Lesson 364 - Mechanics - Punctuation - Commas

Use commas to set off nonrestrictive clauses and phrases. Nonrestrictive clauses and phrases are modifiers that can be omitted without changing the meaning of the main clause. Example: Our new boat, which we bought last week, is a pleasure to use. (The adjective clause "which we bought last week" is not needed to understand the meaning of the main clause.)

Instructions: Place commas where they are needed.

1. The Jazz which is a much different team from last year start the season next week.

2. The waiter balancing two trays of food saw our signal for the check.

3. Ads which are essential to our economy are very annoying much of the time.

4. For this job we need a person who is very creative.

5. The new baby delivered in the taxi changed our lives completely.

--For answers scroll down.

Answers:

1. The Jazz, which is a much different team from last year, start the season next week.

2. The waiter, balancing two trays of food, saw our signal for the check.

3. Ads, which are essential to our economy, are very annoying much of the time.

4. For this job we need a person who is very creative. (The clause "who is very creative" is needed for the meaning of the main sentence so we would not use any comma.)

5. The new baby, delivered in the taxi, changed our lives completely.

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