IXL | Commas: review | 9th grade language arts

Correct the text by inserting one comma. (Note: in this skill, serial commas are not optional.)

Joel would you prefer spaghetti and meatballs or macaroni and cheese for dinner?

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question

Correct the text by inserting two commas. (Note: in this skill, serial commas are not optional.)

After decades of research and several prominent fossil discoveries, paleoanthropologist Mary Leakey died in Nairobi Kenya in 1996.

key idea

Use commas to separate the name of a person being spoken to from the rest of the sentence.

Thank you, Bella.

Thank you, Bella, for your help.

Use a comma after words like yes, no, well, and many others, when they are followed by a complete sentence.

Yes, that sounds great!

Use a comma after a mild interjection.

Oh, what a stunning sunset.

Use commas around an interrupter, which is a word, phrase, or clause that adds additional, nonessential information to the sentence.

You, of course, may have a different opinion.

Use commas to set off phrases that use the words not or unlike to qualify adjacent text.

Alexander the Great was Macedonian, not Greek.

Tara, unlike Megan, finds chemistry fascinating.

Use commas to separate three or more items in a series. Put a comma after each item in the list, except for the last one. The last comma in the list (right before the coordinating conjunction) is called an Oxford comma or serial comma. The serial comma is sometimes considered optional, but most style guides demand it.

Red, white, and blue are the colors of the American flag.

Expressions that consist of pairs of words, such as "thunder and lightning" and "bread and butter," are generally treated as single items.

College costs typically include tuition, room and board, and textbooks.

In dates with a day and a year, use a comma after the day. Also use a comma after the year unless the date ends the sentence.

January 1, 2001, was the first day of this century.

Mahatma Gandhi was born on October 2, 1869.

When the name of a city is used with the name of its state or country, use a comma after the city. Also use a comma after the state or country unless it ends the sentence.

Chicago, Illinois, is known as the Windy City.

We've just booked our flight to Athens, Greece.

In a compound sentence, use a comma before the coordinating conjunction that joins the two independent clauses. Examples of coordinating conjunctions are and, or, but, and so.

We saw a flash of lightning, and seconds later we heard the rumble of thunder.

In a complex sentence, if a dependent (or subordinate) clause comes before an independent (or main) clause, use a comma after the dependent clause. A dependent clause is one that starts with a subordinating conjunction, such as after, although, as, because, before, if, since, unless, until, when, or while.

If she ever gets the chance, Terri would love to visit the Egyptian pyramids.

solution

The name of a city is used with the name of a country, so use a comma after the city. Also use a comma after the country unless it ends the sentence.

After decades of research and several prominent fossil discoveries, paleoanthropologist Mary Leakey died in Nairobi, Kenya, in 1996.

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Not feeling ready yet? These can help:

MM.1Commas with direct addresses, introductory words, interjections, interrupters, and antithetical phrases

MM.2Commas with series, dates, and places

MM.3Commas with compound and complex sentences

MM.4Commas with coordinate adjectives

TT.5Commas: review

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