Tag: grammar

Commas : to separate clauses 



For more about commas see our Punctuation Overview page.

A complex sentence is one that consists of a main clause and at least one subordinate clause. When writing complex sentences, commas are used to separate clauses.

Being alone in the house, Sally was feeling afraid. 
I first tried tapas in Spain, whilst l was on holiday.

In the sentences above, the intended meaning would remain if the subordinate clauses were to be removed.


Though this level of information is probably sufficient in the primary classroom, it is worth noting that there are different types of subordinate clauses. Some of these clauses do not require commas to separate them from the main clause…

A subordinate clause that begins with ‘who’, ‘whom’, ‘which’, ‘where’ or ‘that’ is known as a relative clause. A relative clause may be a restrictive relative clause or a non-restrictive relative clause.

Here is an example of a restrictive relative clause.

People who have ticket numbers between l and 50 may come to the front of the queue. 

A restrictive relative clause contains information that is essential to the meaning of the sentence. In the example, if you take out the clause ‘who have ticket numbers between 1 and 50’ then the whole point of the sentence is negated. This is a restrictive relative clause.

A restrictive relative clause should not have commas placed round it.

Here is an example of a non-restrictive relative clause:

Simon, who was simply not tall enough, could not ride on the roller coaster. 

In this example the clause ‘who was simply not tall enough’ is a non-restrictive relative clause. If it were to be removed,  it would not significantly alter the meaning of the sentence. This is similar to the way in which commas are used like brackets in a previous section.

As a rule of thumb, if you can’t miss out the clause then you can leave out the commas…

Commas : in direct speech



For more about commas see our Punctuation Overview page.

On occasions when a writer quotes the exact words that have been spoken we say that ‘direct speech’ has been used. Often, Information about who is speaking comes just before the direct speech.

When this happens a comma is used to indicate that the narrative is about to give way to the direct speech.

Jane said, “Hello.”

Note that the initial comma comes before the opening quotation mark and the full stop at the end of the quotation comes before the closing quotation mark. It is a pretty good rule of thumb that any punctuation associated with quotation marks are usually to the left of the inverted commas as you look at them on the page.

If the piece of direct speech comes before any information about who is speaking, then a comma is placed  inside the quotation marks.

“You must be joking,” remarked George.
“Have a drink,” he said.

Again, the ‘punctuation to the left’ rule of thumb works.

If the direct speech is in the form of a question or an exclamation, then instead of a comma, a question mark or an exclamation mark is used.

“Go away!” she screamed.
“Do you have any change?” asked the bus conductor.

Often, a piece of direct speech is broken up by the information about who is speaking. In this case, a comma ends the first section of direct speech and is inserted before the second section of direct speech begins.

Note that our rule about keeping punctuation to the left of quotation marks still works here too …

“Don’t do that,” said dad, “you’ll get hurt.”
“Go quickly,” she said, “it will soon be dark.”

Commas : in lists… 



For more about commas see our Punctuation Overview page.

When a sentence contains a list of items, it is usual to put a comma after each item in the list except for between the last two items – this place usually has the word ‘and’.

I went to the zoo yesterday where I saw lions, tigers, monkeys, zebras and snakes.
My favourite tea is sausage, egg, chips and beans.

Sometimes it is better to put a comma before the ‘and’ in a list of items. This is particularly true when there might be some confusion about the meaning.

For instance in this sentence:

My favourite sandwiches are cheese, ham, salad and bacon and egg.

It might be unclear whether the writer likes his bacon and egg in the same sandwich or in separate sandwiches. By putting in a comma after the penultimate item, it becomes dear that the writer intends ‘bacon and egg’ to be a single sandwich, thus:

My favourite sandwiches cheese, ham, salad, and bacon and egg.

The final comma in these lists, before the word ‘and’, is called the ‘serial comma’.

Not every writer uses a comma in this position; it is optional. It is also known as the ‘Oxford’ Comma because Oxford dictionaries always use it.

We can also, of course, use lists of adjectives to describe a noun; when we do this, the adjectives are separated by commas. The commas go between the adjectives. Note there is no comma between the last adjective in the list and the noun that follows it.

Red Riding Hood was afraid of the big, bad, ugly, snarling wolf.

More about adjectives here… Adjectives Overview

 

Adverbs : Adverbial Phrases 



An adverbial phrase usually consists of an adverb and one or more words either before it (premodification) or after it (postmodification) or, indeed, both.

The phrase performs exactly the same function in a sentence as it would if it were a single word. That is, it provides extra detail about how, why, when, where and in what manner the action of the verb occurs.

In the examples that follow, the adverbial phrases are in red; the words that modify the adverb are underlined.

We normally go to Spain in the summer.
Our holiday passes very quickly. 
The Sun shone brightly enough. 
The tapas were really good for the price.
Happily for us it did not rain.
We saved some of our  money secretly to spend in the airport.

In line with adverbs, adverbial phrases can be of manner, place, time, duration, frequency, degree, certainty, necessity, evaluative, viewpoint or linking.

 

Adverbs : Position



Adverbs are pretty flexible creatures and it is possible to place them in a variety of places in a sentence without sounding too strange. It is unlikely that students of primary school age will be asked to place adverbs in a sentence as part of an assessment. They may well be required to identify the adverb in a given sentence and will definitely be expected to use them in their writing.

There are three normal positions for adverbs in a sentence:

  • 1) initial position (before the subject)
  • 2) mid position (between the subject and the verb or immediately after be as a main verb)
  • 3) end position (at the end of the clause).

Adverb of Manner (e.g.: slowly, carefully, awfully)
These adverbs are put behind the direct object (or behind the verb if there’s no direct object).

Adverbs of Place (e.g.: here, there, behind, above)
Like adverbs of manner, these adverbs are put behind the direct object or the verb.

Adverbs of Time (e.g.: recently, now, then, yesterday)
Adverbs of time are usually put at the end of the sentence. If you don’t want to put emphasis on the time, you can also put the adverb of time at the beginning of the sentence.

Adverbs of Frequency (e.g.: always, never, seldom, usually)
Adverbs of frequency are put directly before the main verb. If ‘be’ is the main verb and there is no auxiliary verb, adverbs of frequency are put behind ‘be’. Is there an auxiliary verb, however, adverbs of frequency are put before ‘be’.

 

Adverbs : Less common types…



There is no requirement in the UK primary school English curriculum for pupils to be able to recognise different types of adverb. They may be required to identify an adverb in situe and will certainly be expected to use adverbs in their own writing. You can see details of the most commonly encountered adverbs here:

Adverbs : The 5 basic types of adverb…

The following are types of adverbs which are not quite as obvious but, nevertheless, worth knowing about..

Evaluative adverbs (surprisingly) and viewpoint adverbs (personally)
We put some adverbs outside the clause. They modify the whole sentence or utterance. Evaluative and viewpoint adverbs are good examples of this… Continue reading “Adverbs : Less common types…”

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