|
Essential: (no comma)
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A
student who cheats on a test is only hurting himself.
The cheerleader wearing the big hat is attracting a lot of attention.
|
Non- Essential: (A pair of commas)
|
Apples
(,) which are my favorite fruit (,) are usually harvested
in the fall.
Mr. Benson (,) grinning from ear to ear (,) announced
that the test would be the very next day.
|
Clues:
- Can you leave
out the clause or phrase and still have the sentence make sense?
- Does the
non-essential clause or phrase interrupt the flow of words in the
original sentence?
- Can you leave
out the clause or phrase and still have the sentence make sense?
- Can you move the
non-essential element around in the sentence?
- Does the clause
begin with that?
That clauses which follow a noun are almost always essential.
That clauses which follow a verb expressing mental action are
always essential. No comma is needed in these cases.
Examples:
|
That after nouns:
The book that I borrowed from you is excellent.
Apples that are green are called Granny Smith apples.
|
That clauses which follow a verb expressing mental action:
|
She
believes that she will be able to get the job.
He dreams that he can fly.
I contend that it was wrong to mislead her.
They wish that warm weather would finally arrive.
|
See That
vs. Which (Darling et al)
Dependent
Clauses (Darling et al)
More
on Relative Pronouns (Darling et al)
Conquering
the Comma (Powerpoint) (Purdue OWL)
Rules
for Comma Usage (Darling et al)
Punctuation
Between Two Independent Clauses (Darling et al)
Clauses:
The Essential Building Blocks (Darling et al)
Proofreading
for Commas (Purdue OWL)
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