No Name, No Fame _____________________ Period ____
Page ______
Comma Drama
.
,
;
The most common pieces of punctuation are
and
GOAL: Today we will properly punctuate simple, compound, and complex sentences.
Let’s Review
subject + verb = INDEPENDENT CLAUSE (Miss Independent)
subordinator + subject + verb = DEPENDENT CLAUSE (Mr Dependent)
List as many subordinators as you can below:
because
while
since
as
if
when
although
Comma Rules:
1. Simple sentences (always/sometimes/never) contain a comma.
MISS INDEPENDENT.
Examples:
- Sam bought a peanut butter sandwich and ate it with relish.
- Iguanas and Sea Monkeys are great pets.
2. Compound sentences (always/sometimes/never) contain a comma. or a semicolon ( ; )
MISS INDEPENDENT
OR
; MISS INDEPENDENT.
MISS INDEPENDENT
, CONJUNCTION MISS INDEPENDENT.
List all the Conjunctions:
Examples:
F
A
N
B
O
Y
S
- Sam bought a peanut butter sandwich , and Anne ate a jellyfish.
- Iguanas are great pets , but Sea Monkeys are dangerous.
- Eating healthy is good; exercising is better.
3. Complex sentences (always/sometimes/never) contain a comma.
MISS INDEPENDENT MR. DEPENDENT.
Example:
Sam bought a peanut butter sandwich as Anne ate a jellyfish.
Or…
MR. DEPENDENT
,
MISS INDEPENDENT.
Example:
While it is safe to pet an iguana
, you should never try to pet a sea monkey.
Let’s Try it Together:
Directions: -
(Use the box above to help you)
Label each sentence Simple, Compound, or Complex.
Put a  next to each sentence that is properly punctuated. Put a  next to
each sentence that has the wrong punctuation.
Under each , rewrite the sentence correctly.
1. ___Complex____ Because the day is so hot , all P.E. classes have been cancelled .
2. ___Compound__ My favorite flavor of ice cream is chocolate , my friend prefers vanilla .


My favorite flavor of ice cream is chocolate , but my friend prefers vanilla.
3. ______________ Many students received a chocolate muffin , since there is team and family meeting.
4. ______________ I want to travel to New York , and Paris.
5. ______________ I like Italian food so my dad cooked me some spaghetti.
6. ______________ We didn’t go to the football game , since the tickets cost too much.
7. ______________ Squid eyeball stew is so thick that you can eat it with a fork, or a spoon .
8. ______________ Although squid eyeball stew is delicious , my brother refuses to eat it.
9. ______________ I hate to waste a single drop of squid eyeball stew , for it is expensive and timeconsuming to make.
10. ______________ Although my friend thinks it’s gross I like to collect belly button lint.
Now Time to Practice! Make sure to use proper punctuation. We don’t want comma drama!
1. Write a SIMPLE sentence:
2. Write a COMPOUND sentence:
3. Write a COMPLEX sentence: