Fill-in questions sort introductory words like "Suddenly" and "Meanwhile" from introductory phrases like "After the assembly," then move into appositives — naming "a famous inventor" beside Thomas Edison and explaining why removing an appositive should still leave a complete sentence behind.
The matching activity pairs four sentences with the right rule: the Amazon rainforest appositive, the "While we were sleeping" introductory clause, "Next, stir the mixture" with an introductory word, and "Before the concert" as an introductory phrase. Students leave able to spot which kind of opener — word, phrase, or clause — they just wrote.
Style:
Comma Rules
Part A: Fill in the Blank
Write the missing word or number on each line.
1. An introductory word is a single word like "Meanwhile" or "Fortunately" that starts a sentence.
2. In "After the assembly, the students returned to class," the comma comes after an introductory phrase.
3. The phrase "a famous inventor" in "Thomas Edison, a famous inventor, created the light bulb" is an appositive.
4. If you remove an appositive from a sentence, the sentence should still make complete sense.
5. Introductory phrases often tell when, where, or how something happens.
6. In "Suddenly, the fire alarm went off," the word "Suddenly" is an introductory word.
7. An appositive at the end of a sentence only needs one comma before it.
8. The comma after an introductory element gives the reader a natural pause before the main idea.
9. In "My cousin Jake, an excellent swimmer, won the race," the appositive tells us more about Jake.
Part B: Matching
Match each item on the left to the correct answer on the right.
1. Match each item to its correct answer.
"Before the concert, we ate dinner at home."
→ Comma after an introductory phrase
Comma after an introductory word
"Next, stir the mixture until it is smooth."
→ Comma after an introductory word
Comma after an introductory clause
"The Amazon, the largest rainforest, is in South America."
→ Commas around an appositive phrase
Commas around an appositive phrase
"While we were sleeping, the first snow of winter fell."
→ Comma after an introductory clause
Comma after an introductory phrase
Comma Rules
★ Part A: Fill in the Blank
Write the missing word or number on each line.
1) An introductory word is a single word like "Meanwhile" or "Fortunately" that starts a sentence.
2) In "After the assembly, the students returned to class," the comma comes after an introductory phrase.
3) The phrase "a famous inventor" in "Thomas Edison, a famous inventor, created the light bulb" is an appositive.
4) If you remove an appositive from a sentence, the sentence should still make complete sense.
5) Introductory phrases often tell when, where, or how something happens.
6) In "Suddenly, the fire alarm went off," the word "Suddenly" is an introductory word.
7) An appositive at the end of a sentence only needs one comma before it.
8) The comma after an introductory element gives the reader a natural pause before the main idea.
9) In "My cousin Jake, an excellent swimmer, won the race," the appositive tells us more about Jake.
★ Part B: Matching
Match each item on the left to the correct answer on the right.
1) Match each item to its correct answer.
"Before the concert, we ate dinner at home."
→ Comma after an introductory phrase
Comma after an introductory word
"Next, stir the mixture until it is smooth."
→ Comma after an introductory word
Comma after an introductory clause
"The Amazon, the largest rainforest, is in South America."
→ Commas around an appositive phrase
Commas around an appositive phrase
"While we were sleeping, the first snow of winter fell."
→ Comma after an introductory clause
Comma after an introductory phrase
Ready to Practice?
Complete each section carefully.
10 Questions
10-15 minutes
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