Commas, Part 2 Slidecast

This slidecast was created by Todd McCann English Instructor Bay College Escanaba, Michigan [email_address]

Commas, Part 2

Using commas to set off nonessential elements
If an element (word or phrase) is essential, do not set it off with commas.
If an element is nonessential, set it off with commas.

Essential elements (do not use commas)
Women who are pregnant should not drink or smoke.

Essential elements (do not use commas)
Women who are pregnant should not drink or smoke.
Bay College students who transfer to MSU tend to be science majors and hardcore partiers.

Nonessential elements (use commas to set them off)
Nancy Jefferson, who is pregnant , does not drink or smoke.

Nancy Jefferson, who is pregnant , does not drink or smoke.
Jack Fowler, who transferred from Bay College to MSU , is a science major and a hardcore partier.

Appositives: nouns or pronouns that rename another noun or pronoun (set them off with commas)
Barry Smith, my closest neighbor , writes children’s books.

Barry Smith, my closest neighbor , writes children’s books.
My oldest sister, Carla , is an FBI agent; however, my youngest sister, Anna , is a federal prison inmate.

Shakespeare’s play Hamlet has been made into a movie several times.

Shakespeare’s play Hamlet has been made into a movie several times.
Bob Nelson’s debut novel, The Jackrabbit , was a miserable failure in terms of sales.

Quick Quiz
Should there be commas or no commas around the blue element? In other words, is it essential (no commas) or nonessential (commas)?
My husband Larry rarely leaves the house.

Quick Quiz
My husband, Larry , rarely leaves the house.
(commas)

Quick Quiz
Men who know how to cook their own food and wash their own clothes make the best husbands.

Quick Quiz
Men who know how to cook their own food and wash their own clothes make the best husbands.
(no commas)

Quick Quiz
People who wear funny hats get on my nerves.

Quick Quiz
People who wear funny hats get on my nerves.
(no commas)

Quick Quiz
Carol Roberts my best friend in high school just got a job at Google.

Quick Quiz
Carol Roberts, my best friend in high school , just got a job at Google.
(commas)

Quick Quiz
Should there be commas or no commas around the blue/green element? In other words, is it essential (no commas) or nonessential (commas)?
I have two dogs. My dog Skippy who is afraid of the dark sleeps with a night-light.

Quick Quiz
I have two dogs. My dog Skippy , who is afraid of the dark , sleeps with a night-light.
(no commas around Skippy but commas around “who is afraid of the dark”)

Quick Quiz
Aunt Bunny who lives in Florida is a little goofy. Her husband John however is perfectly normal because he lives in Iowa.

Quick Quiz
Aunt Bunny, who lives in Florida , is a little goofy. Her husband, John , however , is perfectly normal because he lives in Iowa.
(commas in all cases)

Quick Quiz
Cats although seemingly useless are good for catching rodents. Dogs on the other hand are multi-purpose.

Quick Quiz
Cats, although seemingly useless , are good for catching rodents. Dogs, on the other hand , are multi-purpose.
(commas)

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Commas, Part 2 Slidecast

by mccannt on Feb 22, 2008

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