Commas Grade7 Topic Assessment Mixed Grade 6 Assessment

Complete the address with the correct punctuation: My cousin lives at 456 Oak Avenue, Springfield___ Illinois.

• ,

• ;

• -

Answer explanation

A comma is required to separate a city from its state in an address. The other options either omit the necessary punctuation or use incorrect punctuation like a semicolon.

Which sentence has a mistake in how the date is punctuated?

• The final game is on Saturday, May 25, 2024, at the new stadium.

• My birthday is July 4 2011, which is a national holiday.

• We moved to this town in August 2022.

• Please submit your project by Friday, June 7.

Answer explanation

When a full date (month, day, and year) is written, a comma must be placed between the day and the year. This option is missing the comma between '4' and '2011'. The other options show correct date punctuation.

Which sentence correctly uses a comma to separate coordinate adjectives?

• The show featured a loud, talented drummer.

• I bought a new, red bike helmet.

• She wore a beautiful, silk dress to the party.

• We walked down the long, dirt road.

Answer explanation

Coordinate adjectives, like 'loud' and 'talented', can be reversed ('talented, loud') or joined by 'and' ('loud and talented'). A comma is needed between them. The other options use cumulative adjectives (e.g., 'new red'), which do not get a comma because their order cannot be reversed.

Complete the sentence with the adjective pair that needs a comma between them: The explorer discovered a _________ cave.

• dark, damp

• huge stone

• single narrow

• ancient hidden

Answer explanation

'Dark' and 'damp' are coordinate adjectives because you could say 'a dark and damp cave' or 'a damp, dark cave,' so a comma is required. The other pairs are cumulative (e.g., 'huge stone cave' not 'stone huge cave') and do not require a comma.

True or False: A comma is needed between the adjectives in the following sentence: 'He is a dedicated hard-working student.'

• True

• False

Answer explanation

The adjectives 'dedicated' and 'hard-working' are coordinate because they independently describe the student and could be joined with 'and' ('a dedicated and hard-working student'). Therefore, a comma is required to separate them.

Context: You are talking about your only sister, whose name is Maya. Which sentence is punctuated correctly to show this?

• My sister, Maya, is coming to visit.

• My sister Maya is coming to visit.

• My sister, Maya is coming to visit.

• My sister Maya, is coming to visit.

Answer explanation

Because you only have one sister, her name 'Maya' is extra, non-essential information (an appositive). Non-essential information must be set off by a pair of commas. The option without commas implies you have more than one sister.

Sentence 1: 'The students, who finished their work, could leave early.' Sentence 2: 'The students who finished their work could leave early.' What is the main difference in meaning?

• Sentence 1 implies all students finished their work and could leave; Sentence 2 implies only some students could.

• Sentence 1 implies only some students could leave; Sentence 2 implies all students could leave.

• There is no difference in meaning, only in style.

• Sentence 1 is grammatically correct; Sentence 2 is incorrect.

Answer explanation

The commas in Sentence 1 make the clause 'who finished their work' non-essential, meaning it's extra information about all the students. The lack of commas in Sentence 2 makes the clause essential, restricting the meaning to only the specific group of students who finished.

Complete the sentence by adding the non-essential phrase, which requires commas: The dog, __________, wagged its tail excitedly.

• a fluffy golden retriever

• that lives next door

• with the muddy paws

• which was barking loudly

Answer explanation

The phrase 'a fluffy golden retriever' is an appositive that gives extra information about the dog but isn't essential to the sentence's meaning. It must be set off by commas. The other phrases would create different sentence structures or meanings.

Original sentence: 'All the players wearing red jerseys are on the starting team.' How would you revise this to mean that ALL players are on the starting team, and they all happen to be wearing red jerseys?

• All the players, wearing red jerseys are on the starting team.

• All the players, wearing red jerseys, are on the starting team.

• All the players wearing red jerseys, are on the starting team.

• The sentence is already correct for the new meaning.

Answer explanation

By setting 'wearing red jerseys' off with commas, you make it a non-essential phrase. This changes the meaning to indicate that all players are on the team, and as additional information, they also happen to wear red jerseys.

Complete the sentence with the correct punctuation for the series: For the camping trip, I need to pack a tent, a sleeping bag___ and a flashlight.

• ,

• ;

• .

Answer explanation

When listing three or more items, commas are used to separate them. The final comma before 'and' is the serial (or Oxford) comma, which adds clarity and is standard in formal writing.