Boundaries · Lesson 5

Openers, lists, two verbs and question marks

The rules so far join or separate whole clauses. This lesson covers punctuation inside one sentence, the spots where the SAT tests whether a comma belongs at all.

An opener ends with a comma. A dependent clause or a long phrase that comes before the main clause is followed by a comma: Because the lens weighed six tons, engineers lifted it out through the roof. A dependent clause can't stand alone, so a semicolon or a period after it leaves a fragment. The exception: when the opening words are the subject itself (Whether the plan works is unclear), no comma separates them from the verb.

One subject, two verbs: no comma. In Okafor counts the salamanders and reports the totals, the subject Okafor does both actions. No comma goes before and. A comma plus and is for joining two independent clauses, each with its own subject: Okafor counts the salamanders, and she reports the totals.

Lists. Put commas between three or more items: figs, salted fish, and olive oil. No comma goes before the first item, and none goes between a list and its verb: not such as, maps, and not olive oil, were when the list is the subject.

Questions. A direct question ends with a question mark: Would the corals survive? A reported question, often after asked whether, wondered how or wanted to know if, is part of a statement and ends with a period.

Worked example Medium

Because the old lighthouse lens weighed nearly six had to lift it out through a hole cut in the tower's roof. The lens now stands in the town museum, a few blocks from the harbor.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

  1. tons engineers
  2. tons, engineersAnswer
  3. tons; engineers
  4. tons. Engineers

How to solve it

  1. Because makes the first part a dependent clause: Because the old lighthouse lens weighed nearly six tons can't stand alone.
  2. The main clause begins at engineers had to lift it out.
  3. A dependent clause that opens a sentence ends with a comma before the main clause: tons, engineers.

Why each choice is right or wrong

  • A. Incorrect. With no comma, the opening clause runs straight into the main clause, so the reader can't tell where one ends and the other begins.
  • B. Correct. A comma ends the opening dependent clause and leads into the main clause engineers had to lift it out.
  • C. Incorrect. A semicolon needs an independent clause on each side, and Because the old lighthouse lens weighed nearly six tons is dependent.
  • D. Incorrect. The period leaves Because the old lighthouse lens weighed nearly six tons as a fragment.

Worked example Hard

Each spring, volunteer Imani Okafor counts the salamanders that cross Ridge Road on rainy the totals to a state database that tracks amphibian migration. Her counts helped persuade the county to close the road on the wettest nights.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

  1. nights, and reports
  2. nights and reportsAnswer
  3. nights; and reports
  4. nights: reports

How to solve it

  1. Find the subject: volunteer Imani Okafor.
  2. She does two things: she counts the salamanders and reports the totals. Reports has no subject of its own.
  3. One subject with two verbs takes no comma before and: nights and reports.

Why each choice is right or wrong

  • A. Incorrect. A comma before and joins two independent clauses, but reports the totals has no subject of its own; it is a second verb for Okafor.
  • B. Correct. Okafor is the subject of both counts and reports, so no punctuation separates the two verbs.
  • C. Incorrect. A semicolon needs an independent clause on each side, and and reports the totals ... has no subject.
  • D. Incorrect. What follows the colon, reports the totals ..., is a verb with no subject of its own. It is the second verb of Okafor's single predicate, so nothing should separate it from counts and Okafor.

Trap Asked whether ... ? No.

A sentence that reports a question is still a statement. The researchers asked whether the corals could survive. ends with a period. The question mark is a trap that looks right because the sentence is about a question.

Trap A comma after the last list item

In Dried figs, salted fish, and olive oil were among the goods, the list is the subject. A comma after oil would sit between the subject and its verb were, which the previous lesson ruled out.