WorksheetsCommas Study Guide
Total questions: 34
Worksheet time: 17mins
The hunger, always there, had been somewhat controlled and dormant when there was nothing to eat but with the eggs came the scream to eat.
Why did the author put commas around the phrase, “always there?”
because it’s extra information
because it's listing items in a series
because it's an independent clause
While he stood, some of the small, roundish fish came quite close to his legs and he tensed, got ready, and made a wild stab at grabbing one of them.
Why is there a comma after “stood?”
to combine two independent clauses with a coordinating conjunction
to add additional information onto the end of the sentence
to separate an introductory phrase from the rest of the sentence
While he stood, some of the small, roundish fish came quite close to his legs and he tensed, got ready, and made a wild stab at grabbing one of them.
Why is there a comma after “small?”
to add additional information onto the end of the sentence
to separate two coordinate adjectives that describe the same noun
to insert additional information into the middle of the sentence
He pulled the torn remnants of his windbreaker, pieces really, around his shoulders and tried to hold what heat his body could find.
Why are there commas after “windbreaker” and “really?”
because it's listing items in a series
because it's showing dialogue
because it's additional information
He pulled the torn remnants of his windbreaker, pieces really, around his shoulders and tried to hold what heat his body could find.
Why isn’t there a comma after “shoulder” before the conjunction “and?”
because it's not combining two independent clauses
because there is no dependent clause
because they are listing items in a series
He turned back in the seat, facing the front, and put his hands—still trembling—on the control wheel, his feet gently on the rudder pedals.
Why are there commas after “seat” and “front?”
to combine two independent clauses with a coordinating conjunction
to insert interrupting information into the middle of the sentence
to list items in a series
to add additional information onto the end of the sentence
The headset came easily, but the microphone switch at the pilot’s belt was jammed in and he had to pull to get it loose.
Why is there a comma after “easily?”
to combine two independent clauses with a coordinating conjunction
to list items in a series
to add additional information into the middle of the sentence
to separate two coordinate adjectives that describe the same noun
All so still looking, so stopped, the pond and the moose and the trees, as he slid over them now only three or four hundred feet off the ground—all like a picture.
Why are there commas around, “the pond and the moose and the trees?”
to add additional information onto the end of the sentence
to insert additional information into the middle of the sentence
to separate an introductory phrase from the rest of the sentence
to separate two coordinate adjectives that describe the same noun
Traffic, people talking, sounds all the time—the hum and whine of the city.
Why are there commas after “traffic” and “talking?”
to list items in a series
to separate an introductory phrase
to insert interrupting information
He drank until his stomach was swollen, until he nearly fell off the log with it, then he rose and stagger-tripped his way back to the bank.
Why are there commas after “swollen” and “it?”
to separate dialogue from the rest of the sentence
to list items in a series
to separate two coordinate adjective that describe the same noun
A mental picture of hamburger, the way they showed it in the television commercials, thundered into his thoughts.
Why are there commas after “hamburger” and “commercials?”
to combine two independent clauses with a coordinating conjunction
to separate the introductory phrase from the rest of the sentence
to add additional, interrupting information into the middle of the sentence
A mental picture of hamburger, the way they showed it in the television commercials, thundered into his thoughts.
Is this a simple, compound, or complex sentence?
simple sentence
compound sentence
complex sentence
Here the trees were not all the way down but twisted and snapped off halfway up from the ground, so their tops were all down and rotted and gone, leaving the snags poking into the sky like broken teeth.
Why is there a comma after “gone?”
to add additional information onto the end of the sentence
to add additional information into the middle of the sentence
to add in additional information at the beginning of the sentence
It was crude, but it looked effective and seemed to have good balance when he stood outside the shelter and hefted the spear.
Why is there a comma after “crude?”
to separate the dependent clause from the independent clause
to add additional information onto the end of the sentence
to combine two independent clauses with the coordinating conjunction
He had no feathers so he just left them bare, figuring for fish they only had to travel a few inches.
Why is there a comma after “bare?”
to combine two independent clauses with the coordinating conjunction
to add additional information onto the end of the sentence
to separate an introductory phrase from the rest of the sentence
When he had gone halfway around the lake, and had jumped up twenty or so birds, he finally gave up and sat at the base of a tree.
What is the dependent clause in this sentence?
When he had gone halfway around the lake,
and had jumped up twenty or so birds,
he finally gave up and sat at the base of a tree.
The fish were real and his stomach, even his new shrunken stomach, was sending signals that it was savagely empty.
Why are there commas after “stomach” and “stomach?”
to add additional information onto the end of the sentence
to add additional information into the middle of the sentence
to add additional information onto the beginning of the sentence
It was sunny, a rarity for Indiana in April, and everyone at the farmers’ market was wearing short sleeves even though the temperature didn’t quite justify it.
Is this a simple, compound, or complex sentence?
simple sentence
compound sentence
complex sentence
He played me a couple songs he liked by a band called The Hectic Glow, and they were good songs, but because I didn’t know them already, they weren’t as good to me as they were to him.
Identify a dependent clause in this sentence.
He played me a couple songs he liked by a band called The Hectic Glow,
and they were good songs
because I didn’t know them already,
they weren’t as good to me as they were to him.
He took my arm, and I walked with him to the elevator, grateful to have an excuse to avoid the stairs.
Why is there a comma after “arm?”
to separate the dependent clause from the independent clause
to combine two independent clauses with the coordinating conjunction
to separate two coordinate adjectives that describe the same noun
What does FANBOYS stand for?
After Although As When While
For And Nor But Or Yet So
Until Because Before If Since
Two independent clauses are combined by using a comma and a ___________________________.
adjective
coordinating conjunction
subordinating conjunction
noun
A dependent clause begins with a ___________________.
adjective
coordinating conjunction
subordinating conjunction
noun
Identify which mentor sentence correctly uses a comma to list items in a series.
Billy was the kicker on the football team, and he was the point guard on the basketball team.
The horse’s silky, soft mane was fun to brush.
Sonja packed her backpack full of notebooks, folders, and packs of gum.
Identify which mentor sentence correctly uses a comma to combine two independent clauses with a coordinating conjunction (FANBOYS).
Billy was the kicker on the football team, and he was the point guard on the basketball team.
Wisconsin, the state well known for its cheese, is a beautiful place to visit during the summer.
Additionally, the doctor cleared Sarah to go running again.
Identify which mentor sentence correctly uses a comma to separate two coordinate adjectives that describe the same noun.
He owned many head of cattle and worked as their village’s judge—an honored, respected position.
Wisconsin, the state well known for its cheese, is a beautiful place to visit during the summer.
Vinny yelled through the open door, “It’s time to go outside to play!”
Identify which mentor sentence correctly uses a comma to separate the dependent clause from the independent clause in a complex sentence when the dependent clause comes first.
Sonja packed her backpack full of notebooks, folders, and packs of gum.
Wisconsin, the state well known for its cheese, is a beautiful place to visit during the summer.
When the bell rang to signal the end of the school day, Jonathon packed his homework carefully in his backpack.
Identify which mentor sentence correctly uses a comma to separate an introductory word or phrase from the rest of the sentence.
Wisconsin, the state well known for its cheese, is a beautiful place to visit during the summer.
Vinny yelled through the open door, “It’s time to go outside to play!”
Additionally, the doctor cleared Sarah to go running again.
Identify which mentor sentence correctly uses a comma to insert additional or interrupting information into the middle or at the end of the sentence.
Billy was the kicker on the football team, and he was the point guard on the basketball team.
Wisconsin, the state well known for its cheese, is a beautiful place to visit during the summer.
Sonja packed her backpack full of notebooks, folders, and packs of gum.
Identify which mentor sentence correctly uses a comma to separate the quotation from the rest of the sentence in written dialogue.
Sonja packed her backpack full of notebooks, folders, and packs of gum.
The horse’s silky, soft mane was fun to brush.
Vinny yelled through the open door, “It’s time to go outside to play!”
Identify which mentor sentence correctly uses a comma to insert additional or interrupting information into the middle or at the end of the sentence.
The next day was a precise copy of the one before: the sun and the heat and, worst of all to Salva’s mind, a landscape that was utterly unchanged.
As they trudged through the heat, Salva finally had a chance to talk to Uncle about a worry that had been growing like a long shadow across his thoughts.
Additionally, the doctor cleared Sarah to go running again.
When he had gone halfway around the lake, and had jumped up twenty or so birds, he finally gave up and sat at the base of a tree.
What could be considered “extra information”?
When he had gone halfway around the lake,
and had jumped up twenty or so birds,
he finally gave up and sat at the base of a tree.
When he had gone halfway around the lake, and had jumped up twenty or so birds, he finally gave up and sat at the base of a tree.
What is the independent clause in this sentence?
When he had gone halfway around the lake,
and had jumped up twenty or so birds,
he finally gave up and sat at the base of a tree.
His tongue, stained with berry juice, stuck to the roof of his mouth as he stared at the bear.
Why are there commas after “tongue” and “juice?”
to add additional information onto the end of the sentence
to add additional information into the middle of the sentence
to add in additional information at the beginning of the sentence
