To use the comma or not. That is the question.

[MBM]

My 8th grader is taking a practice test for high school placement and came across a question that has us pondering.

 

Directions: Look for mistakes in punctuation.

 

A. After the recital

B. we decided

C. to get some ice cream.

D. (No mistakes)

 

My son chose D because he thinks the phrase "after the recital" is too short to need a comma. According to the book, though, the correct answer is A. A comma is needed after the phrase.

 

Can anyone explain why?

[Onceuponatime]

My 8th grader is taking a practice test for high school placement and came across a question that has us pondering.

 

Directions: Look for mistakes in punctuation.

 

A. After the recital

B. we decided

C. to get some ice cream.

D. (No mistakes)

 

My son chose D because he thinks the phrase "after the recital" is too short to need a comma. According to the book, though, the correct answer is A. A comma is needed after the phrase.

 

Can anyone explain why?

 

I believe it is because it is an introductory clause. It is not a necessary part of the sentence. But I'm going to go check.

 

According to my grammar handbook, your son is technically right. It doesn't have to have a comma because it is short. However, a comma there is not wrong, just unnecessary. Since they are probably trying to assess how well he knows how to punctuate, I guess he should pick the conservative side of any similar questions.

Edited November 24, 2010 by Onceuponatime

[C_l_e_0..Q_c]

my answer won't be particularly useful, because it's based on French grammar. Now, most of English grammar comes from French, so there's some sense to what I'm saying here. I've always applied my French grammar knowledge to English grammar tests, and aced all of them, placing ahead of English speakers.

 

Anyway, "After the recital" is a 'complément circonstanciel de temps' also known as a 'complement de phrase'. Hmm, I don't even know what the English equivalent would be ;) It's a sentence complement showing time. A sentence complement that is at the start of a sentence is always separated from the subject/verb by a comma.

[Aubrey]

(A) is a prepositional/introductory phrase. Those *can* have commas but only *have* to have them if they're 4 words or longer. Says the highschool English teacher under whom I did my student teaching & the only person who said anything about grammar during my BA & MEd combined.

 

If you get to grade it, I'd count it right. If not, I don't know what to tell you, because it's not like you can say, "Well, now we know that all tests are using AP style instead of MLA." You only know that there's a good argument for both answers. :glare: Sorry.

[angela in ohio]

(A) is a prepositional/introductory phrase. Those *can* have commas but only *have* to have them if they're 4 words or longer. Says the highschool English teacher under whom I did my student teaching & the only person who said anything about grammar during my BA & MEd combined.

 

If you get to grade it, I'd count it right. If not, I don't know what to tell you, because it's not like you can say, "Well, now we know that all tests are using AP style instead of MLA." You only know that there's a good argument for both answers. :glare: Sorry.

 

:iagree:

 

Our rule is "less than five words." It is an optional comma, and a test question shouldn't be based on that.