Question 1

Choose the sentence with the correct comma usage from the following set of sentences.&#8203;&#10;A) &#8203;Asif bought the postcards but Carmen forgot the stamps. (No commas)&#10;B) &#8203;Asif bought the postcards, but Carmen forgot the stamps.&#10;C) &#8203;Asif bought the postcards, but, Carmen forgot the stamps.

Accepted Answer

The conjunction "but" acts as a cue to use a comma in this instance, as it separates two independent clauses. Option A does not use a comma, which creates a run-on sentence, while option C uses too many commas, making it difficult to read.

Question 2

Choose the sentence with the correct comma usage from the following set of sentences.&#8203;&#10;A) &#8203;Broccoli is a good source of potassium iron calcium and niacin. (No commas)&#10;B) &#8203;Broccoli is a good source of potassium, iron, calcium, and niacin.&#10;C) &#8203;Broccoli, is a good source of potassium, iron, calcium and niacin.

Accepted Answer

The sentence contains a list of four items, so a comma should be used to separate each item. The comma in this sentence is used correctly to separate each item in the list. The other options either have too many or too few commas.

Question 3

The following sentence is punctuated correctly. Garrett Morgan, an African-American inventor, developed an early traffic light.

Accepted Answer

The sentence includes a proper noun, a descriptor, and a statement, all of which are separated by commas.

Question 4

The following sentence is punctuated correctly. After the game, the coach reviewed strategies.

Accepted Answer

The sentence begins with a capital letter, ends with a period, and contains a correctly placed comma to set off the introductory phrase "After the game."

Question 5

Choose the sentence with the correct comma usage from the following set of sentences.&#8203;&#10;A) &#8203;The president said &#34;Quarterly sales have exceeded our projections.&#34; (No commas)&#10;B) &#8203;The president said, &#34;Quarterly sales, have exceeded our projections.&#34;&#10;C) &#8203;The president said, &#34;Quarterly sales have exceeded our projections.&#34;

Accepted Answer

The sentence is a direct quotation, and therefore, the commas should be placed inside the quotation marks, as shown in option C. Option A is incorrect because it should have a comma after "said" to separate the introductory phrase from the rest of the sentence. Option B is incorrect because the comma between "sales" and "have" is unnecessary and creates a grammatically incorrect sentence.

Question 6

The following sentence is punctuated correctly. Elizabeth did errands, then she went to a movie.

Accepted Answer

The sentence incorrectly uses two periods at the end instead of one.

Question 7

Choose the sentence with the correct comma usage from the following set of sentences.&#8203;&#10;A) &#8203;Your hard work Vinh is greatly appreciated.&#160; (No commas)&#10;B) &#8203;Your hard work, Vinh, is greatly appreciated.&#10;C) &#8203;Your hard work, Vinh is greatly appreciated.

Accepted Answer

The correct sentence would require two commas, one before and one after the name Vinh, because his name is a non-restrictive appositive phrase. This information is not essential to the meaning of the sentence but adds additional information or detail.

Question 8

Choose the sentence with the correct comma usage from the following set of sentences.&#8203;&#10;A) &#8203;According to a social science poll conducted at Cambridge Americans report they do not get enough sleep. (No commas)&#10;B) &#8203;According to a social science poll conducted at Cambridge, Americans report they do not get enough sleep.&#10;C) &#8203;According to a social science poll conducted at Cambridge, Americans, report they do not get enough sleep.

Accepted Answer

The comma after "Cambridge" sets off a nonessential clause, providing additional information about where the social science poll was conducted. The absence of a comma in A or the additional comma in C creates a loss of clarity or a comma splice respectively.

Question 9

The following sentence is punctuated correctly. He also invented the gas mask, and used it to rescue several workers trapped by an explosion.

Accepted Answer

The sentence incorrectly uses a comma before the conjunction "and" in a list that contains only two items, which is unnecessary. Additionally, there is an extra period at the end of the sentence.

Question 10

The following sentence is punctuated correctly. Len picked up the ball, a rope, and chew toys.

Accepted Answer

The comma separates the items in the list, and there is no comma before "and" because it is not necessary in this case.

Deck 7: Comma