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SAT
Course: SAT > Unit 11
Lesson 3: Writing: Grammar- Writing: Setting Up Ideas — Video Lesson
- Setting up ideas | Quick guide
- Writing: Strong Support — Video lesson
- Strong support | Quick guide
- Writing: Relevant Information — Video lesson
- Relevant information | Quick guide
- Writing: Sequencing sentences — Video lesson
- Sequencing sentences | Quick guide
- Writing: Transition Words — Video lesson
- Transition words and phrases | Quick guide
- Writing: Transition Sentences — Video Lesson
- Transition sentences | Quick guide
- Writing: Introductions — Video lesson
- Writing: Conclusions — Video lesson
- Introductions and conclusions | Quick guide
- Writing: Interpreting Graphs and Data — Video lesson
- Interpreting graphs and data | Quick guide
- Writing: Precision — Video Lesson
- Precise word choice | Quick guide
- Writing: Concision — Video lesson
- Concision | Quick guide
- Writing: Formal and Informal Language — Video Lesson
- Writing: Formal vs. casual language — Example
- Formal vs. casual language | Quick guide
- Writing: Syntax — Example
- Writing: Sentence Fragments — Video Lesson
- Writing: Sentence Boundaries — Example 1
- Writing: Sentence boundaries — Example 2
- Sentence fragments | Quick guide
- Writing: Subordination and coordination — Example
- Writing: Combining Sentences — Video Lesson
- Linking clauses | Quick guide
- Writing: Parallel Structure — Video lesson
- Writing: Parallel structure — Example
- Parallel structure | Quick guide
- Writing: Modifier Placement — Video Lesson
- Writing: Modifier placement — Example
- Modifier placement | Quick guide
- Writing: Verb Tense and Mood — Video Lesson
- Writing: Shift in verb tense and mood — Example
- Verb tense and mood | Quick guide
- Writing: Pronoun Clarity — Video Lesson
- Writing: Pronoun clarity — Example
- Pronoun clarity | Quick guide
- Writing: Pronoun Agreement — Video Lesson
- Writing: Pronoun-antecedent agreement — Example
- Pronoun-antecedent agreement | Quick guide
- Writing: Possessive determiners — Example 1
- Writing: Possessive determiners — Example 2
- Writing: It’s/Its Confusion — Video Lesson
- Confusion with "its" and "their" | Quick guide
- Writing: Subject-Verb Agreement — Video Lesson
- Writing: Subject-verb agreement — Example
- Subject-verb agreement | Quick guide
- Writing: Noun Agreement — Video Lesson
- Writing: Noun agreement — Basic example
- Noun agreement | Quick guide
- Writing: Frequently Confused Words — Video Lesson
- Writing: Frequently confused words — Example
- Frequently confused words | Quick guide
- Writing: Conventional Expressions — Video Lesson
- Writing: Conventional expression — Example
- Conventional expressions | Quick guide
- Writing: Logical Comparison — Video Lesson
- Writing: Logical comparison — Example
- Logical comparison | Quick guide
- Writing: End-of-sentence punctuation — Example 1
- Writing: End-of-sentence punctuation — Example 2
- Writing: Commas — Video Lesson
- Commas | Quick guide
- Writing: Semicolons — Video Lesson
- Semicolons | Quick guide
- Writing: Colons — Video lesson
- Colons | Quick guide
- Writing: Possessive Pronouns — Example
- Writing: Possessive Nouns — Video Lesson
- Making nouns possessive | Quick guide
- Writing: Items in a series — Example
- Writing: Punctuating Lists — Video Lesson
- Lists and punctuation | Quick guide
- Writing: Nonrestrictive and parenthetical elements — Example
- Writing: Nonessential Elements — Video Lesson
- Nonessential elements | Quick guide
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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.
Want to join the conversation?
- Is there a list of prepositions?(6 votes)
- 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)
- Why is “here’s the thing” an independent clause?(4 votes)
- "Thing" is the subject of the sentence and "is" (a part of here's) is the main verb. The phrase itself would typically be followed by an explanation for what the "thing" is in conversation, but it's still an complete sentence on its own.(3 votes)
- 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)
- 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)
- 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)- 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)
- 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)
- 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)
- On aisle 5 in HEB, in Mable Falls, Texas,tucked below the shelf, there is a tablet with further instructions.(1 vote)
- monkey mode on GOD!(1 vote)
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!