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For example:
I went to the store and bought
milk.
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For example:
I went to the store, and I
bought milk.
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(3) BONUS INFORMATION
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anything added to the
sentence that can be extracted without changing
the meaning of the sentence
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metaphoric explanation:
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If your sentence is a
stream (of consciousness?) and you reach
into it to add or retract some unnecessary
material--words that will not change the
meaning, with or without them--you will
cause ripples on the water on both sides of
your hand; those ripples are the commas.
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What this means is
that you must use the commas IN PAIRS with
regard to this rule, on both sides of the
Bonus Information.
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a.k.a. “interrupters”
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a.k.a. “nonessential
clauses” or “nonrestrictive
clauses”
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(1) IDIOMATIC
EXPRESSIONS:
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words added for "flavoring"
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I believe, of course,
indeed, in truth
by the way, on the contrary, on the other
hand
according to, including, excluding
though, however, in addition to, as well as
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(2) RELATIVE CLAUSES:
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nonessential clauses;
commonly begin with relative pronouns
who,
which,
or that
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Please note
that relative clauses that begin with “which”
(but not “who”
or “that”)
will always be nonessential and,
therefore, set off by commas.
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“Who”
clauses can be either nonessential or
essential: if the clause offers trivial data
not necessary for the meaning of the
sentence, then it is nonessential and set
off by commas; if, on the other hand, the
removal of the “who”
clause prompts the reader to ask a question
answered by the removed clause, then it is
essential and not set off by commas.
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For ex:
The
teacher, who is a born-again Christian,
returned our biology test today.
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(Here, the
relative clause is not necessary in
order for the sentence to make
sense, can be removed, and is, thus,
set off by commas.)
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For ex:
The
teacher who had the car accident
cancelled her classes for the week.
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For ex:
Chapter
5, which was very long, was assigned for
homework.
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For ex:
The
correct answer, I believe, is 25.
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For ex:
The
teacher, of course, gave us a quiz on
the assigned reading.
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