Name_________________________________
Comma Rule #1
Directions: Read and understand Comma Rule #1. 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 #1- Use commas to separate two independent clauses when they are joined by any of these seven
coordinating conjunctions: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so (FANBOYS)
Examples:
1. The game was over, but the crowd refused to leave.
2. The student explained her question, yet the instructor still didn't seem to understand.
3. Yesterday was her brother's birthday, so she took him out to dinner.
Be careful that you do not confuse a compound sentence with a simple sentence that has a compound verb. No comma
comes before the parts of a compound verb unless there are three or more verbs.
Examples:
1. Jill pitched the tent and built a fire. (no comma needed - ask yourself if the comma separates two complete
sentences.)
2. Squirrels bury acorns and help reseed the forests. (no comma needed
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. He left the scene of the accident and tried to forget that it had happened.
2. The contractor testified that the house was completed and that the work had been done properly.
3. My throat was sore and my head was hot.
4. Each day many birds eat more than half their weight and young birds can eat even more.
5. A counterfeit coin usually has uneven edges and often feels greasy.
6. Slow down for we have time.
7. Woodchucks belong to the squirrel family but they live in burrows in the ground.
8. George Washington was six feet two inches tall but Abraham Lincoln topped him by two inches.
9. Meet me at the gym or I will see you in study hall during the last period.
10. The climbers were close to the summit but turned back because of the strong wind.
11. Almost any wood will fuel a fire but oak and maple burn the longest.
12. It’s warm outside yet I feel cold.
13. The hiders plowed through the underbrush and made their way to a clearing.
14. Mats and ropes are manufactured from the bark of the lime tree and baskets are made from its wood.
15. Nantucket has no major industry and depends entirely upon the tourist trade for its prosperity.
16. A sweet potato is a root but a white potato is just a swollen stem.
17. Most gold mining is done by machine but Alaska still has a few hopeful prospectors with picks and sieves.
18. Sign these papers now for they must be mailed by tomorrow morning.
19. The right side of the body is controlled by the left side of the brain and the left is controlled by the right.
20. Come to my house and we’ll study for the test.