This document provides instruction on proper comma usage. It discusses using commas to separate items in lists and elements in sentences to improve clarity. Examples are given of correcting comma errors in long sentences. Activities are suggested for learners to practice identifying where commas should be placed and to experiment with punctuation changing the meaning of phrases. The goal is for learners to more accurately use commas in their own writing.
2. Today we are going to
look at commas…
I’m sure you already
know quite a lot about
how to use commas -
but how well do you
use them in practice?
3. What can you
remember about
when commas
need to be used?
What is the point
of commas?
4. Key Uses of Commas
• To separate items in a list when the comma can
replace and – this simply makes writing less clumsy,
e.g. I went to the shops and bought avocados,
bananas, coconuts and dates.
• To show where elements within a sentence join
together – this is to help the reader work out how
the different bits of information in each sentence fit
together. So, correct use of commas is about making
your meaning clear to the reader.
5. Commas in Long Sentences
Let’s start with a short
documentary / slasher
film on commas…….
Commas Rule!
6. Now are you ready to
slash some sentences?
Well, before we get to
the gory action, like all
professional killers, we
need to study our
victims first!
7. Although he was allergic to furry
animals John agreed to look after RED = STAND UP
Katerina’s hamster for the holiday BLACK = FACE
BACK OF ROOM
as he thought this might give him a
BLUE = HEAD ON
chance to get a date with her DESK
despite the fact that Katerina had GREEN = WAVE
HANDS IN AIR
told her friends that she found
John boring.
9. Although he was allergic to furry
animals John agreed to look after
Katerina’s hamster for the holiday as he
thought this might give him a chance to
get a date with her despite the fact that
Katerina had told her friends that she
found John boring.
10. Although he was allergic to furry
animals, John agreed to look after
Katerina’s hamster for the holiday, as he
thought this might give him a chance to
get a date with her, despite the fact that
Katerina had told her friends that she
found John boring.
11. As well as separating clauses that have been added on
after or before the main clause, commas can also be
used for separating off clauses that have been, so to
speak, inserted or pushed into another clause:
John, of course, agreed to look
after Katerina’s hamster for the
holiday Hello!
John agreed to look after Katerina’s
hamster, a cute little brown
Abyssinian called Fluffy, for the
holiday
12. Why do we go to all this bother for a few squiggles on a
page? Why does it matter?
We find long
sentences hard to
process and can get
lost – commas help us
to sort out the
different bits of
information that make
up the sentence and
how they fit together
13. Activity 1: Chop Chop!
Look at the sentences on the
sheet and see if you can
correctly identify where the
commas should go – find the
‘core’ sentence at the heart of
the longer sentence and then
see if you can separate all the
added and inserted bits of
information. Then you are
ready to CHOP!
14. Activity 2: Marking Massacre
Of course, you still need to
work out when you need a
full stop rather than a
comma.
A sentence is where everything relates to the same
point : in the hamster sentence, everything relates to
John babysitting Katerina’s hamster. When you start
to talk about something different or introduce a new
point, then you need to end the first sentence with a
full stop and start a new one.
15. Activity 3: Commas Save The Day
Now for some fun with commas – not impossible!
16. Can you punctuate the following in two different ways
to give two different meanings:
The panda eats shoots and leaves
HINT: one version turns the panda into a criminal!
17. The panda eats, shoots and
leaves!
OR
The panda eats shoots and
leaves.
19. What about this phrase – what two ways can
it be punctuated to create very different
meanings?
Don’t eat grandpa
HINT: one version will turn us into cannibals!
22. A woman without
her man is nothing
HINT: Each version probably appeals to a different
gender! You may need a colon or hyphen in one version
23. A woman: without
her, man is nothing!
OR
A woman without
her man is nothing!
Which do you prefer?
33. Let’s review!
What have you learnt about
commas in long sentences?
Let’s set a target?
Try and use commas more
accurately in your own work in
your next piece of writing –
you never know, you might get
a comma-endation!
36. Commas in lists are probably quite easy for you by
now, but let’s just check:
Helena wanted to play basketball eat
noodles visit the Taj Mahal and learn
Korean over the summer holidays.
37. Zain had to remember to buy rice
broccoli peanut butter a TV guide and
bananas on his way home from
school.
38. He applied to so many places for his
work experience Boot’s Marks and
Spencer’s Asda and even the local
butchers.