---
title: 'Exercise : Comma Exercise 1'
grand_parent: Parsing Exercises
parent: OWL Exercises
date: 2020-07-20
layout: page
---

## NOT DONE

https://owl.purdue.edu/owl_exercises/punctuation_exercises/commas/comma_exercise_1.html

Add commas as needed in the sentences below. On the line to the left of each sentence, write the number of the appropriate comma rule (click here to see the rules). If the sentence is correct as it is, write C on the line and refer to the appropriate rule in parentheses after the sentence.

### He left the scene of the accident and tried to forget that it had happened.

1 | He left the scene of the accident, and tried to forget that it had happened.

> Note: I checked the answers after this first attempt. Rule 1 is:
> > Use commas to separate independent clauses when they are joined by any of these seven coordinating conjunctions: *and, but, for, or, nor, so, yet*.
> I googled 'independent clauses' and it sounds like the inverse is a subordinate clause. My initial thought about it was the 'it' is a back reference, so not independent.
> next thing I found:
> > An independent clause is a clause that can stand alone as a sentence (i.e., it expresses a complete thought). A dependent clauses (or subordinate clause) is one that cannot stand alone as a complete sentence (i.e., it does not express a complete thought).
> the 2nd clause has an implied `he` if nothing else: `... and [he] tried to forget that it happened.`
> so a clause is independent only when a) has a backref and/or b) implied words from the previous clause.
> those two sound like we could just say 'has a grammatical dependency of any kind on the previous clause'.

### Oil which is lighter than water rises to the surface

_____ Oil, which is lighter than water, rises to the surface.

_____ Madame de Stael was an attractive gracious lady.

_____ Nice is a word with many meanings and some of them are contradictory.

_____ The contractor testified that the house was completed and that the work had been done properly.

_____ Some people refuse to go to the zoo because of pity for creatures that must live in small cages.

_____ Taxicabs that are dirty are illegal in some cities.

_____ The closet contained worn clothes old shoes and dirty hats.

_____ The uninvited guest wore a dark blue tweed suit.

_____ After surviving this ordeal the trapper felt relieved.

_____ Mark Twain's early novels I believe stand the test of time.

_____ December 7 1941 will never be forgotten.

_____ The field was safe enough wasn't it?

_____ Write the editor of the Atlantic 8 Arlington Street Boston Massachusetts 02116.

_____ He replied "I have no idea what you mean."

_____ After a good washing and grooming the pup looked like a new dog.

_____ Because of their opposition to institutions that force creatures to live in captivity some people refuse to go to the zoo.

_____ Men who are bald are frequently the ones who are the most authoritative on the subject of baldness.

_____ Vests which were once popular have been out of vogue for several years.

_____ As a celestial goddess she regulated the course of the heavenly bodies and controlled the alternating seasons.

_____ I hope that someday he will learn how to be polite.