Part Seven Punctuation and Capitalizationmyresource.phoenix.edu/secure/resource/COM155R2/... · EDITING ESSAYS 674 Part Seven • Punctuation and Capitalization When you go to the

EDITING ESSAYS

Part Seven

Punctuation and Capitalization

37. Commas 673

38. Apostrophes 688

39. Quotation Marks 696

40. Other Punctuation 705

41. Capitalization 712

ANK_47574_37_ch37_pp671-687 r2 ko.indd 671 10/29/08 10:24:07 AM

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673

37Commas

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Understand What Commas DoCommas (,) are punctuation marks that help readers understand a sen-tence. Read aloud the following three sentences. How does the use of commas change the meaning?

NO COMMA After you call Jim I’ll leave for the restaurant.

ONE COMMA After you call Jim, I’ll leave for the restaurant.

TWO COMMAS After you call, Jim, I’ll leave for the restaurant.

Commas signal particular meanings to your readers, so it is important that you understand when and how to use them.

Practice Using Commas Correctly

Commas between Items in a SeriesUse commas to separate three or more items in a series. This includes the last item in the series, which usually has and before it.

item , item , item , and item

■ IDEA JOURNAL Write about some things you enjoy doing.


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EDITING ESSAYS674 Part Seven • Punctuation and Capitalization

When you go to the store, please pick up milk, bread, orange juice, and bananas.

Last semester I took math, reading, and composition.

Students may take the course as a regular classroom course, as an online course, or as a distance learning course.

A comma is not always used before the fi nal item in a series. In college writing, however, it is always best to include it.

Commas between Coordinate AdjectivesCoordinate adjectives are two or more adjectives that independently modify the same noun and are separated by commas. Coordinate adjec-tives can be separated by the word and.

We had an entire month of cold, damp, grey weather.

The car is old, battered, and rusty.

Do not use a comma between the fi nal adjective and the noun it modifi es.

INCORRECT It was a long, hard, complicated, test.

CORRECT It was a long, hard, complicated test.

Cumulative adjectives modify the same noun but form a unit and are not separated by commas. Cumulative adjectives cannot be joined by the word and.

Our team wants to win the big regional sales trophy.

All of the words in italics are adjectives, but they build on each other. Moving left from trophy, each adjective becomes part of a larger unit.

1. Sales describes the trophy.

2. The next word to the left, regional, describes not just the trophy but the sales trophy.

3. The next word to the left, big, describes the regional sales trophy.

The team didn’t want to win just a big trophy or just a regional trophy or just a sales trophy. The team wanted the big regional sales trophy. To summarize the rule: Use a comma to separate two or more coor-dinate adjectives. Do not use commas to separate cumulative adjectives.


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EDITING ESSAYSChapter 37 • Commas 675

PRACTICE 1 USING COMMAS IN A SERIESAND WITH ADJECTIVES

Add commas where they are needed in the following sentences. If the sen-tence is correct, write “C” next to it.

EXAMPLE: The short, slim conductor stepped up to the elaborate

colorful podium.

1. We had prepared a wholesome fl avorful meal for the children their

parents and their friends.

2. Lucas has painted three large pictures for the unfurnished boring living

room.

3. The huge confusing and annoying airport desperately needed renovating.

4. These young plants might not survive the gusting unpredictable wind.

5. I have several urgent e-mail messages from Mr. Toland Ms. Fry and my

father.

6. Please bake us some of your tasty rich chocolate chip cookies.

7. Our scholarly English professor was once a professional baseball player.

8. She loves to take long slow walks in the rain.

9. Thomas has no phone no food no television and hardly anything else in

his tiny uncomfortable one-room apartment.

10. The early morning edition of the newspaper arrives before I leave for my

exciting new part-time job.

11. Driving on this endless dull unsafe highway can be unpleasant.

12. Jeffrey is a lazy gorgeous and cuddly cat.

13. Plentiful exercise combined with a healthy nutritious diet will have you fi t

fairly quickly.

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■ Answers to odd-numbered practice items are at the back of the book.

■ For more practice using commas, visit Exercise Central at bedfordstmartins .com/realessays.


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14. The funny animated movie was based on a well-written graphic novel.

15. We always buy rich high-calorie candy bars when we go to the movies.

Commas in Compound SentencesA compound sentence contains two independent clauses (sentences) joined by one of these words — and, but, for, nor, or, so, yet. Use a comma before the joining word to separate the two clauses.

Sentence , and / but / for / nor / or / so / yet sentence.

Tom missed class yesterday, and he called to ask me what he missed.

I would have been happy to help him, but I was absent too.

I told him I wasn’t there, so he said he would e-mail the professor.

A comma is not needed if the word and, but, for, nor, or, so, or yet joins two sentence elements that are not independent clauses.

Language Note: A comma by itself cannot separate two sentences: Doing so creates a run-on (see Chapter 24).

PRACTICE 2 USING COMMAS IN COMPOUND SENTENCES

Edit the following compound sentences by adding commas where they are needed. If a sentence is already correct, put a “C” next to it.

EXAMPLE: The population of the United States is getting older, but

the number of people trained to care for the elderly is declining.

1. Working in a nursing home is a diffi cult job for elderly patients can sel-

dom do much for themselves.

2. The labor is physically diffi cult and it can also be mentally draining.

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■ The words and, but, for, nor, or, so, and yet are called coordi-nating conjunctions. See Chapter 30 for more details.


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3. Few trained nurses and nurse’s aides want nursing-home jobs for the pay

is also usually lower than that offered by hospitals.

4. Nursing-home workers have high turnover rates and the facilities are con-

stantly in need of new personnel.

5. More workers will be needed as the baby boomers become elderly yet

there is already a shortage of people willing to do the work.

6. A director sometimes must hire undertrained workers or the nursing

home will face a severe staff shortage.

7. Workers without education and training may have diffi culty understand-

ing a doctor’s orders, so the patients’ care may suffer.

8. Home health aides and hospice workers are also in short supply and the

need for such workers is growing every day.

9. Solving these problems will be diffi cult for long-term care for the elderly

is already very expensive.

10. People caring for elderly patients must get better pay or no one will be

available to do the work in a few years.

Commas after Introductory Word GroupsUse a comma after an introductory word or word group. An introductory word group can be a word, a phrase, or a clause. The comma lets your readers know when the main part of the sentence is starting.

Introductory word or word group , main part of sentence.

INTRODUCTORY WORD Finally, I fi nished the job.

INTRODUCTORY PHRASE According to the paper, the crime rate went down.

INTRODUCTORY CLAUSE As you know, the store is going out of business.


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PRACTICE 3 USING COMMAS AFTER INTRODUCTORY WORD GROUPS

In each item, underline any introductory word or word group. Then, add commas after introductory word groups where they are needed.

EXAMPLE: Every year, more than two hundred motorists die in

collisions with animals.

1. Along roadsides all across the country drivers see the bodies of animals hit

by cars.

2. Usually the victims are common species, such as deer and raccoons.

3. Of course hitting a deer is not only disturbing but also potentially harmful

or fatal to the occupants of a car.

4. However the deer population has not suffered much of a decline from

traffi c accidents.

5. On the other hand drivers in wilderness areas may accidentally kill endan-

gered species.

6. For instance experts believe that 65 percent of the population of Florida

panthers has been killed on highways in the past twenty years.

7. Maintaining the world’s largest network of roads the U.S. Forest Service

tries to balance the needs of humans and wildlife.

8. To get access to wilderness areas humans, many of whom strongly favor

protecting the environment, need roads.

9. Unfortunately wilderness roads may isolate populations of animals that

will not cross them and kill animals that make the attempt.

10. Although expensive underpasses and overpasses have been successful in

some areas at reducing human collisions with animals.

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Commas around Appositives and InterruptersAn appositive, a phrase that renames a noun, comes directly before or after the noun.

Dick, my neighbor, has a new job.

Apartment prices are high at Riverview, the new complex.

An interrupter is an aside or transition that interrupts the fl ow of a sentence and does not affect its meaning.

Campus parking fees, you should know, are going up by 30 percent.

A six-month sticker will now be $45, if you can believe it.

An interrupter that appears at the beginning of a sentence can be treated the same as an introductory word group.

As a matter of fact, the fees are the highest of any of the campuses in the city.

Putting commas around appositives and interrupters tells readers that these elements give extra information but are not essential to the meaning of a sentence. If an appositive or interrupter is in the middle of a sentence, set it off with a pair of commas, one before and one after. If an appositive or interrupter comes at the beginning or end of a sentence, separate it from the rest of the sentence with one comma.

Incidentally, your raise has been approved.

Your raise, incidentally, has been approved.

Your raise has been approved, incidentally.

Sometimes, an appositive is essential to the meaning of a sentence. When a sentence would not have the same meaning without the apposi-tive, the appositive should not be set off with commas.

The actor John Travolta has never won an Academy Award.

[The sentence The actor has never won an Academy Award does not have the same meaning.]

The lawyer Clarence Darrow was one of history’s greatest speakers.

[The sentence The lawyer was one of history’s greatest speakers does not have the same meaning.]

■ For more on appositives, seepages 572–74.


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PRACTICE 4 USING COMMAS TO SET OFF APPOSITIVES AND INTERRUPTERS

Underline any appositives or interrupters in the following sentences. Then use commas to set them off.

EXAMPLE: The reason for the delay, a mechanical problem with the

airplane, was not mentioned.

1. Road rage as most people know occurs when angry drivers overreact.

2. Another phenomenon air rage involves out-of-control and often intoxi-

cated passengers on an airplane.

3. One famous air rage incident a confrontation between a drunken busi-

nessman and a fl ight attendant ended with the passenger tied to his seat

for the rest of the fl ight.

4. Ground rage like air rage is a term used for incidents between airline pas-

sengers and airline employees.

5. Ground rage as the name suggests occurs in the terminal, not in the air.

6. Gate agents the people who check tickets and allow passengers to board

the plane are frequent victims of ground rage.

7. Oversold seats a common occurrence in air travel can mean that some

passengers are forced to miss a fl ight.

8. Passengers many of whom are on a tight schedule or have a connecting

fl ight to catch fi nd delayed fl ights infuriating as well.

9. Some delayed or bumped passengers take out their anger on the gate

agent a convenient target.

10. Although some airline employees may not be helpful or friendly, their

attitudes do not excuse passengers who commit assault a serious crime.

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Commas around Adjective ClausesAn adjective clause is a group of words that often begins with who, which, or that; has a subject and verb; and describes the noun that comes before it in a sentence. An adjective clause may or may not be set off from the rest of the sentence by commas depending on its meaning in the sentence. If an adjective clause can be taken out of a sentence without com-pletely changing the meaning, put commas around the clause.

The mayor, who was recently elected, has no political experience.

SuperShop, which is the largest supermarket in town, was recently bought by Big Boy Markets.

I have an appointment with Dr. Kling, who is the specialist.

If an adjective clause is essential to the meaning of a sentence, do not put commas around it. You can tell whether a clause is essential by taking it out and seeing if the meaning of the sentence changes signifi cantly, as it would if you took the clauses out of the following examples:

The hair salon that I liked recently closed.

Salesclerks who sell liquor to minors are breaking the law.

Noun adjective clause

essential to meaning rest of sentence.

Noun , adjective clause

not essential to meaning, rest of sentence.

Use who to refer to a person; which to refer to places or things (but not to people); and that for people, places, or things. When referring to a person, who is preferable to that.

PRACTICE 5 USING COMMAS TO SET OFFADJECTIVE CLAUSES

Edit the following sentences by putting any needed commas around adjective clauses. Remember that if an adjective clause is essential to the meaning of the sentence, you should not use commas. If a sentence is already correct, put a “C” next to it.

■ For more on adjective clauses, see pages 575–77.


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EXAMPLE: Stephen King, who understands how to frighten his

readers, has depicted evil clowns in his work.

1. The only thing that terrifi es Maria is a person dressed as a clown.

2. The fear of clowns which is called coulrophobia is fairly common.

3. Some young children who develop this fear are not prepared adequately

before seeing a clown for the fi rst time.

4. Clowns who usually wear heavy makeup and brightly colored wigs do not

look like ordinary people.

5. Clowns also make sudden movements that can frighten children.

6. Most children who fear clowns will get over their phobia as they grow up.

7. Such people who may never love clowns will still be able to tolerate having

them around.

8. Many adults have seen movies that show clowns as evil killers.

9. Few adults admit to having coulrophobia which is most effectively treated

when the sufferer confronts the fear.

10. Unlike some other phobias which can trap people in their homes or make

them unable to work coulrophobia has little effect on most sufferers, who

are not likely to meet clowns frequently in everyday life.

Other Uses for CommasCommas with Quotation Marks

Quotation marks are used to show that you are using a direct quotation, repeating exactly what someone said or wrote. Generally, use commas to set off the words inside quotation marks from the rest of the sentence.

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■ For more on quotation marks, see Chapter 39.


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“Excuse me,” said the old woman in back of me.

“Did you know,” she asked, “that you just cut in front of me?”

I exclaimed, “Oh, no. I’m so sorry!”

Notice that a comma never comes directly after a quotation mark.

Commas in Addresses

Use commas to separate the elements of an address included in a sen-tence. However, do not use a comma before a zip code.

My address is 4498 Main Street, Bolton, Massachusetts 01740.

If a sentence continues after the address, put a comma after the ad-dress. Also, use a comma after individual elements used to name a geo-graphical location such as a city and state.

The house was moved from Cripple Creek, Colorado, to the lot on Forest Street.

Commas in Dates

Separate the day from the year with a comma. If you give only the month and year, do not separate them with a comma.

She wrote the letter on April 1, 2005.

The next session is in January 2010.

If a sentence continues after a date that includes the day, put a comma after the date.

He waited until April 15, 2005, to fi le his 2004 tax return.

Commas with Names

Put commas around the name of someone you are addressing by name.

Don, I want you to come look at this.

Unfortunately, Marie, you need to fi nish the report by next week.


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Commas with Yes or No

Put a comma after the word yes or no in response to a question.

No, that isn’t what I meant.

PRACTICE 6 USING COMMAS

Edit the following sentences by adding commas where they are needed. If a sentence is already correct, put a “C” next to it.

EXAMPLE: The new regulations of telemarketing went into effect on

April 1, 2001.

1. My sister asked “James do you get a lot of telemarketing calls?”

2. “Yes I do” I replied “and they always come at dinnertime.”

3. She told me that new laws that could help me protect my privacy had

taken effect in April 2001.

4. I wrote to the governor’s offi ce in Albany New York for information

about the telemarketing registry.

5. My address which is 21 Highland Road Binghamton New York has now

been added to the state registry.

6. For a while I still got occasional calls that began with an unfamiliar voice

saying “James I have an exciting offer for you.”

7. I simply replied “No I have news for you.”

8. I pointed out that on August 11 2009 I had added my name and address

to a list of people who do not want to receive calls about exciting offers.

9. “As you probably know” I told my unwanted callers “it is illegal for you

to contact me in this way.”

10. The marketing calls had stopped completely by November 1.

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Edit Paragraphs and Your Own WritingEdit the following paragraphs by adding commas where they are needed.

EDITING REVIEW 1 (17 commas)

(1) Everyone who uses cleaning products at home has probably seen

warning labels on those products for most household cleaners contain

harsh chemicals. (2) The warnings which are required by law are so

common that many users probably ignore them. (3) However all cleaning

products should be used with care and some of them can seriously injure

children or anyone else who misuses them. (4) Drain cleaners toilet bowl

cleaners and chlorine bleach can all cause serious damage to skin eyes

and other sensitive tissue. (5) Glass cleaners can react with bleach to

produce toxic fumes. (6) Alternative cleansers nontoxic products that can

be made from items in an average kitchen are cheaper than brand-name

cleaning products and usually work just as well. (7) For most cleaning

jobs a solution of vinegar and water or baking soda and water is effective.

(8) A plunger can often fi x a clogged drain as well as a drain cleaner can

and club soda cleans windows nicely. (9) As for air fresheners one expert

advises “Open your windows.” (10) Economy effi ciency and safety are

three excellent reasons for choosing homemade cleansers.

EDITING REVIEW 2 (39 commas)

(1) A few days ago I received an e-mail that told a terrifying story.

(2) At a large discount store in Austin Texas a four-year-old girl had

disappeared and her mother had asked for the store employees’ help in

fi nding the child. (3) Thinking quickly the employees locked all of the


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doors posted an employee at every exit and systematically searched the

store. (4) The child who was found in a bathroom was safe but half of her

head had been shaved. (5) In addition someone had changed her clothes

so it seemed obvious that an abductor had been trying to slip her out of

the store unnoticed. (6) The e-mail message which came from a distant

acquaintance ended by advising me “Don’t let your children out of your

sight!”

(7) Later that day I was talking to my neighbor and I happened to

mention the message. (8) She too had seen it and the story had shocked

her. (9) Something about the story made me suspicious however so I

decided to do some Internet research. (10) I found a site that discussed

urban legends Internet hoaxes and chain letters. (11) On the site I dis-

covered an exact copy of the e-mail I had received. (12) I also learned

that my neighbor and I were not the fi rst people to fall for this hoax

for Ann Landers had even printed a version of it several years earlier.

(13) When she learned that she had been fooled she printed a retraction

a column explaining that the story was fi ctional. (14) A reader wrote to

her and said “Reminding people to be cautious is one thing. Scaring them

is another.”

(15) After doing the research I felt better about the scary e-mail story

but I felt sad that we are so distrustful of one another. (16) Such stories

can make us fear that potential abductors are everywhere. (17) Thirty

years ago most parents were not usually afraid to let children walk to

school alone or play outside but today’s parents rarely let children out

of their sight until the kids are in their teens. (18) The difference is not

in the number of abductions of children a very small number that has


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remained nearly constant over the decades. (19) No the difference is that

people now hear about these unusual and terrifying instances over and

over. (20) Eventually they reach the conclusion that these stories must

be true and they are convinced that such dreadful things must happen

frequently. (21) The e-mail I had received was contributing I decided

to this climate of irrational fear. (22) “Ann Landers’s reader was right”

I said to myself. (23) “We should teach our children caution but we can

harm them and ourselves by making them believe that evil strangers are

lurking around every corner.”

PRACTICE 7 EDITING YOUR OWN WRITING FOR COMMAS

As a fi nal practice, edit a piece of your own writing for commas. It can be a paper you are working on for this course, a paper you’ve already fi nished, a paper for another course, a recent piece of writing from your work or everyday life, or your idea journal entry.


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Part Seven Punctuation and Capitalizationmyresource.phoenix.edu/secure/resource/COM155R2/... · EDITING ESSAYS 674 Part Seven • Punctuation and Capitalization When you go to the