508. louise smith, chief of operations at medico incorporated, introduced vice president ellis to the staff.
509. conchetta, a distant cousin, recently met the secretary of state.
510. a famous grocery, ballocco’s italian specialties, has both a website and a physical store.
511. pierre enjoys the crisp, cool air of autumn.
512. the district attorney gave me five pages of testimony from the principal prosecution witness, general rodriguez.
513. his polish girlfriend taught aunt may and me how to dance the polka, playing many songs suitable for that type of dance.
514. martin luther king jr. received the nobel peace prize in 1964.
515. janice jones, treasurer of our religious study group, asked for a moment of silence in memory of the recently deceased school principal.
516. the annual greek-american parade takes place tomorrow, according to archbishop kerakalos, the head of the greek historical society.
517. how many non-european hockey players participate in the international league of ice hockey, the organization that oversees the schedule and salaries?
518. my favorite film star, jeffrey o. phelps, won the oscar for best supporting actor.
519. the mayor fired daniel ellis, a supervisor with the department of parks, after hurricane sandy.
520. her brother worked for consolidated edison, which supplies electricity to the city, until 2012, when he retired with the rank of vice president.
521. does mother know that uncle bill just left for alabama, where he will run for senator?
Capitalizing Geographical Names, Quotations, and School References
522–532 Which words should be capitalized?
522. my french teacher is from tunisia, a country in africa where that language is widely spoken.
523. when alan was a sophomore, he spent every monday in december working on a mural for the school cafeteria.
524. last winter, marian said, “every snowy day is a treasure.”
525. lucy loves her history class, but she excels in science and math.
526. in the spring, you should take introduction to biology instead of nuclear physics.
527. lou thinks that sandals are “light and airy.”
528. to reach the rocky mountains, i drove west for three days last summer.
529. ruining the entire month, april 15th is the deadline for filing tax returns each year.
530. “i invest in fine art,” remarked jean, “because i like to support local artists.”
531. joe lives in tribeca, a neighborhood in manhattan, but he’s originally from the midwest.
532. having gobbled up my french fries, johnny then wiped his greasy fingers on my best egyptian cotton towels.
Capitalizing the Titles of Artistic or Scientific Works
533–541 Which words in each title should be capitalized? Note: Check the parentheses to see whether the work follows headline or sentence style.
533. the love song of benny and jenny (headline style)
534. penicillin: an examination of the safety and effectiveness of a common antibiotic (sentence style)
535. superbug, snakefeet, and fish teeth: a history of three rock bands (headline style)
536. serafina my love: how two star-crossed lovers met their fate (headline style)
537. traffic circulation patterns: an analysis of driver choice from 2005–2015 (sentence style)
538. hospital sanitary practices: a guide for administrators (sentence style)
539. you get more than you pay for by bargaining! (headline style)
540. basil: an invasive crop or helpful newcomer? (sentence style)
541. are you listening? a musician’s memoir of an auditory education (headline style)
Chapter 12
Exercising Comma Sense: Placing Commas Correctly
How much is a comma worth? In 2018, a single missing comma in a state law cost a Maine dairy company five million dollars. Your punctuation is no less valuable, at least in terms of meaning. As the dairy company now knows, a comma can clarify or undermine the intended message. Fortunately, it's not hard to insert commas where they belong. In this chapter, you practice paying attention to commas and exercising “comma sense.”
The Questions You’ll Work On
In this chapter, you work on questions that exercise the following skills:
Punctuating lists with commas and inserting semicolons where needed
Differentiating between essential and nonessential information by inserting commas
Using commas to set off introductory elements and interruptions in the sentence
Creating a direct address with commas
Separating clauses with commas and conjunctions
What to Watch Out For
Keep these points in mind when you’re answering the questions in this chapter:
Elements of a list are generally separated by commas. The comma before and is optional, though most people include it. Note: You should always place a comma before and if the meaning isn't clear without it, as in this sentence: I invited two of my brothers, John and Bill. The reader doesn't know whether the speaker invited four people (two brothers and John and Bill) or two people (two brothers, whose names are John and Bill). A comma before and clarifies the meaning.
If items in a list contain commas, semicolons separate the items.
Set off nonessential descriptions from the rest of the sentence using commas. Essential information is not set off by commas.
Nonessential clauses (subject-verb statements) often begin with which. Essential clauses often begin with that.
Commas set off words in a sentence that interrupt the flow of meaning (direct address, exclamations, and the like).
When you join one complete sentence to another with a conjunction (and, or, but, for, yet, nor), place a comma before the conjunction.
Commas in Lists
542–556 Punctuate the list by adding commas and semicolons as needed. Note: Some optional commas already appear in the lists.
542. ham eggs bacon cereal milk, and toast
543. drizzle hurricane hail sleet, and rain
544. vanilla and chocolate
545. vanilla and chocolate and strawberry ice cream
546. slid teetered, and fell flat
547.