9th grade punctuation

Example

Which sentence embeds the quotation correctly? • The narrator describes the sea as "A restless grey animal". • The narrator describes the sea as: a restless grey animal. • The narrator describes the sea as, "a restless grey animal." • The narrator describes the sea as "a restless grey animal."

1. Embed short quotations smoothly into your own sentence; use a colon after a full introductory clause. (US style puts the full stop inside the closing quotation mark.)
2. So the answer is: The narrator describes the sea as "a restless grey animal."

Answer: The narrator describes the sea as "a restless grey animal."

Example

Which option completes the sentence correctly? The novelist ___ won the Nobel Prize in 1993.

1. Non-essential (extra) information is set off with commas; essential (identifying) information is not.
2. Many novelists exist; the name identifies which one: no commas.
3. So the answer is: Toni Morrison

Answer: Toni Morrison

Example

Which sentence is punctuated correctly, with no unnecessary commas? • The students who finished early helped tidy the room. • The students who finished early, helped tidy the room. • The students, who finished early helped tidy the room. • The students who, finished early helped tidy the room.

1. Don't put a single comma between subject and verb, verb and object, or before an essential clause or phrase.
2. The clause is essential, and no comma separates subject and verb.
3. So the answer is: The students who finished early helped tidy the room.

Answer: The students who finished early helped tidy the room.

Example

What punctuation (if any) belongs at [?] The answer was simple [?] practise every day.

1. A colon (or a single dash) after a complete clause introduces an explanation or list; paired commas or paired dashes must match.
2. Clause + explanation: colon.
3. So the answer is: :

Answer: :