Homework and Class Work for ENG 100B
Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2012
1st Pd: Cole Stamper,
2nd Pd: Brianna Meckelburg, Haley Devaney
INDEPENDENT WORK:
Commas – Interrupters
RULE 6: Use commas to set off expressions that interrupt the sentence.
Two commas are needed to set off an expression unless the expression comes first or last in the sentence.
(A) Appositives and appositive phrases use usually set off by commas.
An appositive is a word, with or without modifiers, that follows a noun or pronoun and identifies or explains it. An
appositive phrase consists of an appositive and its modifiers.
EXAMPLES
year the
Claude McKay’s Banjo, the book I have often told you
Great Depression began.
about, was first published in 1929, the
When an appositive is so closely related to the word it modifies that it appears to be a part of that word, no commas is
necessary. An appositive of this kind is called a restrictive appositive. It is usually one word.
EXAMPLES
my nephew Jim
the American gymnast Peter Vidmar
my friend Juanita
the expression c’est la vie
(B) Words used in direct address are set off by commas.
EXAMPLES
Mother, did you remember to call Mrs.
Johnson?
Your essay, Maria, was well organized.
Will you answer the question, Monica?
(C) Parenthetical expressions are set off by commas.
Many words and phrases are used parenthetically. Such expressions may serve as explanations or qualifications,
but they do not affect the grammatical structure of the sentence in which they appear. The following slide contains
a few commonly used parenthetical expressions.
Incidentally
In fact
In the first place
Naturally
Nevertheless
On the other hand
Therefore
After all
As a matter of fact
By the way
Consequently
For example
However
I believe (hope, think, etc.)
EXAMPLES By the way, did you see our football team on the
A celebrity is, of course, easily recognized by many
sports news?
people.
It is too late to go today, I believe.
Of course, these expressions need not be used parenthetically. Whey they are not, do not set them off with commas.
EXAMPLES
By the way, she is in my vocal music class. [PARENTHETICAL]
You can tell by the way she sings that she enjoys the class. [NOT PARENTHETICAL]
NOTE A contrasting expression introduced by not is parenthetical and should be set off by commas.
EXAMPLE
It is the dromedary, not the Bactrian camel, that is native to North Africa.
Subrule C (above) is often deliberately not followed for several reasons.
First, the meaning is clear, the commas that set off a parenthetical expression are sometimes omitted to avoid an
overpunctuated sentence.
Second, and of great importance, is the matter of intention. When you wish the reader to pause, to consider the
expression as parenthetical, set it off; if not, leave it unpunctuated.
You will always be safe, however, if you follow Subrule C.
CLASSWORK:
1. Students completed Tutorial Presentations
2. Read Now You See It . . . pages 77-94 of Chapter 3. Take notes to complete a Reading Response Journal
at the end of the chapter.