Humanities Languages Practice in Creating Sentences With Commas A Sentence-Imitation Exercise Share Flipboard Email Print Maurice Alexandre F.P/Getty Images Languages English Grammar Punctuation & Mechanics Using Words Correctly Writing Tips & Advice Sentence Structures Rhetoric & Style Developing Effective Paragraphs Developing Effective Essays Commonly Confused Words Questions & Answers Exercises & Quizzes Topic Suggestions Glossary of Key Terms Readings & Resources English as a Second Language Spanish French German Italian Japanese Mandarin by Richard Nordquist Updated November 20, 2017 Confused on when and where to place commas in a sentence? Almost everyone gets rusty from time to time. Here's a little exercise that can help you learn when commas are necessary or to help you dust the cobwebs off of your already acquired skills.This sentence-imitation exercise will give you practice in applying four guidelines to using sentences correctly. InstructionsUse each of the four sentences below as the model for a new sentence of your own. Your new sentence should follow the guidelines in parenthesis and use the same number of commas as in the original.Example: The younger children spent the afternoon at Chuck E. Cheese, and the others went to the ball game.(Guideline: Use a comma before a coordinator—and, but, yet, or, nor, for, so—that links two main clauses.)Sample sentences:a) Vera cooked the roast beef, and Phil baked a pumpkin pie.b) Tom ordered steak, but the waiter brought Spam.ExercisesModel 1: I rang the bell and pounded on the door, but no one answered.(Guideline: Use a comma before a coordinator—and, but, yet, or, nor, for, so—that links two main clauses; do not use a comma before a coordinator that links two words or phrases.)Model 2: I sent Elaine a basket full of apricots, mangoes, bananas, and dates.(Guideline: Use commas to separate words, phrases, or clauses that appear in a series of three or more.)Model 3: Because the storm had knocked out the electricity, we spent the evening telling ghost stories on the porch. (Guideline: Use a comma after a phrase or clause that precedes the subject of the sentence.)Model 4: Simone LeVoid, who has never voted in her life, is running for the post of county commissioner.(Guideline: Use a pair of commas to set off nonessential words, phrases, or clauses—also called nonrestrictive elements—that interrupt a sentence.) More Help With Comma PlacementFor additional practice in using commas effectively, take this Comma Quiz and do this Review Exercise: Using Commas and Semicolons Correctly. citecite this article Format mla apa chicago Your Citation Nordquist, Richard. "Practice in Creating Sentences With Commas." ThoughtCo, Nov. 20, 2017, thoughtco.com/creating-sentences-with-commas-1691743. Nordquist, Richard. (2017, November 20). Practice in Creating Sentences With Commas. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/creating-sentences-with-commas-1691743 Nordquist, Richard. "Practice in Creating Sentences With Commas." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/creating-sentences-with-commas-1691743 (accessed April 20, 2018). copy citation Continue Reading