EssentialsI’M ESSENTIAL!!! DON’T PLACE COMMAS AROUND ME!

Essential Elements

• Essential elements are elements within a sentence that cannot be set off with commas because :• doing so would alter the meaning of the sentence• or result in nonsense.

However

• I love bacon. I don’t, however, like bacon with eggs. • Non-essential (set off with commas)

• I love bacon; however, I don’t like bacon and eggs.• IS ESSENTIAL• Would not make sense if we took it out• Use semi-colon and not comma when “however” begins a dependent clause

However Practice

• London is a very old city. It does however contain some modern neighborhoods.

• London is a very old city however it does contain some modern neighborhoods.

Essential relative clause

• Relative clause that should not be set off by commas because it is needed to distinguish which one.

• The man who ordered another double anchovy pizza claims to have a pet dolphin in his backyard pool.• Which man among the billions of human males on the planet? The one who ordered

the double anchovy pizza!

• Freddie hopes to return to the city where he met a woman with haunting green eyes.• Which of the many cities on the planet? The one where Freddie met a memorable

woman!

Non-essential

• Those clauses are now non-essential because what is being described is specifically identified.

• Mr. Hall, who ordered another double anchovy pizza, claims to have a pet dolphin in his backyard pool.

• Freddie hopes to return to Cairo, where he met a woman with haunting green eyes.

ACT QUESTION

• Normally, customers have one year from the purchase date to return unwanted or defective items; however, customers, who make purchases on February 29th, have four years to return their items.

• A- NO CHANGE

• B- customers, who make purchases on February 29th

• C- customers who make purchases on February 29th,• D- customers who make purchases on February 29th

Infinitive phrase

• If the infinitive phrase is the subject of a sentence, do not put a comma after it.• Never use a comma to split a subject and a verb.

• To beat Mitchell Poynter at the St. Chris 5k this summer is my goal.

• NO COMMA because infinitive phrase=SUBJECT

THAT VS WHICH

• A clause beginning with THAT is always ESSENTIAL• A clause beginning with WHICH is always NON ESSENTIAL

• Parrots are one of the most difficult pets that a person could have, which is why I’m not likely to buy one.

• DON’T use commas with THAT

• WRONG- Parrots are one of the most difficult pets, that a person could have.

ACT TRICKSTERS

• Using sentences where “that” is optional

• Parrots are one of the most difficult pets (that) a person could have because they are intelligent, demanding, and live for many years.• Sentence would read WITHOUT the word THAT and be acceptable

• WRONG- Parrots are one of the most difficult pets, a person could have because…

Commas with names

• Determine whether the name is ESSENTIAL or NON-ESSENTIAL• Is it essential to specify which one?

• If essential…NO COMMAS• If non-essential…COMMAS

• I ate, Grandma.• I ate Grandma.

• My brother Michael is taller than I.• My brother, Michael, is taller than I.

Commas/Names

• My friend Jane has more gardening experience than me.

• My friend, Jane, has more gardening experience than me.

• What DIFFERENT ideas do these sentences express?

ACT style question

• Along with her husband Martin Luther King, Coretta Scott King played an important role in the Civil Rights movement.

• A- NO CHANGE• B- husband Martin Luther King

• C- husband, Martin Luther King,• D- husband, Martin Luther King

ACT style question

• There was just one problem—I’d never actually planted one. So I called a friend who had a lot more gardening experience than I did. Luckily, that friend, Jane, agreed to come over the next day.

• A- NO CHANGE• B- friend, Jane• C- friend Jane,• D- friend Jane

ACT style question

• There was just one problem—I’d never actually planted one. So I called my friend, Jane who had a lot more gardening experience than I did.

• A- No change• B- my friend, Jane, who• C- my friend Jane. Who• D- my friend Jane who

ACT style question

• Ada Lovelace and her acquaintance, Charles Babbage, were two of the most influential figures in the history of computer science. After Babbage sketched out his ideas…

• A- NO CHANGE• B- acquaintance Charles Babbage• C- acquaintance Charles Babbage,• D- acquaintance, Charles Babbage