Commas and Apostrophes

Transcription

1 Commas and Apostrophes Commas and apostrophes are some of the most misused punctuations. Commas are integral pieces of sentence structure, and apostrophes carry different meanings depending on their use. Because of the variance in the meaning these punctuations can hold, and the primacy of effective communication in scholarly writing, the correct use of commas and apostrophes is extremely important. In this module you will learn: 1. How to use commas to correctly phrase a sentence 2. How to use commas to add emphasis in a sentence 3. How to use apostrophes to create plural words 4. How to use apostrophes to create possessive words 1. Commas 1. Commas show a break in a sentence s structure, signaling a pause or short breath. This simplistic characterization does not make for simple uses in writing. The list below demonstrates each of the uses of the comma in the English language. 2. A comma can set apart a nonrestrictive part of the sentence. Nonrestrictive parts are not necessary to identify the noun, but add to its description.

2 Example 1: Use a comma to set apart the nonrestrictive part of a sentence My Fair Lady, an outstanding film according to many, is playing at the theater this weekend. This sentence sets apart the middle phrase an outstanding film according to many from the rest of the sentence. The two other phrases could make a sentence on their own, and the middle phrase is thrown in as a remark almost as an aside. 3. Commas set apart the name of the person or other noun of the sentence being addressed. Example 2: Use a comma to set apart the noun of the sentence My Fair Lady, an outstanding film according to many, is playing at the theater this weekend. This is the same sentence as in Example 1, but the first comma functions to separate My Fair Lady from the rest of the sentence as the subject being addressed. Note that sentences that begin with the subject only need a comma after them if there is a middle nonrestrictive element. an outstanding film according to many is the nonrestrictive element of the sentence above. If the nonrestrictive element were removed the sentence would read like this: My Fair Lady is playing at the theater this weekend. 4. Sandwiching a noun between commas allows for the noun to serve as an example in a sentence

3 Example 3: Sandwiching a noun between commas Valentine s Day is criticized by many as the creation of greeting card companies, such as Hallmark, but it is actually a centuries old tradition. This sentence structure highlights the middle phrase of the sentence. 5. Commas can be used to create a list of items in a sentence. With this use they are called serial commas. Some style guides omit the final comma. Example 4: Using serial commas Incorrect: The three major geological periods during the Mesozoic era were the Triassic Jurassic and Cretaceous. Corrected: The three major geologic periods during the Mesozoic era were the Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous. OR: The three major geologic periods during the Mesozoic era were the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous. 6. If your list contains conjunctions such as or and and between every item, then you needn t use commas. Example 5: Lists of words without commas Incorrect: The three major geologic periods during the Mesozoic era were the Triassic, and Jurassic, and Cretaceous. Corrected: The three major geologic periods during the Mesozoic era were the Triassic and Jurassic and Cretaceous. Incorrect: Do you prefer olive oil, or coconut oil, or avocado oil?

4 Corrected: Do you prefer olive oil, coconut oil, or avocado oil? 7. If a list contains long phrases, even if they are separated by and or or, commas are acceptable and useful. Example 6: Separating long phrases with commas Incorrect: We may choose the ice cream sundae with brownie fudge chunks and whipped cream or the spiked banana cream pie with nutter butter crust or the daily special of Nutella beignets served with chicory espresso. As you read the sentence above you get lost in the long phrases and must work to separate the different choices. Corrected: We may choose the ice cream sundae with brownie fudge chunks and whipped cream, or the spiked banana cream pie with nutter butter crust, or the daily special of Nutella beignets served with chicory espresso. This sentence clearly differentiates each long list item with a comma. 8. Use commas between two clauses that are connected with a short conjunction (and, but, or, nor, yet, for) (Davis, 1983). Example 7 lists sentences demonstrating comma use with each of these conjunctions. Notice how each clause can stand alone as its own sentence, hence requiring a comma. Example 7: Separating two clauses with a comma and conjunction English is a popular major in the College of Liberal Arts, but it has a low retention rate. Dharma wanted to present her research at the geology conference, and luckily she

5 received funding to attend. You could eat a banana for lunch, or you could eat granola. Dr. Mendes did not know when she could begin her new study, nor did she know if she could hire a graduate research assistant. The data show that there is a correlation between body weight and exercise level, yet the researchers cannot draw a causal link. 9. Place a comma between two coordinating adjectives. These are adjective in succession that refer to the same subject. You can tell if adjectives coordinate when reversing their order or placing and between them does not change the meaning of the sentence (Davis, 1983). Example 8: Using a comma between coordinating adjectives Incorrect: Rich nutty coffee is my favorite kind. The adjectives rich and nutty are coordinating because reversing their order does not change the meaning of the sentence Incorrect: Nutty rich coffee is my favorite kind. nor does placing and between them to create this sentence: Rich and nutty coffee is my favorite kind. Therefore, they should be separated with a comma. Corrected: Rich, nutty coffee is my favorite kind. Incorrect: Classified, government files are restricted from public access. The two adjectives classified and government should not be separated by a comma because they are not coordinating adjectives. We know this because if we

6 reverse their order the sentence meaning changes. Incorrect: Government classified files are restricted from public access. This sentence can now means that files that are classified by the government are restricted, whereas the the initial sentence means that files must be owned by the government and classified. Therefore the sentence should read like this Corrected: Classified government files are restricted from public access. 10.Another use of commas is between a dependent adverbial clause and an independent clause (Davis, 1983). But what does this mean? See Example 9 to see what we mean. Example 9: Using a comma to separate a dependent clause followed by an independent clause Color key for Examples 9 and 10: Dependent adverbial clause Independent clause Incorrect: After you finish your dinner you can have dessert. Corrected: After you finish your dinner, you can have dessert. Incorrect: Because I skipped so many classes I had to retake Chem 101. Corrected: Because I skipped so many classes, I had to retake Chem 101. Example 10: Omit commas when a dependent clause follows an independent clause In Example 9, after and because are adverbs that make the first clause dependent on the second clause. If the situation is reversed, and the adverbial clause follows the independent clause, then a comma is not necessary.

7 Incorrect: You can have dessert, after you finish your dinner. Corrected: You can have dessert after you finish your dinner. Incorrect: I had to retake Chem 101, because I skipped so many classes. Corrected: I had to retake Chem 101 because I skipped so many classes. 2. Apostrophes 1. Apostrophes most frequently show possession, contractions, and plurals (Davis, 1983). 2. Apostrophes also make words possessive. A caveat here is that apostrophes are not used to make pronouns possessive (i.e. hers, his, ours, theirs ) Example 11: Use apostrophes to make words possessive. Singular words that end in s Business Business s Singular words that do not end in s Metal Metal s Singular indefinite pronouns Someone Someone s Plural words that end in s Foundations Foundations Plural words that do not end in s Moose Moose s

8 3. Use apostrophes to make contractions. Example 12: Use apostrophes to make contractions Apostrophes show the omission of letters in making contractions. We are We re There is There s Will not Won t 4. Make plurals. Most plurals just require an s on the end of the word, but when you are writing a figure, special character, number, or using a word as a reference, you should add s. Example 13: Use of apostrophes (or not) when making special characters plural. Figures and special characters: The + s and s at the end of letter grades aggravated Christina. Numbers: The 1990s were a great ten years. Words as a reference: There are too many likes in your writing. Dos and don ts Capital letters: The three Rs

9 Acronyms: PhDs Sources and Additional Resources: 1. Davis, K. (1983). Sentence combining and paragraph construction. New York, NY: Macmillan Publishing Co, Inc. 2. Purdue OWL 3. Writing Commons 4. Capital Community College