Ch. 9 Coordination - Carson-Newman College

by: Kristina Burgess Punctuation A simple punctuation rule applies to nearly all the compound pairs of words, phrases, and clauses that occur within the sentence: We use no comma with the conjunction Kolln 223. The example sentences in your book, on page

223, use and, either or, and both and. Also note that when conjunctions connect all the elements, we use no commas Kolln 224. The baby giggled and cried and pulled her mothers hair. Can you think of any exceptions to the punctuation rule? (Hint: Look on page 224.)

The conjunction but. To give special emphasis to the second element in a coordinated pair. He left early this morning, but he should be back tomorrow. The new car is too small, and ugly.

Use commas with a series of three or more elements. That couples new favorite activities are parenting, eating, and sleeping. There are three methods of joining independent clauses to produce compound sentences: using coordinating conjunctions (and, or, but);

using the semicolon; and, for limited situations, using the colon (Kolln 229). Between the sentences in a compound sentence we do use a comma with the conjunction example: The lights turned off, and the moviegoers settled in their seats.

When the clauses of a compound sentence are quite short and closely connected, however, we sometimes omit the comma (Kolln 230). example: She talked and I listened. When a semicolon connects two coordinate clauses, the conjunction can be omitted (Kolln 230).

example: The lights turned off; the moviegoers settled in their seats. The colon makes an announcement of sorts: It means namely It promises to complete the idea set up in the first clause (Kolln 231, 232). We named the new animals: The Queen, Baby, and Rock.

Your mother-in-law called: Shes staying for a week. Kolln, Martha, Robert Funk. Chapter 9: Coordination. Understanding English Grammar. New York: Pearson Education, Inc., 2006. 223 - 237.