activity+and+quiz+about+commas

go to the link below and try out the quiz http://www.bbc.co.uk/skillswise/words/grammar/punctuation/commas/

When to use commas
We use commas in two main ways: > Sometimes these items are real things. > //**E.g.** I need some pens, pencils , paper and a calculator before I start my class.// > //I must buy some eggs, milk , sugar and tea.// > > Sometimes these items are things you do, or places you go. > //**E.g.** Yesterday I went to work, played badminton , went to the pub and then went to bed.// > //I'm going to spend my holiday walking on the beach, sleeping in the sun and reading my book.// > > BEWARE! > Always make sure you use **and** to separate the last two items in your list. > Make sure that you don't use a comma before the word **and** at the end of your list. > > **Don't** use commas where you should use a full-stop. If the words could stand alone as a proper sentence then you need to put a full-stop or a joining word ('and', 'but' etc) in and not a comma. > //'Yesterday I went to work, I walked the dog , I went shopping and I washed the car.'// > This doesn't work as these could all stand alone as proper short sentences. If you want to write them as a list (for example, to show you were in a hurry, or that you had a lot to do) take out the 'I'. > //'Yesterday I went to work, walked the dog , went shopping and washed the car.'// > This is a useful way to make your sentences more interesting by adding extra information. > //**E.g.** The car, which was parked by the light , had a dog in the back seat.// > This sentence is about the car and the dog, it's not about where the car was parked. > > //Tony, his mum's favourite , was given chocolate cake for tea.// > This sentence is about Tony eating chocolate cake. We don't need 'his mum's favourite' for the sentence to make sense, it's extra information. > > //Rajinda, the youngest in the family , is about to get married.// > This sentence is about Rajinda getting married, it's not about her position in the family. > > HOW CAN I CHECK? > A quick way to check this second use of commas is to see if the sentence makes sense without the words between the commas. > The first sentence - > '**The car, which was parked by the light , had a dog in the back seat.**' > would become > **'The car had a dog in the back seat.'** > This sentence makes sense so the commas are in the right places. try these activities: commas in the diary
 * 1) **Commas separate the items in a list.**
 * 1) **Commas mark out the less important part of a sentence.**