Look at the Entire Sentence

Name:______Date:______

ACT English Punctuation

Commas

The Serial Comma 

What to look for:  Look at the entire sentence  Search for a list of three or more things

Separating Clauses 

Restrictive and Nonrestrictive Elements  A ______clause or phrase is essential to the meaning of a sentence and should not be separated by a comma.  A ______clause or phrase is not essential to the meaning of the sentence. It just adds a parenthetical thought (extra info) and needs to be separated by a comma.

Example: People who snore are advised to sleep on their sides. o Restrictive à no comma needed

Mary, who by now, was very confused stopped in front of the woman. o Nonrestrictive à “who by now” is extra information.

Semicolons (;)  Name:______Date:______

Example: Just then, the woman screamed; the bird jumped up and perched on her head.

Colons (:) 

Example: Maria just purchased all the camping supplies for our trip: a backpack, a sleeping bag, and a pair of hiking boots.

Dashes (-) 

 Used to: o

 Dashes often travel in pairs Example: I tried to express my gratitude – not that any words could be adequate – but she just nodded and walked away.

Apostrophes (‘)  Used to: o

Example: Peter’s new car is extremely expensive. I’m sorry. I couldn’t make it to your party.

Its/It’s/Its’  It’s 

 Its 

 Its’ 