Mastering Comma Usage in English

Why did a major Canadian company lose two million dollars in 2006?

• They used the wrong currency.

• They made a common punctuation mistake in a contract.

• They missed a deadline.

• They failed to sign the contract.

What is the first rule for using commas?

• To indicate a pause.

• To end a sentence.

• To separate items in a list.

• To separate two independent clauses.

In a list of words, how should each item be separated?

• With a period.

• With a semicolon.

• With a dash.

• With a comma.

Which of the following is an example of using commas between two adjectives?

• The tall, and strong man.

• The large and spacious room.

• The beautiful, old house.

• The quick brown fox.

When can commas be used between just two adjectives?

• When the adjectives describe different nouns.

• When the adjectives are of the same type.

• When the adjectives are connected with 'and'.

• When the adjectives are of different types.

Which sentence correctly uses commas in a list of phrases?

• He spent the weekend researching his topic, writing his essay and proofreading his final draft.

• He spent the weekend researching his topic, writing his essay, and proofreading his final draft.

• He spent the weekend, researching his topic, writing his essay and proofreading his final draft.

• He spent the weekend researching his topic writing his essay and proofreading his final draft.

Which of the following is an example of a list of clauses?

• The guests included the president, the first lady, the vice president, and the Minister of Defence.

• Children used computers to play video games, business people use them to advertise products, students use them to research secondary sources, and teachers use them to teach basic skills.

• The beautiful, old house had a huge living room.

• Jason had difficulty in his first semester, but he was at the top of his class by the end of the year.

What is a coordinating conjunction?

• A punctuation mark used to end a sentence.

• A word that describes a noun.

• A word that connects two independent clauses.

• A phrase that introduces a list.

Which of the following sentences correctly uses a comma with a coordinating conjunction?

• Jason had difficulty in his first semester but, he was at the top of his class by the end of the year.

• Jason had difficulty in his first semester, but, he was at the top of his class by the end of the year.

• Jason had difficulty in his first semester, but he was at the top of his class by the end of the year.

• Jason had difficulty in his first semester but he was at the top of his class by the end of the year.

Which of the following is NOT a coordinating conjunction?

• Or

• Because

• But

• And