Commas 1
Choose the correctly written sentence.
A - I took Angie, the one with freckles, to the movies last night
B - I took Angie the one with freckles, to the movies last night
C - I took Angie, the one with freckles to the movies last night.
Such are the vicissitudes of history. Nothing remains the same. Three hundred years of peace ended in darkness and confusion.
A - changes
B - evils
C - rules
A - changes
"nothing remains the same"
My brother said, "I just freed myself from a very loquacious history professor. All he seemed to want was an audience."
A - pretentious
B- grouchy
C - talkative
C - Talkative
"he seemed to want an audience"
Choose the correct sentence.
A - Come quickly or we will miss the bus.
B - Come quick or we will miss the bus.
A - Come quickly or we will miss the bus.
The adverb "quickly" modifies "run".
Choose the correctly written sentence.
A - My oldest sister, Maya, is the mean one.
B - My oldest sister Maya, is the mean one.
C - My oldest sister, Maya is the mean one.
A - My oldest sister, Maya, is the mean one.
** "Maya" is nonessential, so use commas.
Choose the correctly written sentence.
A - Jeremy and I have had, our share of arguments.
B - Jeremy and I have had our share of arguments.
C - Jeremy, and I, had had our share of arguments.
B - Jeremy and I have had our share of arguments.
A combination of fog and industrial smoke, called smog, has vitiated the air in and around many cities.
A - fill up
B - replace
C - contaminate
C - contaminated
"industrial smoke .... the air in and around many cities."
There is a large demand all over the United States for plants indigenous to the desert. Many people in Arizona have made a good business of growing and selling cacti and other local plants.
A - native
B - necessary
C- foreign
A - native
"cacti and other local plants"
Choose the correct sentence.
A - You appear so happy that something great must have happened.
B - You appear so happily that something great must have happened.
A - You appear so happy that something great must have happened.
** the adjective "happy" modifies "You"
Choose the correctly written sentence
A - Please, Sasha, come home as soon as you can.
B - Please, Sasha come home, as soon as you can.
C - Please Sasha, come home as soon as you can.
A - Please, Sasha, come home as soon as you can.
** Use commas before or surrounding the name or title of a person directly addressed.
Choose the correctly written sentence.
A - You are, I am sure, telling the truth.
B - You are I am sure telling the truth.
C - You, are I am sure, telling the truth.
A - You are, I am sure, telling the truth.
The purpose of insurance is to mitigate the out of pocket costs of the insured.
A - beautify
B - increase
C - make milder
C - make milder
"out of pocket expense"
It is difficult to imagine such a surfeit of talent in one individual, yet Leonard Bernstein simply does not have the time to make complete use of his talent as conductor, performer, writer, and lecturer.
A- abundance
B - variety
C - lack
A - abundance
"make complete use of his talent as conductor, performer, writer and lecturer."
Choose the correct sentence.
A - I have never been more surer of anything in my life.
B - I have never been more sure of anything in my life.
B - I have never been more sure of anything in my life.
** It is redundant to add more to a comparative adjective.
Choose the correctly written sentence
A Why, I asked are you still here in Maine?
B "Why," I asked, "are you still here in Maine?"
C "Why" I asked, "are you still here in Maine?"
B - "Why," I asked, "are you still here in Maine?"
** Use commas to introduce and to interrupt direct quotations.
A - I need sugar, butter and eggs, from the store.
B - I need sugar butter and eggs from the store.
C - I need sugar, butter, and eggs from the store.
C - I need sugar, butter, and eggs from the store.
After the Romans left, a millennium and a half passed before people again lived in such comfort. Churchill wrote, "From the year 400 until the year 1900 no one had central heating and very few had hot baths.
A - a decade
B - many years
C - 1000 years
C - 1000 years
" from the year 400 until the year 1900"
Many year before, Caesar's men had tried and failed to invade Britain. No doubt this contributed to the xenophobia of the Romans. They were cautious about strangers who entered their country.
A - honesty
B - fear of foreigners
C- kindness
B - fear of foreigners
"they were cautious about strangers who entered their country"
Choose the correct sentence
A - Ella was the best of the two sisters at gymnastics.
B - Ella was the better of the two sisters at gymnastics.
B - Ella was the better of the two sisters at gymnastics.
** Use the comparative ("better") when comparing two people or things.
Choose the correctly written sentence
A She finished her work and then took a long lunch.
B - She finished her work, and then took a long lunch.
C - She finished her work, and, then took a long lunch.
A - She finished her work and then took a long lunch.
** A comma is unnecessary because the subject does not appear in front of the second verb.
Choose the correctly written sentence.
A - Although you may be right, I cannot take your word.
B - Although, you may be right, I cannot take your word.
C - Although, you may be right I cannot take your word.
A - Although you may be right, I cannot take your word.
She was so emaciated she could hardly stand.
A - fierce
B - calm
C - thin
C - thin
It is more logical to conclude that a "thin" person is perhaps malnourished and therefore unable to stand.
We knew he couldn't hold out much longer, because he was doomed from the beginning. One night he met his ineluctable fate.
A - forgiven
B - inevitable
C - hidden
B - inevitable
"he was doomed from the beginning"
Choose the correct sentence.
A - You did that somersault so well.
B - You did that somersault so good.
** The word good is an adjective, while the word well is an adverb answering the questions how?
Choose the correctly written sentence
A - She left Albany, New York on Jan 18 of that year.
B - She left Albany New York, on Jan 18 of that year.
C - She left Albany, New York, on Jan 18 of that year.
C - She left Albany, New York, on Jan 18 of that year.
** Use a comma to separate the city from state and another after the state in a sentence.