Commas around extra information

Grade 8 Reading Worksheet

Circle the best answer.

1. 1.

   Ari has four cousins, and one of them is named Pia. Sentence: Ari's cousin [Pia] won the spelling bee. Esme proofreads a class newsletter. The facts tell how many there are. Which sentence is punctuated to match?

   • Ari's cousin Pia, won the spelling bee.
   • Ari's cousin, Pia won the spelling bee.
   • Ari's cousin Pia won the spelling bee.
   • Ari's cousin, Pia, won the spelling bee.
2. 2.

   Kira has one cousin, and the cousin is named Jun. Sentence: Kira's cousin [Jun] lives in Ohio. Bo proofreads a class newsletter. The facts tell how many there are. Which sentence is punctuated to match?

   • Kira's cousin Jun, lives in Ohio.
   • Kira's cousin, Jun, lives in Ohio.
   • Kira's cousin, Jun lives in Ohio.
   • Kira's cousin Jun lives in Ohio.

3. Read this first

   Facts

   Three authors visited the school, and one of them is Ms. Okoro. Sentence: The author [Ms. Okoro] read to the fifth graders.

4. 3.

   Jun proofreads a class newsletter. The facts tell how many there are. Which sentence is punctuated to match?

   • The author Ms. Okoro, read to the fifth graders.
   • The author Ms. Okoro read to the fifth graders.
   • The author, Ms. Okoro read to the fifth graders.
   • The author, Ms. Okoro, read to the fifth graders.
5. 4.

   The school has one founder, Mr. Hale. Sentence: The founder [Mr. Hale] cut the ribbon. Kira proofreads a class newsletter. The facts tell how many there are. Which sentence is punctuated to match?

   • The founder, Mr. Hale, cut the ribbon.
   • The founder Mr. Hale cut the ribbon.
   • The founder, Mr. Hale cut the ribbon.
   • The founder Mr. Hale, cut the ribbon.
6. 5.

   The students, who finished early, went outside. Luz reads a line in a school report. What do the commas tell the reader?

   • The part about finishing early adds a detail about the whole group of students.
   • The part about finishing early picks out some of the students from the class.
   • The part about finishing early shows the writer is unsure which students went.
   • The part about finishing early explains why the students went outside.
7. 6.

   The students who finished early went outside. Milo reads a line in a school report. What does the lack of commas tell the reader?

   • The part about finishing early explains why the students went outside.
   • The part about finishing early tells which students went outside.
   • The part about finishing early shows the writer is unsure which students went.
   • The part about finishing early adds a detail about the whole group of students.
8. 7.

   The cat, sitting on the fence, watched the birds. Noah reads a line in a school report. What do the commas tell the reader?

   • The phrase about the fence explains why the cat watched the birds closely.
   • The phrase about the fence picks out one cat from several cats in the yard.
   • The phrase about the fence shows the writer is unsure where the cat sat.
   • The phrase about the fence adds a detail about a cat the reader can already identify.
9. 8.

   The dancers standing near the door cheered first. Pia reads a line in a school report. What does the lack of commas tell the reader?

   • The phrase about the door adds a detail about the whole group of dancers.
   • The phrase about the door tells which dancers cheered first.
   • The phrase about the door shows the writer is unsure where the dancers stood.
   • The phrase about the door explains why the dancers cheered first.
10. 9.

    The town has one pond. Draft: The pond, that freezes first, is near the school. Tala proofreads a draft against the facts. Which statement names the slip in the sentence?

    • The commas should come off, because the clause tells which pond the writer means.
    • No slip: the sentence is punctuated correctly, so nothing needs to change.
    • A clause set off by commas cannot begin with “that”, so it needs “which”.
    • A comma is missing after “school”, because the sentence ends with a place.
11. 10.

    The town has one bridge over the creek. Draft: The bridge, which crosses the creek is closed. Zee proofreads a draft against the facts. Which statement names the slip in the sentence?

    • No slip: the sentence is punctuated correctly, so nothing needs to change.
    • The extra clause is missing its closing comma, which belongs after “creek”.
    • “Which” should be “that”, because the clause tells which bridge the writer means.
    • A comma is missing after “is”, because the verb needs a pause after it.