the last item.

Identify the error in this sentence: 'The dog, barked loudly at the mailman.'

• Remove the comma after 'dog'

• Remove 'at the mailman'

• Change 'barked' to 'bark'

• Add a period after 'mailman'

When should you use a comma before a conjunction? Provide an example.

• I wanted to go for a walk, and it started to rain.

• For example: 'I wanted to go for a walk, but it started to rain.'

• I wanted to go for a walk; but it started to rain.

• I wanted to go for a walk but it started to rain.

Which of the following is a compound sentence that correctly uses a comma? A) 'I like pizza and I like pasta.' B) 'I like pizza, and I like pasta.'

• I like pizza and, I like pasta.

• I like pizza; I like pasta.

• I like pizza, I like pasta.

• B) 'I like pizza, and I like pasta.'

Rewrite the following sentence with the correct commas: 'My favorite movies are The Lion King Finding Nemo and Toy Story.'

• My favorite movies are The Lion King, Finding Nemo and Toy Story.

• My favorite movies are The Lion King, Finding Nemo, Toy Story.

• My favorite movies are The Lion King, Finding Nemo, and Toy Story.

• My favorite movies are The Lion King Finding Nemo, and Toy Story.