Final answer:
The correct use of homophones, identification between 'affect' and 'effect', and the right choice between 'its' and 'it's' are essential in English. Furthermore, proper punctuation usage, particularly commas, can greatly affect sentence clarity.
Step-by-step explanation:
Understanding the correct use of words and punctuation in English can be challenging, but with practice, it becomes easier. Here's some assistance with the sample sentences provided:
- Homophones: Words like 'hear/here' and 'to/too/two' sound the same but have different meanings and usages. In the sentences given, we're typically looking to use 'hear' for auditory experiences, 'here' for location, 'to' as a preposition or part of the infinitive form of a verb, 'too' meaning also, and 'two' as the number.
- Affect vs. Effect: 'Affect' is usually a verb meaning to influence, while 'effect' is a noun referring to a result or outcome.
- Its vs. It's: 'It's' is a contraction for 'it is' or 'it has', whereas 'its' is a possessive pronoun.
- Punctuation: Commas are important to clarify the meaning of sentences. For instance, they should be placed to separate independent clauses when they are joined by a coordinating conjunction.
- Infinitive Phrases: When an infinitive phrase acts as an adverb or adjective, it may require a comma, especially when positioned at the beginning of a sentence.
- Prepositional Phrases: These phrases function as adverbs or adjectives, providing context such as time, location, or manner.
By careful examination of the context and rules, you can confidently fill in the blanks and insert or remove commas as needed in the sentences provided. Always remember to consider word meanings and functions, as well as the sentence structure.