CONNECTING
1. Connecting idea with And
Connecting Items within a sentence
a. No comma: I saw a cat and a When and connects only two
mouse. words (or phrases) within a
b. Commas: I saw a cat, a senence, no comma is used as in
mouse, and a dog. (a).
When and connects three or more
items within a sentence, commas
are used as in (b).
Connecting Two Sentences
c. Comma: I saw a cat, and you When and connects two complete
saw a mouse. sentences (also called
“independent” clause, a comma is
usually used, as in (c).
d. Period: I saw a cat. You saw Without and, two complete
a mouse. sentences are separated by a
e. Incorrect: I saw a cat, you period, as in (d), not a comma.
saw a mouse. A complete sentence begin with a
capital letter: note that You is
capitalized in (d)
Underline and label the words (noun, verb, adjective) connected by and.
Add commas as necessary.
noun + noun
1. My mom puts milk and sugar in her tea. (no commas needed)
noun+noun + noun
2. My mom puts milk, sugar, and lemon in her tea. (commas needed)
3. The river is wide and deep.
4. The river is wide deepp and dangerous.
5. The teenage girls at the slumber*party played music ate pizza and
told ghost stories.
6. The teenage girls played music and ate pizza.
7. My mom dad sister and grandfather came to tthe party to see my son
and daughter celebrate their fourth birthday.
8. When he wanted to entertain the children, my husband mooed like a
cow roared like lion and barked like a dog.
2. Connecting with But or Or
a. I went to bed but couldn’t And, but, and or are called
sleep. “coordinating conjunctions.”
b. Is a lemon sweet or sour? Like and, but and or can connect
c. Did you order coffee, tea, items within a sentence.
or milk? Commas are used with a series of
three or more items, as in (c).
I dropped the vase. = a sentence A comma is usually used when
I didn’t break.= a sentence but or or combines two complete
d. I dropped the vase, but it (independent) sentences into
didn’t break. sentence, as in (d) and (e).
e. Do we have class on
Monday, or is Monday a A conjunction can also come at
holiday? the beginning of a sentence,
except in formal writing.
ALSO CORRECT:
I dropped the vase. But it didn’t
break.
I saw a cat. And you saw a mouse.
Complete the sentences with and, but, or or. Add commas as necessary.
1. I washed my shirt, but it didn’t get clean.
2. Would you like some water or some fruit juice?
3. I bought some paper, a birthday card, and some envelopes.
4. The flight attendants served dinner _________ I didn’t eat it.
5. I was hungry __________ didn’t eat on the plane. The food didn’t look
appetizing.
6. I washed my face, brushed my teeh ________ combed my hair.
7. Golf _________ tennis are popular sports.
8. Sara is a good tennis player __________ she’s never played golf.
9. Which would you prefer? Would you like to play tennis ________ golf
Saturday?
10. Who made the call? Did Bob call you ________ did you call Bob?
3. Connecting with So
a. The room was dark, so I So can be used as a conjunction,
turned on a light. as in (a). It is preceded by
comma. It connects the ideas in
two independent clauses.
So expresses results:
Cause : The room was dark.
Result : I turned on a light.
b. COMPARE: But often expresses an
The room was dark, but I unexpected result, as in (b).
didn’t turn on a light.
Complete the sentences with so or but.
1. It began to rain, so I opened my umbrella.
2. It began to rain, but I didn’t open my umbrella.
3. I didn’t have an umbrella, _________ I got wet.
4. I didn’t have an umbrella, ________ I didn’t get wet because I was
wearing my raincoat.
5. The water was cold, _______ I went swimming anyway.
6. The water was cold, ________ I didn’t go swimming.
7. Scott’s directions to his apartment weren’t clear, _____ Sonia got lost.
8. The directions weren’t, ______ I found Scott’s apartment anyway.
9. My friend lied to me, _____ I still like and trust her.
10. My friend lied to me, ______ I don’t ttrust her anymore.
