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CLAUSES AND COMMAS
Where have all the [commas] gone
long time passing
(Peter, Paul and Mary, "Where have all the flowers gone?)
The comma in question in this BLOG is the comma that separates clauses in sentences.
Begin learning about clauses
The metalanguage when learning about commas is main or independent clause, subordinate or dependent clause, sentence structure and comma.
Sentences are made up of clauses. A main clause expresses a complete thought; it makes sense written on its own. Children beginning school learn to write a simple sentence (contains one main clause - a subject (participant) and one verb (process), I can run. They write a main clause and complete the sentence with a subordinate clause. A subordinate clause does not make sense on its own, for example, 'had great fun'.
The children travelled on the bus and had great fun.
Main clause Subordinate clause
A subordinate clause that is written first in a sentence should be demarked by a comma.
A subordinate clause, as its name suggests, is subordinate to the main clause in a sentence. If a subordinate clause is removed from the sentence, the sentence would still make perfect sense; the subordinate clause simply provides additional information, description.
Showing models: Clauses and commas, complex sentences
Knowing about main clauses and subordinate (sub) clauses is essential learning before examining the placement of commas. Learning about clauses, sub clauses and commas happens when reading and teaching through models in literature and other texts (for example, non-fiction and children's writing), where children see how clauses, sub clauses and commas work within continuous print. Read as widely as possible and implement follow-up activities to reinforce new learning.
Note: finding literature for models of complex sentence form is generally found in more sophisticated children's stories. Younger children's literature is generally written in simple and compound forms.
Subordinate clauses:
A subordinate clause is also called a dependent clause (dependent on having a main clause, a subject (participant) and a verb in the sentence. A subordinate clause does not form a complete sentence. It will cause the reader to ask the question, "What happened"; a reader will want additional information to finish the thought.
A subordinate (dependent) clause can link the main clause through the use of subordinate conjunctions e.g. although, since, so that, when or relative pronouns e.g. that, who, which.
When a subordinate clause is written in front of a main clause use a comnma between the sub clause and the main clause. Your students can test whether a subordinate clause is placed first in the sentence by asking themselves, "Is this a fragment or a complete thought on its own?" If it is a fragment your students will find it necessary to ask, "What happened?", the main clause should answer the question. For example:
Subordinate clause - fragment comma
thought
After Amy sneezed all over my chicken salad, she threw the salad in the bin.
"So what happened?"
The main clause will tell what
happened.
It is a complete thought.
The main clause will tell what
happened.
It is a complete thought.
Examples of the subordinate clause (an incomplete thought) being
placed first in the sentence with a commas following and the main
clause being the last part of the sentence structure:
placed first in the sentence with a commas following and the main
clause being the last part of the sentence structure:
On the foothills, the soil in places was thin and yellow and the trees were only twenty or thirty feet high. Ash Road. (Southall, 1966, p.11).
Despite his broken arm and obvious pain he was in, Quen was not allowed to rest throughout the remainder of the day. Forbidden parts of Thual. (Kelleher, 1983, p. 60).
Until he has his first cup of coffee, Grandpa is grumpy. (Amelia, year 4, 2006).
Though winter was nearly over, there were patches of snow and ice everywhere. Sarah plain and tall. (MacLachlan, 1998, p. 3).
Centuries after his death, Shakespeare is still considered to be England's foremost playwright. (Frederick, year 8, 2006).
Generally, a comma is not placed after the main clause when a dependent (subordinate) clause follows it:
Snakes are scary although they are not always poisonous.
Main clause
Smoke swirled through the trees at the edge of the forest.
Main clause
Embedded clause:
If the sub clause (or phrase 'for example' or word 'however') is embedded in the middle of the main clause, the comma is placed either side of the sub clause. Commas set off clauses that are not essential to the meaning of the sentence.
Examples of the comma being placed before and after the embedded sub clause:
Listening to voices, even one's own, was sort of nice in the dark. Ash Road. (Southall, 1966, p. 16).
At first their parents had said no, firmly no, but the boys had nagged and nagged. Ash Road. (Southall. 1966, p. 9).
They caught a morning train to the hills, got out at Barkley station, hitched up their packs and started walking. Ash Road (Southall. 1966, p. 10).
Graham, who had a flair for that sort of thing, made up a poem about it. Ash Road. (Southall. 1966, p. 10).
She lay on her side, a garbled, barely distinct sound coming from her. Red. (Gleeson, 2012. p.1).
Chared paper, frail as butterflies, fluttered in the wind. Hannah and the tomorrow room. (Gleeson, 1999, p.20).
Note: two sub clauses
The storm came suddenly, clouds with green underbellies sneaking across the ridges, then descending swifly, carrying a curtain of hail. Charlie's Gold. (French, 1999. p. 5).
The storm came suddenly, clouds with green underbellies sneaking across the ridges, then descending swifly, carrying a curtain of hail. Charlie's Gold. (French, 1999. p. 5).
FOLLOW-UP ACTIVITIES
CUT UP SENTENCE
Put the sentence(s) in order, with the subordinate clause FIRST and the main clause LAST. Place the comma in the correct spot.
grandpa is grumpy Until he has his first cup of coffee ,
COMPARE
Draw a wriggly line under the sub clause. Draw a straight line under the main clause.
After fishing for an hour the boy rested on the deck.
ADD A SUB CLAUSE
Begin by reading the sentences aloud. Do the two parts make a complete thought?
Next, in the middle add a sub clause (fragment, does not make a complete thought or sentence). You can begin the sub clause with a sub conjunction although, who.
The child ________________________________, continued crying.
The workers ______________________________, waited for home time.
The wild dog _____________________________, kept barking.
ADD COMMAS
Rewrite each sentence and insert a comma or commas in each sentence.
When she was five years old Justine rode a horse.
Sweet lollies which taste fantastic are not good for your teeth.
My watch which has to be wound up works almost as well as one with a battery.
The cat which was a beautiful ginger colour sat on the mat.
REWRITE THE SENTENCES
Insert a comma where the full stop is placed.
Discuss with a partner, "Does it work?"
At first Helen was not a good student. She did not obey Annie.
Right away, Annie saw that Helen was a tall, pretty girl. But she also saw that Helen was not happy.
Helen Keller, Courage in the Dark. ( Hurwitz, 1997. p. 14).
USE PICTURES TO STIMULATE THE WRITING OF A SUB CLAUSE.
THEN WRITE A MAIN CLAUSE AND INSERT COMMAS.
THEN WRITE A MAIN CLAUSE AND INSERT COMMAS.
DEVELOP QUIZZES (consult Internet)
GAME (Amazon offers a game)
Extend students' learning. The following sentence has many clauses; the commas have been removed.
See how easy it is to read this information!
The latest volume covers what might be called the birth of modern Europe from the Reformation which broke the dominance of the Roman Catholic church to the Treaty of Westphalia which entrenched the idea of nation states.
The Economist August 2-8, 2014, v 412, #8898
REFERENCE LIST
French, J. & Nycroft, N. 1999. Charlie’s Gold. Koala Books. N.S.W. Aust.
Gleeson, Libby. 1999. Hannah and the tomorrow Room. Puffin Books, Penguin. Australia.
Gleeson, Libby. 2012. Red. Allen and Unwin. Crows Nest. NSW.
Hurwitz, J & Vocington, N. Helen Keller Courage in the Dark. Random House Children's Books.
N.Y. USA
Kelleher, V. 1983. Forbidden paths of Thual. Puffin Books. Hamondsworth. UK.
MacLachlan, P. 1998. Sarah plain and tall. Puffin Books. London.UK.
Southall, Ivan. 1966. Ash Road. Puffin Books. Penguin Books. Middlesex. UK.
French, J. & Nycroft, N. 1999. Charlie’s Gold. Koala Books. N.S.W. Aust.
