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SAT

Course: SAT > Unit 11

Lesson 3: Writing: Grammar

Writing: Commas — Video Lesson

David shows you how to think through a commas question on the SAT Writing and Language test. Created by David Rheinstrom.

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  • male robot hal style avatar for user Hockey
    Is there a list of prepositions?
    (6 votes)
    Default Khan Academy avatar avatar for user
    • primosaur ultimate style avatar for user BronsonFebruary
      There is. It is long, and even longer when you count "potential prepositions."
      aboard
      about
      above
      across
      after
      against
      along
      amid
      among
      anti
      around
      as
      at
      before
      behind
      below
      beneath
      beside
      besides
      between
      beyond
      but
      by
      concerning
      considering
      despite
      down
      during
      except
      excepting
      excluding
      following
      for
      from
      in
      inside
      into
      like
      minus
      near
      of
      off
      on
      onto
      opposite
      outside
      over
      past
      per
      plus
      regarding
      round
      save
      since
      than
      through
      to
      toward
      towards
      under
      underneath
      unlike
      until
      up
      upon
      versus
      via
      with
      within
      without
      Of course, there are the potential prepositions, and that list is very long.
      Hope this helps.
      (26 votes)
  • blobby green style avatar for user ruthu2803
    Why is “here’s the thing” an independent clause?
    (4 votes)
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  • stelly yellow style avatar for user Prajna Ray
    According to current American English Grammar, do we use a comma before the 'and' while listing items?( dogs, cats, and rabbits OR dogs, cats and rabbits)
    (2 votes)
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    • piceratops ultimate style avatar for user Hecretary Bird
      According to how it's tested on the SAT, you do use a comma before 'and' (called the oxford comma). This is to prevent confusion that would arise if the last two words could potentially be a subset of the first word, as in:
      "After winning the award, Usnavi thanked his parents, his teacher and coach."
      This makes it sound like his teacher and coach were his parents instead of what we want it to say, which is that he thanked his parents, teacher, and coach, all seperate people. So we add a comma before the 'and'.
      (6 votes)
  • blobby green style avatar for user ddgraham447
    Again! How can this independent clause be a sentence?? Although her workshop was tiny, she used it to craft wonders.
    "She used it to craft wonders." HOW can this be considered a sentence? I have encountered dozens of examples of these throughout Khan academy. WHY doesn't a sentence need to make sense?
    (2 votes)
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    • piceratops ultimate style avatar for user Hecretary Bird
      Just because a sentence contains pronouns that are unexplained doesn't mean that it isn't a complete thought. In that sentence, although we may not know what the "it" is, we still get a complete sentence that tells us what "it" was used for. It's the same situation as an independent clause like "He rode his bike down the street." Because of the pronoun "he", you might not know who the sentence is about if it is by itself, but the main point of the sentence is still complete.

      You can often tell that a clause is dependent by the presence of a subordinating conjunction. With these words, the sentence does not tell you all the needed information on it's own. In the example you gave, "Although her workshop was tiny" is a dependent clause because we don't know the contrasting idea that there has to be because of the although. It doesn't feel complete without the extra thought that "she used it to craft wonders"
      Does this help at all?
      (5 votes)
  • blobby green style avatar for user studytstudystudy
    I always get wrong with identifying IDC or DC, like does DC always contain "DC marker words" for example like although, because or when?
    (1 vote)
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    • piceratops ultimate style avatar for user Hecretary Bird
      The rule is that independent clauses are able to stand by themselves, while dependent clauses don't make a complete thought on their own and need some support. I know that's vague, but just saying the sentence aloud and trying to see if it is a complete thought helps. Dependent clauses are often started by subordinate conjunctions like because, although, etc, and you can look up a list of those if that helps.
      "although Usnavi was big and tall" is a dependent clause because it's started off by "although", meaning that we don't know the contrasting part of the although and it's not a complete thought.
      (2 votes)
  • blobby green style avatar for user Shitera, Calvin
    On aisle 5 in HEB, in Mable Falls, Texas,tucked below the shelf, there is a tablet with further instructions.
    (1 vote)
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  • blobby green style avatar for user as1517458
    monkey mode on GOD!
    (1 vote)
    Default Khan Academy avatar avatar for user

Video transcript

- [Instructor] Let's take a look at question 28 here. This is an excerpt from a passage about Bird in Space, an abstract sculpture. 'Works of art could be imported 'to the United States duty-free, 'but industrial materials were taxed at rates 'of up to 40% of their purchase value.' Okay, so we've got choice A, which is no change, and that means that there is a comma between art and could. I'm gonna circle that comma. Choice B has a dash between art and could. Choice C has no punctuation between art and could. And choice D has a comma after could so between could and be imported. So this is a punctuation question. There are five to six questions about punctuation on your official SAT, and comma questions are the most common of those. I see two kinds of punctuation used in these choices: dashes and commas. Let's talk very quickly about how those two pieces of punctuation work. Okay, so first of all, this is a dash. A dash is long. What a dash is not, is not the short version, which is called the hyphen. That's the short little punctuation mark you might see in a word like merry-go-round. The SAT does not test the use of hyphens. So dashes can be used in pairs, like commas can, to set off asides and nonessential elements like 'The cello, a stringed instrument, 'has a warm sound.' Right, so here we've got a pair. Here's dash one, here's dash two. It sets off this aside. A single dash, however, behaves like a colon. It has to follow an independent clause. It has to come after something that would work on its own as a full sentence. 'Here's the thing - I've never met her in my life!' Here's the thing is an independent clause. Here is the thing. That's a sentence that could stand on its own. Where is the thing? Here is the thing, the thing is here. It's an independent clause. So that's dashes and what dashes can do. Let's turn to commas. So commas have a lot of functions. They can separate list items as in 'We need eggs, cheese, and bread.' They can set off nonessential elements as in 'Luisa, who was a werewolf, 'hated Mondays.' The core of the sentence here is 'Luisa hated Mondays'. Luisa is the subject and hated as the main verb, right? 'Who was a werewolf' describes Luisa, but it's not essential to this being a complete sentence. Commas can also link dependent clauses to independent clauses as in 'Although her workshop was tiny, 'she used it to craft wonders.' And in this case 'although her workshop was tiny' is a dependent clause. It can't stand on its own as a sentence. And 'she used it to craft wonders' is an independent clause. It can stand on its own as a sentence. And finally, commas can link two independent clauses with the help of the seven FANBOYS conjunctions: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, and so. As in 'Dogs are cuddly, but cats are noble.' Now, when it comes to punctuation questions we have a few comma top tips. My first top tip is don't split subjects and verbs. Unless you're using it to set off a nonessential phrase, a punctuation mark shouldn't come between a subject and its verb. So 'Mountain goats comma are nimble' is no good, but 'Mountain goats comma 'which have warm and soft fur comma 'are nimble' is good. Right? You can see that I'm using these paired commas to set off that nonessential element about mountain goats having warm and soft fur. The next top tip is avoid commas before prepositions. And I can see some of you raising your hands. Can you please remind us what prepositions are, David? Of course. Prepositions are words that indicate location, direction or intention like in, on, of, or to. Here's an example. 'I went comma to the grocery store' is incorrect. But if we knock out the comma, 'I went to the grocery store' is just fine. My final top tip is to look out for comma splice errors. A comma splice happens when two independent clauses link up with just a comma and no FANBOYS conjunction. 'I have many friends comma 'I love them all!' This is no good. We need to put in a word like 'and' or 'but' in there after the comma, in order for this to be a grammatically correct sentence. So that's what those commas can do. Let's head back to the question. And I'll give you this opportunity to pause the video to take your own shot at it. Now let's try it together. Okay, so choice A puts a comma between art and could. Is this part of a nonessential aside? Is 'could be imported 'to the United States duty-free' an aside? It looks like no. This is just a comma interrupting a subject and a verb. And that's one of our top tips remember. So we can knock this one out. Choice B uses a single dash. So that means it has to follow an independent clause. Does it? No, it comes right after 'works of art' and that can't be its own sentence. It doesn't have a main verb. And it's wrong for another reason, which is that it puts an unnecessary punctuation mark between a subject and a verb. So bye-bye choice B. Choice C has no punctuation in it, which is maybe to our benefit because I don't think a comma belongs here. It can't go before art or really after it because that does the top tip thing to avoid of coming between a subject and its verb. It also sounds good in context. Works of art could be imported to the US, right? I don't need a pause there. In fact, I think having a pause there would sound pretty strange. So let's look at, I think this is our answer. Let's look at D and see if we can cross it out. Okay, and choice D, yeah, puts a comma after could, which unnecessarily cuts the verb phrase 'could be imported' into two chunks. And that's reason enough for me to say that it unnecessarily separates the subject from the full verb. And like I just said, it also sounds awkward to add a pause here. Works of art could be imported. That just interrupts the flow of the idea. So I am going to knock D out, circle C, and move on. C is our answer. Our strategy for this question requires a lot of wind up. You will have to practice and be familiar with the various functions of punctuation marks like commas, colons semi-colons and dashes, but keep these things in mind. First. don't separate subjects and verbs. Unless you're using paired punctuation to set off a descriptive aside, don't include punctuation that separates subjects and verbs. Second, look for independent clauses. Semi-colons, colons, and single dashes need to follow independent clauses. If they don't, eliminate that choice. And third, related to that, avoid comma splice errors. If you see two independent clauses united by only a comma, that's no good. That choice can be eliminated. And finally, fourth, be careful around prepositional phrases. There are very few good reasons to separate a preposition from the other words it's connected to. Got more questions about punctuation? Be sure to check out our articles and our other videos. Good luck out there. You've got this!