APPENDIX Commas’ Punctuation Using corzect punctuation is important because punctuation conveys meaning just as, words do. Consider these two sentences: Eat children, Ext, children, Both sentences are commands, but the first sentence would be correct only in a society of cannibals!" Leam and practice the rules of punctuation until you are confi- dent about using them correctly. Commas are sometimes troublesome to leamers of English because they are used differ- ently in other languages. There are many comma rules in English, but you may remember them more easily if you realize thet they can be organized into just four main groups: introducers, coordinators, inserters, and tags. Each group of commas relates to inde- pendent clauses in a particular way, except the coordinator group. Coordinator commas link not just independent cleuses, but any coordinate (equal) elements in a sentence. Study the examples for each comma group, and notice the kinds of elements that can be introducers, [Link], inserters, and tags. ‘An introducer comma follows any element that comes in front of the first independent clause in a sentence. TNOEPENDENT OLAUSE Words Therefore, | plan co quie smoking. Nervously, | throw away my cigarettes. Phrases As a result, | feel terible right now. Atter sixteen years of smoking, itis not easy £0 quit. | Having smoked for sixteen years, | find it difficult to quic. | Dependent Because I have a chronic cough, my doctor recommended | clauses that | quit immediately. | Direct “Stop smoking today,” she advised, ‘quotations } cannibals: people who eat human flesh * Our thanks to Anne Katz of ARC Associates, Oakland, California, for permission to adapt her presentation of comma rales. oePor Appendix A Punctuation ‘Togethe: with a coordinating conjunction, a comma links coordinate (equal) elements in a sentence. coord. sentence with 2 INDEPENDENT CLAUS i eect TNDEFE? |, conj, INDEPENDENT CLAUSE), clauses She hasa good job, yet. —she is always broke, ‘They were tired, 30 they went home early Series of 3 or and ‘more itams: deeb eae) Fae rae eee] but Words He doesnt enjoy skiing, ice-skating, or sledding. Cecile speaks English, Spanish, French, and Creole, (No comma with only 2 items: Chen speaks Mandarin and Talwanese) Phrases Annurse has to work at night, on weekends, and on holidays. We ran into the airport, chacked our luggage, raced to the boarding gate, gave the attendant our boarding passes, and collapsed in our seats. ‘An inserter comma Is used before and after any element | that is inserted into the middle of an independent clause. (INDEPENDENT | CLAUSE] Words My uncle, however, refuses to quit smoking. Phrases My father,on the other hand, has never smoked ‘There's no point in living, according to my uncle, if you don't cdo what you enjoy. Nonrestrictive My aunt, his wife, died of lung cancer Phrases and clauses] My cousins, grieving over their mother's death, resolved never to smoke. My mother, who just celebrated her fiftieth birthday, enjoys an cecasional cigarette. Reporting verbs in | "“t've tried to quit dozens of times," she says, “but can't” direct quotations | Pee eee ee eee eee)Appendix A Punctuation AY Atag comma is used when adding certain elements to the end of a sentence, INDEPENDENT CLAUSE My uncle believes in drinking a dally glass of wine, too. He appears to be in good health, however. Phrases He swims for an hour every day, for example. He also plays tennis, beating me most of the time ‘Tag questions Ie isn't logical, is ie? Direct quotations | He laughs as he says,“ will outlive all of you.” STEP 1 Add commas wherever they are necessary. (Not all sentences need them, a and some sentences need more than one) STEP 2 Name the function of each comma (introducer, coordinator, inserter, or tag). Function Ll a e cm ‘The advertising industry which is one of the langest industries im the United States employs millions of people and spends ‘billions of dollars. 4 compeny that wants to be suocessful must spend a great deal of money to advertise tts products Advertising is essential to the free enterprise system yet it can sometimes be very annoying. Every minute of the day and night people are exposed ta ads on ‘television on billboards in the newspapers and in magecines, ‘You can't even avoid advertising in the privacy of your own car or your own home for advertisers have begun selling their pro- ‘Guots in those places too. In the lest few years advertising agencies have started to hire young People to hand out circulars on strest corners and in parking lots. ‘You can often find these circulars stuck on your windshield ‘thrust! through the open windows of your car stuffed in your mailbox or simply soattered on your front doorstep. Because Americans are exposed to 60 much advertising they have Decome immune? to it As a result advertisers have to make louder commercials use brighter colors and hire sexier models to catch the public's attention. 2 thrust: pushed forcefully #immume: cannot be affectedAppendix A Punctuation 10. Many people object to commercials that use sex as a sales strategy. ———— }}. Sexy commercials that sell everything from toothpaste to automobiles seem to imply that you will become sexier tf you ‘buy the product, ———— 2. 6ex is used ir many cigarette and liquor ads for example, 15, The women in such ads ave often dressed in revealing clothes and are surrounded by handsome men and the men in such ads are always extramely handsome and virile. ———— 4 As everyone Imows smoking and drinking do not make you sexy op virile. ————— 15. 0n the contrary drinking makes you fat and smoking makes ‘you sick. 16. Recently smoxing was banned in most public places in the United States, 17. Many people opposed the lew but it finally passed. 18. smoking is now prohibited in hospitals airports stores offices and even soma restaurants. 19, Many states however still allow smoking in bars, — 20. Antismoking groups want to ban smoking in those places too. Semicolons Using semicolons is not difficult if you remember that a semicolon (;) is more like a period than a comma. It is a very strong punctuation mark. Semicolons are used in three places: Between two sentences that are closely connected in idea 2. Before conjunctive adverbs and some transitional phrases 3. Between items in a series if the items themselves contain commas Between Use a semicolon at the end of a sentence when the following sentence is closely con- Sentences nected in meaning. You could also use a period, but when the sentences are connect- ed in meaning, itis better to use asemicolon. Independent -lause ; independent clause. aoa CECE Alice is going to Harvard; she isn't going to M. ‘Computer use is increasing; compuser crime is, too, ‘The meeting adjourned! at dawn; nothing had been accomplished, * adjourned: endedBefore Connectors Between Items in a Series Wing Semicolons and Commas Appendix A Punctuation BAY] ‘Use a semicolon before corjunctive adverbs such as however, therefore, nevertheless, moreover, and furthermore. You may also use @ semicolon before some transition phrases such a3 for example, as a result, that i, in fact, etc. ‘conjunctive adverb or | Independent clause ; transition , independent clause. | phrase Skiing is dangerous; nevertheless, milions of people ski. | have never been to Europe; in fac, | have never been outside my country. Semicalons may be used to separate items in a series when some of the items already contain commas. [ance nde we ete eee Fart wh ak waren nd] sporty look the misze Ford Taurus, with ts comfortable seat and ease of hare dling; or the compact Ges, with its economical fuel consumption. | A. STEP 1 The following sentences need semicolons and commas; add the correct punctuation in the appropriate places. STEP2_ In the space provided at left, indicate whether the semicolon is Before two closely connected sentences 2. Before a conjunctive adverb or a transition phrase 3. Between items in a series if the items elready contain coramas Example —2__ Professor Smith is av 2 conference; however; Dr Jones, who Is the rent chairman, wil be glad to see you. par —— 1. Grave works for a prestigious law firm she is their top criminal lawyer. —— & My favorite leisure-time activities are going to movies especially musicals, reading novels* especially stories of love and adventure listening to music ‘otis rook and classical and participating in sports particularly tennis and volleyball. —— & The future of our mild animals is uncertain for example illegal shooting and chemical poisoning threaten the bald eagle —— 4 Homework is boring therefore I never do it. —— 5. The freeways are always crowded during the busy rush hours nevertheless people refuse to take public transportation. ? novels: fiction books 4 bald eagles a large bizd of prey, symbol ofthe United StatesFEY == Appendix A Punctuation —— 6. The Smiths’ marriage should succeed they share the same interests, —— 7, Hoping that he would pass the course he stayed up all night studying for ‘the final exam unfortunately he overslept and missed the tact. —— &. In general J enjoy my Hnglish class the amount of homework our teacher assigns 1s definitely not enjoyable however, ——~ 9. Ifyou are a college student, an average day is filled with challenges: you ‘have to avold running into Professor Jones whose class you missed Decause you overslept you have to race across the sampus at high speed to reach your next ciass which is always at the other side of the campus and you have to searetly prepare your homework assignment during class hoping all the time that the teaoher won't catch you. B. Punctuate the following sentences by adding semicolons end commas. Use semicolons wherever possible, 1, My bus was Inte therefore I missed my first olass. The politician was discovered accepting bribes as a result his political career was ruined, 3. My fether never cries in faot he never shows any emotion et all. 4, The restaurant was closed consequently we went home to eat. 5. Some people feel that grades are unnevessary on the other hand some people ‘eel that grades motivate students, 6, Technology is changing our lives in insidious! ways for example the computer: is replacing human contact. 7. The computer dehumenizes business nevertheless it has some real advantages. 8. Writing essays is easy it just takes a little practice. 9, Americans love pets every family seems to have at least one dog cr cat. 10, The life expectancy of Americans is increasing for example the life expectancy of @ man born today is 77.2 years which is an increase of 26.12 years since 1900. 11, Your proposal is a good one however T do not completely agree with your final suggestion. 12, Bifficiency is a highly prized quality among Amerioans it has almost attained the status of a moral attritute? C. Write one original sentence for each of the three rules for using semicolons: 1, Between closely connected sentences 2. Before conjunctive adverbs and some transition phrases 3. Between items in a series 1 insidious: secretly harmful * armribute: characteristic; qualityColons Appendix A Punctuation Lists Quotations Subtitles Formal Salutations Acolon () can be used in five ways: Use a colon to introduce a list. Libraries have two kinds of periodicals: bound periodicals and current periodicals. | need the following groceries: eggs, milk, and coffee. ‘The causes of the US. Civil War were as follows: the economic domination of the NNorth,the slavery issue, and the issue of seaces' rights versus federal invervention, Note: Do not use a colon to introduce a list after the verb 10 be unless you add the fol- Towing or as follows. ‘To me, the most important things in life are health, happiness, good friends, and a lot of money. ‘Yo me, the most important things in life are the following: health, happiness, good friends, and a lot of money. Use @ colon to introduce a quotation longer than three lines. This type of quote is indented on both sides, and no quotation marks are used. ‘As Albert C. Baugh and Thomas Cable state in their book, The History ofthe Engith Language: ‘There is no such thing as uniformity in language. Not only does the speech of one community differ fom that of another, but the speech of different individuals of 2 single community even different members of the same family is marked by individ val peculiarities? Use a colon between the main title and the subtitle of a book, article, or play. ‘A popular book on nonverbal communication is Samovar and Porter's intercultural Communication: A Reader. ‘The name of an article from the New York Times is “Space Stations: Dream or Reality?" Use a colon between the numbers for hours and minutes when indicating the time of day. Helen left the class at 12:30, (Our plane arrived at +40, six hours late. ‘Use a colon after the salutation of a formal letter. Dear Professor Danielson: Dear Sir or Madame Dear Ms. Smith: Te Whom k: May Concern: In informal letters, a comma is more appropriate. Dear Mom, Dear Mark, * peculiarities: swange characteristics,Berd = Appendix A Punctuation Lee Using Punctuation A. Add commas, semicolons, and colons to the following. 1, The library offere many special services the Student Learning Center where students can receive individual tutoring special alasses where they can improve ‘their math reading and writing and computer skills in eddition there are group study rooms. 2. Dear Dr. Patterson Dear Alice Dear Mr. Carter 8. To check a book out of the library you should follow this procedure write down, ‘the call number of the book ind the book bring it to the circulation desk fl out the card and show your student LD. 4. The principal sources of air pollution in our olties ave fectories airplanes and automobiles. 5. have @ dental appointment at 330 today. Please pick me up at 500. B. Write a sentence in which you list two pieces of advice that you have received ‘fom your parents. Use a colon to direct attention to them. ©. Write the title and subtitle of the following book correctly, Remember to underline the full title. (Title) Paris (Subtitle) A Visitor's Guide to Restaurants Quotation Marks Direct Quotations Quotation marks {*. .”} have three basic functions: ‘Use quotation marks to enclose a direct quotation that is shorter than three lines. A direct quotation states the exact words of a speaker. Punctuation with quotation marks can be «litle tricky. Here are some rules to follow: 11, Periods and commas go inside quotation matks. “I thought he was responsible,” he said, "but he isn.” 2. Colons and semicolons go outside quotation marks, “Give me liberty or give me dest’: these are immortal! words. 3, Exclamation points (() and question marks (®) go inside quotation marks if they are a part of the quotation; otherwise, they go outside. “is it eight o'clock?” she asked. Did she say, "It’s eight o'clock"? * fmmortal: jong-remembered