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ELA 5: Introducing With Commas 122 Views
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Description:
Commas can be a great way to help introduce a sentence. Just make sure to watch the video first and see what we're talking about. Starting a sentence with just a comma would be pretty strange. And everyone who reads it will laugh at you...not that that's happened to us or anything.
Transcript
- 00:04
[Coop and Dino singing]
- 00:13
Some child stars get mad because they’re grown up, making Very Serious movies… [Woman swinging on a wrecking ball]
- 00:18
but all anybody recognizes them for is the dumb sitcom they did when they were twelve. Ugh.
- 00:23
I hate it when that happens.
- 00:25
Well… commas have the same problem. [Commas photographed]
Full Transcript
- 00:27
Everybody’s like, “Oh, my God! Comma! I love you in lists!”
- 00:30
But commas are so much more than just placeholders in lists.
- 00:34
They’re sick of being pigeon-holed and typecast.
- 00:37
Because… you know what else they’re great at? Making introductions. [Comma on a skateboard]
- 00:40
That’s right. A comma can help introduce a sentence.
- 00:43
It can set up what’s happening, where it's happening, how it's happening, or provide
- 00:47
any other interesting information so we can better understand what follows. [Dino explaining what commas set up]
- 00:51
See? This thing is soooo multi-talented.
- 00:53
Okay…let’s take a look at this sentence: "In the gym after school, David and Eric sat
- 00:58
on the floor in their practice jerseys."
- 01:00
Before we start reading, we have no idea what's happening, but the bit of the sentence before
- 01:04
the comma helps to set the scene. [First part of the sentence highlighted]
- 01:06
"In the gym after school" tells us not only where stuff is happening – in the gym – but
- 01:10
also when: after school.
- 01:12
Double duty. Yee-haw.
- 01:14
So before we even get around to David and Eric and whatever trouble it is they’re [David and Eric sitting on a basketball court after school]
- 01:18
getting into… the stage is already set.
- 01:21
Now let's imagine that same sentence, but without the introductory part:
- 01:25
"David and Eric sat on the floor in their practice jerseys."
- 01:28
Okay… It’s a well-formed sentence and all, but it makes the reader work a bit harder.
- 01:32
We know that David and Eric are sitting on a floor, but we have no idea where.
- 01:36
In a classroom? [David and Eric sitting on the floor in a classroom]
- 01:37
In a stadium?
- 01:38
In a juvenile detention hall, perhaps?
- 01:40
Without that little introductory bit, the reader has no idea.
- 01:43
Which is fine if it’s a mystery novel, but just plain confusing in pretty much any other situation. [Girl reading a book]
- 01:48
And, yes, you can ask a comma for its autograph if you see it at the mall.
- 01:52
Just don’t accidentally confuse it for a semi-colon. It will brush you off in a hurry. [Girl asks comma for an autograph and comma rides off on a skateboard]
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