Name ___________________________________________________ Class _________ Date ____________________
Lesson 78
Using Commas to Signal Pause or Separation
Commas signal a pause or separation between parts of a sentence. Use commas to
separate three or more items in a series.
The top sellers were Chou, Eve, and Mike.
Use a comma to show a pause after an introductory word, two or more
introductory prepositional phrases, or an introductory participle or participial
phrase.
Yes, I helped with the class play.
For love of the sport, he sponsored several youth soccer teams.
Crawling through the tunnel, the rescuers reached the trapped men.
Use a comma after conjunctive adverbs such as however, moreover, furthermore,
nevertheless, and therefore.
Our school enrollment has increased; therefore, we need a new building.
Use commas to set off words that interrupt the flow of thought in a sentence and
appositives that are not essential to the meaning of the sentence.
My brother, gulping his food, raced through his meal.
The Koreans, comparative newcomers, produce many electronic products.
Mechanics
Use commas to set off names used in direct address.
Copyright © by Glencoe/McGraw-Hill
Marla, you have the highest score on the test.
Exercise 1 Complete each sentence by adding commas where necessary. If the
sentence is correct as written, write C in the blank.
For thousands of years, people have enjoyed making music.
C
1. Modern instruments are made to meet specific standards.
2. Strings, woodwinds, brass, and percussion are the four families of instruments.
3. Each family, by the way, is named for the method it uses to produce sound.
4. Stringed instruments produce tones when a string is bowed, struck, or plucked.
5. Yes, the vibrating string makes the sound.
6. Members of the string family include the violin, viola, cello, and bass.
Unit 13, Punctuation
257
Name ___________________________________________________ Class _________ Date ____________________
C
7. Pitch is changed by pressing the appropriate spot on the string.
8. The harp, an ancient instrument, is often used in an orchestra.
C
9. A piano’s sound is produced by striking strings with small felt hammers.
10. Woodwinds, the next family, produce sound from a vibrating reed.
11. Clarinets and saxophones are played with a single reed; however, oboes and
bassoons are played with two reeds fastened together.
12. Nina, why is the flute called a woodwind?
13. Lacking a reed, flutes were originally made of wood.
14. Of all the instruments in an orchestra, the brass ones are the most powerful.
C
15. The player produces sound on a brass instrument by vibrating his or her lips
in a cup-shaped mouthpiece.
16. Trumpets and cornets, their cousins, are the highest pitched brass instruments.
17. Covering the middle range, French horns and trombones add color and depth.
18. The sousaphone, named for the March King, is a marching band version of the
tuba.
20. Drums, an ancient type of music maker, come in many shapes and sizes.
21. Keyboard-style percussion instruments include xylophones, vibraphones,
marimbas, and bells.
22. Symphony orchestras use members from all four families; however, marching
bands use only woodwinds, brass, and percussion.
Writing Link Write a paragraph on a concert you have attended or a recording you
enjoy. Be sure to use commas as separators.
258 Grammar and Language Workbook, Grade 8
Copyright © by Glencoe/McGraw-Hill
Mechanics
19. Percussion instruments are struck, pounded, or beaten; therefore, it isn’t wrong
to think of the piano as a percussion instrument.