Commas between describing words

Grade 7 Reading Worksheet

Circle the best answer.

1. 1.

   Bo checks the describing words in a sentence. Which one is punctuated correctly?

   • The sailors crossed a long, narrow, wooden bridge above the gorge.
   • The sailors crossed a long narrow wooden bridge above the gorge.
   • The sailors crossed a long, narrow wooden, bridge above the gorge.
   • The sailors crossed a long, narrow wooden bridge above the gorge.
2. 2.

   Esme checks the describing words in a sentence. Which one is punctuated correctly?

   • Kira wore a soft, fuzzy gray scarf through the cold, windy morning.
   • Kira wore a soft fuzzy gray scarf through the cold windy morning.
   • Kira wore a soft, fuzzy, gray scarf through the cold, windy morning.
   • Kira wore a soft, fuzzy gray scarf through the cold, windy, morning.

3. Read this first

   Use this

   [1] Zee set a tall glass vase on the shelf. [2] The shop smelled of fresh, warm bread. [3] Customers waited in a long slow line. [4] Zee greeted each customer with a friendly, relaxed smile.

4. 3.

   Jun proofreads a paragraph. Which numbered sentence needs a comma change, and what is the change?

   • Sentence 2: remove the comma between “fresh” and “warm”.
   • Sentence 4: remove the comma between “friendly” and “relaxed”.
   • Sentence 1: add a comma between “tall” and “glass”.
   • Sentence 3: add a comma between “long” and “slow”.

5. Use this

   [1] The ferry crossed a wide, choppy bay. [2] Ren stood on the upper deck beside a rusty, iron rail. [3] A cold, sharp wind blew spray across the deck. [4] Passengers huddled in a cramped, noisy cabin.

6. 4.

   Kira proofreads a paragraph. Which numbered sentence needs a comma change, and what is the change?

   • Sentence 2: remove the comma between “rusty” and “iron”.
   • Sentence 3: remove the comma between “cold” and “sharp”.
   • Sentence 1: remove the comma between “wide” and “choppy”.
   • Sentence 4: add a comma between “noisy” and “cabin”.

7. Use this

   [1] The old library added a bright, spacious reading room. [2] A quiet, shaded, courtyard sat behind the building. [3] Tala chose a worn leather chair beside the window. [4] Visitors enjoyed the soft, steady hum of the fans.

8. 5.

   Luz proofreads a paragraph. Which numbered sentence needs a comma change, and what is the change?

   • Sentence 2: remove the comma between “shaded” and “courtyard”.
   • Sentence 1: remove the comma between “bright” and “spacious”.
   • Sentence 3: add a comma between “worn” and “leather”.
   • Sentence 4: remove the comma between “soft” and “steady”.
9. 6.

   The ancient stone bridge crossed a rushing icy river. Milo finds the one pair of describing words that takes a comma. Which pair is it?

   • A comma goes between “rushing” and “icy”.
   • A comma goes between “icy” and “river”.
   • A comma goes between “ancient” and “stone”.
   • A comma goes between “stone” and “bridge”.
10. 7.

    Luz unpacked a delicate fragile glass vase and a sturdy wooden crate from the battered green truck. Pia finds the one pair of describing words that takes a comma. Which pair is it?

    • A comma goes between “sturdy” and “wooden”.
    • A comma goes between “fragile” and “glass”.
    • A comma goes between “battered” and “green”.
    • A comma goes between “delicate” and “fragile”.
11. 8.

    Esme sipped a hot, bitter tea on the porch. Ren explains the comma. Which reason is right?

    • Hot and bitter pass the swap and and checks, so they are equal partners.
    • Hot and bitter are both adjectives, so any two adjectives in a row take a comma.
    • A comma is needed before any describing word that comes right before the noun.
    • Bitter describes tea, but hot describes bitter, so a comma links the two.
12. 9.

    Pia hung three paper lanterns from the old wooden rafters. Tala explains why this sentence has no comma. Which reason is right?

    • Each word describes a different noun, so these words need no comma.
    • Each word builds on the next, so swapping them (“wooden old rafters”) sounds odd.
    • Old and wooden fail the swap check but pass the and check, so no comma.
    • Three or more describing words in a row must be separated by commas.
13. 10.

    Zee described a quiet and calm lake at dawn. Zee explains why this sentence has no comma. Which reason is right?

    • A comma goes between describing words that come after the noun they describe.
    • And already joins the two describing words, so no comma is needed beside it.
    • Quiet and calm build on each other, so they stay together without a comma.
    • A comma is missing, because two describing words in a row need one.