Name_________________________________
Comma Rule #3
Directions: Read and understand Comma Rule #3. Then show your knowledge of the rule by completing the
exercises below. From now on, you will be expected to always practice this rule correctly with every assignment,
formal or informal.
Comma Rule #3 – Use a comma to separate the appositive from the rest of the sentence. An APPOSITIVE is a
noun or noun phrase that renames another noun right beside it. The appositive can be a short or long combination of
words.
Examples:
1. The insect, a cockroach, is crawling across the kitchen table.
2. The insect, a large cockroach, is crawling across the kitchen table.
3. The insect, a large cockroach with hairy legs, is crawling across the kitchen table.
When the appositive begins the sentence, it looks like this:
A hot-tempered tennis player, Robbie charged the umpire and tried to crack the poor man's skull with a
racket.
When the appositive interrupts the sentence, it looks like this:
Robbie, a hot-tempered tennis player, charged the umpire and tried to crack the poor man's skull with a
racket.
And when the appositive ends the sentence, it looks like this:
Upset by the bad call, the crowd cheered Robbie, a hot-tempered tennis player who charged the umpire and
tried to crack the poor man's skull with a racket.
A PARENTHETICAL EXPRESSION is a word or phrase that interrupts the sentence with information that may be
helpful, but is not essential. Use commas to set off parenthetical expressions. Note – To determine if the
parenthetical expression is nonessential, delete it from the sentence. If the sentence still reads as a complete
sentence, you then know you need commas.
Examples:
1. The Sox game, which began at 7:00pm, lasted three hours.
2. The Mississippi River, which is over 2300 miles long, is the second-longest river in the United States.
3. One toothpaste, according to experts, is generally the same as another.
4. No one, I believe, should ever be homeless in this country.
PRACTICE EXERCISES: With a red or green pen, add commas where needed in the following sentences. Write C if
a comma is not needed.
1. Harvey Jensen the pro at the country club is giving me golf lessons.
2. James Hilton's book Lost Horizon has been filmed twice.
3. Chemistry Sue's favorite subject is easy for her.
4. Jerry is visiting in Peoria his old home town.
5. Mr. and Mrs. Miller our neighbors for the past eight years are moving to Dallas.
6. Have you ever read The Red Pony a novel by John Steinbeck?
7.
Exercising immediately after a heavy meal is I think asking for trouble.
8. The moral of the story is that people should always as a result treat one another with kindness.
9. The problem with making decisions based upon emotion he argued is that sound reasoning sometimes gets
lost in the process.
10. Flossing every day in the opinion of the general public decreases the chances of getting gum disease.
11. Unlike other years, we will have an early spring I expect this year.
12. If we don't cut up our credit cards right now she asserted we will only descend further into debt.
13. The theater an old and drafty one is nevertheless always crowded.
14. My math teacher Miss Holmes has taught for twenty years.
15. The garage a two-car one is attached to the home.
16. My sister a graduate of the University of Iowa is now studying law.
17. Our dog a cocker spaniel is ten years old.
18. Mrs. Norbert the president of the company will speak at the dinner.
19. Dan's new suit a gray flannel one makes him look much older.
20. Queen Victoria one of England's greatest monarchs ruled for sixty-three years.