Question

Complete the sentences with words that are punctuated and spelled correctly.

Once he arrived at the
Jonathan sat on a boulder and watched his dog, Hoolihan, outrun the spilling waves and then chase them back to sea in an endless cycle of fun. He closed his eyes, listening to the crashing waves, an oddly comforting sound he had loved ever since he was a child. Soon another sound reached his ears, like an unexpected voice in a
the faint but unmistakable bleating of sheep. He knew the sheep couldn’t be heard this far from the farm. For a moment, he wondered if he were daydreaming or falling asleep. When he opened his eyes, Hoolihan was furiously barking behind him, causing Jonathan to turn around abruptly. To his horror, he saw dozens of sheep trying to hold their ground as they
closer and closer to the edge of the cliff.

Answer 1

Correct comma usage involves placing them before coordinating conjunctions joining independent clauses, after introductory clauses or phrases, and in a series. Some commas are to be omitted if they precede the conjunction in a compound predicate or if they separate a dependent clause from the rest of the sentence.

Correctly punctuating sentences is crucial in ensuring the clarity of the writing. Here, we'll apply proper comma usage to the provided sentences.

I finally found my keys, and I got to work just in time.

Mrs. Contreras threw out her old coffee table, and cleaned the carpet.

Taking the elevator to the roof, we hoped we could see the skyline, and the bay.

Though Susan wasn't feeling well, she went to the store anyway and bought ice cream, pizza, and candy.

Omit the comma: I let my neighbor borrow my phone because she said hers was tapped by the police.

In sentence 1, the comma before 'and' is necessary because it connects two independent clauses. In sentence 2, the comma after 'table' is removed because it is not needed before 'and' when it joins a compound predicate. Sentence 3 requires a comma after 'roof' as it is an introductory clause and another after 'skyline' to separate items in a series.

Sentence 4 needs a comma after 'well' to separate the introductory clause and another after 'ice cream' as part of the series. Sentence 5 does not require a comma as it is a dependent clause providing a reason, not an independent clause.