Grade

8
NAME

Lesson 11.3 Commas II

(pp. 273–274)
Exercise 1 Adding Commas
Many sentences below are missing one comma. Write the two words that should be
separated by a comma, and add the comma. Write C if the sentence is correct.

Hint example The 1980s ended on December 31 1989. 31, 1989

Remember to
use a comma 1. Yes Reagan beat Carter in the presidential election of November 1980.
between the date 2. Originating in Boston the New Kids on the Block was a 1980s pop group.
and the year. Also
use one after the 3. On May 18, 1980 Mount St. Helens erupted in Washington.
year if a sentence
4. Although video games were introduced in the 1970s they skyrocketed in
continues after
popularity in the next decade.
the date.
Tim was born May 5. Thousands of people in Paris celebrated the 200th anniversary of the French
11, 1986, in New Revolution in 1989.
York.
6. After the 1986 Space Shuttle Challenger disaster the whole nation mourned.
7. Well, was Princess Diana married in London, England in 1981 or 1985?
8. In the 1980s many women wore shoulder pads and leg warmers.
9. The space probe Voyager 2 passed Saturn in August 1981.
10. Excited we rented a classic movie from the 1980s, The Karate Kid.

Copyright © by William H. Sadlier, Inc. Permission to duplicate classroom quantities granted to users of Grammar for Writing.
Exercise 2 Proofreading for Commas
Use proofreading symbols to add and delete commas as needed in the paragraph
below.

In September 1981 Sandra Day O’Connor joined the U.S. Supreme Court.
1

Proofreading
2
Nominated by Ronald Reagan, she became the 102nd person and the first
Symbols female to serve on the Supreme Court. 3Born in El Paso Texas she spent much
, Add a comma.
of her childhood on a ranch in Arizona. 4After she graduated from Stanford
Delete.
University she became a state senator and later a judge on Arizona’s Court
of Appeals. 5On July 1, 2005, Justice O’Connor announced her retirement.
6
During her time on the court she developed a reputation for being
thoughtful and politically independent. 7As O’Connor herself said, “The power
I exert on the court depends on the power of my arguments, not on
my gender.”