Commas with Introductory Elements

Use a comma after certain introductory elements.

(1) Use a comma to set off a mild exclamation such as well, oh, or why at the beginning of a sentence. Other introductory words, such as yes and no, are also set off with commas.

EXAMPLES

Oh, I see.

Yes, she has that book.

(2) Use a comma after an introductory phrase or clause.

EXAMPLES	At the bend in the road, turn right. [two prepositional phrases]
	Signaling carefully, she changed lanes. [participial phrase]
	To water the garden, use the sprinkler. [infinitive phrase]
	When the artists painted, they followed several rules. [adverb clause]

EXERCISE A In the following sentences, insert commas where they are needed. If a sentence is already correct, write C to the left of the item number.

Example

1.      On the shores of the Nile, a great civilization was born.

1.     No the Egyptians were not just farmers.

2.     Concerned with the afterlife Egyptian rulers built great tombs for themselves.

3.     Built for monarchs and nobles many great stone tombs contained supplies for use in the afterlife.

4.     While he was alive the king had his picture painted.

5.     On the wall of his tomb a picture shows the king hunting.

6.     Well it shows how the king once hunted.

7.     When I saw the jewels I thought the kings were rich.

8.     Why they believed they could take jewels to the next life.

9.     Based on things found in tombs the assumption can be made that they believed they could take almost everything!

10.  In Egypt great riches have been found in these tombs.

Introductory Elements & Commas Worksheet

Introductory Elements

·         If a sentence does not being with the subject, it may open with an introductory element that tells when, where, how, or why the main action of the sentence occurs.  Separate that introductory element from the main part of the sentence with a comma. 

·         Use a comma following phrases that begin with if, when, although, because, and other subordinating conjunctions

·         Introductory prepositional phrases can be set off by commas if it is necessary for a clear understanding of the sentences meaning.

·         If the introductory element is short, and the sentence cannot be misread if the comma is omitted, you can omit the comma. 

EXERCISES

Underline each introductory element and punctuate the sentence with the appropriate commas.  Be careful to look also for other places in the sentence that require commas. (Hint:  Not all sentences have introductory phrases, and some are compound sentences.)

1.      Discovering the book under the chair she went to the den and read until dinner time.

2.      When I couldn’t find the cookies I ate an apple but my brother ate some candy.

3.      Driving home from the party Paul and I got lost.

4.      Feeling sick Debbie complained about going to school and her mother let her stay home.

5.      Before my aunt came from Chicago we bought tickets to the community play because I was in it.

6.      Agnes gets out her skis whenever it snows.

7.      I think I will go out for dinner when Tom finishes his chores.

8.      After they finished their breakfast they took the dog for a walk and I did the dishes.

9.      Because the road was glazed with ice many cars slipped on the highway and ended up in the ditch.

10.  When I looked through the newspaper I couldn’t find the article she told me about, but I had already seen the information online.

Introductory Elements & Commas Worksheet

Introductory Elements

·         If a sentence does not being with the subject, it may open with an introductory element that tells when, where, how, or why the main action of the sentence occurs.  Separate that introductory element from the main part of the sentence with a comma. 

·         Use a comma following phrases that begin with if, when, although, because, and other subordinating conjunctions

·         Introductory prepositional phrases can be set off by commas if it is necessary for a clear understanding of the sentences meaning.

·         If the introductory element is short, and the sentence cannot be misread if the comma is omitted, you can omit the comma. 

EXERCISES

Underline each introductory element and punctuate the sentence with the appropriate commas.  Be careful to look also for other places in the sentence that require commas. (Hint:  Not all sentences have introductory phrases, and some are compound sentences.)

1.      Discovering the book under the chair she went to the den and read until dinner time.

2.      When I couldn’t find the cookies I ate an apple but my brother ate some candy.

3.      Driving home from the party Paul and I got lost.

4.      Feeling sick Debbie complained about going to school and her mother let her stay home.

5.      Before my aunt came from Chicago we bought tickets to the community play because I was in it.

6.      Agnes gets out her skis whenever it snows.

7.      I think I will go out for dinner when Tom finishes his chores.

8.      After they finished their breakfast they took the dog for a walk and I did the dishes.

9.      Because the road was glazed with ice many cars slipped on the highway and ended up in the ditch.

10.  When I looked through the newspaper I couldn’t find the article she told me about, but I had already seen the information online.

Writing 2 Class Notes -- Week 3 (February 2)

Greetings!

We had a productive class this week and covered a lot of material.  I brought two dates up for the Quick Write:  1887 was the first official "Groundhog Day" in the US (it had been a tradition in Europe and according to folklore, if the groundhog, or hedgehog in Europe, sees its shadow, we will have 6 more weeks of winter); and 1996, which was the day the record low was recorded in Minnesota (60 degrees below zero in Tower, MN).  I asked the students to put together a Winter Survival Kit.

Our Words of the Day were the following Latin roots:

capit -- Latin, "head" -- derivatives:  captain, capitol, capital, decapitate, chief, chef, chapter, recapitulate

circum -- Latin, "around" -- derivatives:  circumference, circumnavigate, circumvent, circular, circumstance

contra -- Latin, "against/opposite" -- derivatives:  contrary, contract, contradict

cred -- Latin, "believe" -- derivatives:  credible, incredible, credit, credence, creditor

Students handed in their rough drafts of their Mystery Stories.  I've told them that if they ever forget their homework at home, they can bring it in the next week, except for when Rough Drafts are due.  I need the week to grade them, and if they come in late, then their final drafts are late.  If a student didn't bring a paper copy to class, he/she can share it on Google docs or send it as an attachment either as a Word doc or a PDF.  (I don't have a patch in my computer to open documents from Apple Pages.)  I will have the rough drafts back next week for them to revise.  I am really looking forward to reading these!

We briefly walked through the content of the two assigned Sherlock Holmes stories.  A simple action that I ask of them to get a feeling for how they felt about a reading assignment is to show a "thumbs up, thumbs down, or thumbs sideways."  The class consensus seemed to be that the story "The Engineer's Thumb" was not as interesting as "The Adventure of the Speckled Band."  The first story didn't have any clues that led to solving a mystery, not did it have much action.  The second story also had some unexpected details that made it more interesting.

I handed out a Take Home Test for the Sherlock Holmes stories.  They are to answer the question "Is Sherlock Holmes a hero?"  In order to do this, they must first define "hero" and then apply this definition to Sherlock Holmes as he is presented in the stories.  With this essay exam, I'm not looking for a specific answer but for the students to do some of their own thinking and analyzing.  I explained to them that I will be grading according to the number of specific ideas and examples that they include.

We took the rest of the class for Grammar in order to go over compound and complex sentences.  In our quest to be experts in the Comma, we need to learn many other elements of grammar and sentence construction.  Students have encountered and written compound and complex sentences but are not 100% sure about how and why they work. 

A final note:  Many of the students seem to have good friends in the class.  This last week the neighbor-to-neighbor chatting seemed to be more than usual, so I'd like to remind all of the students to stay engaged with the class and to resist the urge get involved in those little conversations that distract everyone.  I will start separating people during class if it seems necessary to the wellness of the class.

Assignments for Next Week:

-- Read "The Final Problem" and "The Adventure of the Empty House."

-- No study guide questions

-- Write the Take Home Test for Sherlock Holmes

-- 2 Introductory Elements Worksheets

Links for this week:

Class Notes

Introductory Commas Worksheet

Commas Worksheet 13-3

Take Home Test (on Google Drive)

Take Home Test (on blog)

Commas and Introductory Elements

Commas with Introductory Elements

Video:  Introductory Elements

Have a great weekend!

Mrs. Prichard