Study for unit 5 vocab quiz.
I offered extra credit to sections 3, 6, and HB if they make flash cards (and use them!).
Over the last three days we have been studying vocab and punctuation, specifically commas. Here are the notes we discussed in class:
Lesson 2: Commas in sentences
Copy this sentence
Commas are used to make the meanings of sentences clear by separating certain elements of the sentence.
Commas in compound sentence
Use a comma before a conjunction that joins independent clauses in compound sentences.
The ancient Egyptians’ written language was called hieroglyphics, and it was not decoded for many centuries.
In ancient times, scribes could read and write hieroglyphics, but most other Egyptians could not.
Scribes passed rigorous examinations, or they were rejected as scribes.
Compound verb
Scribes could read and write hieroglyphics.
Adding commas between adjectives
Hieroglyphics used colorful, decorative symbols.
These symbols were often painted with brilliant gold paint.
Commas with Appositives
Use commas when the appositive adds extra information; do not use commas when the appositve is needed to make the meaning clear.
Jean Champollion, a French scholar, deciphered the Rosetta stone.
The French scholar Jean Champollion deciphered the Rosetta stone.
Commas to avoid confusion
Notice how, without the visual clues, you just want to burn through the sentence.
Unclear
Before hieroglyphics records were not kept on stone or paper.
After we studied hieroglyphics were less mysterious.
Exercise page 255
(Insert 10 commas.)
Think of this readers when you have your next haircut. A Persian king had to get a message to his military leader a Persian general. The king shaved a man’s head tattooed a message on his bare scalp and told the man to let the hair grow back. The man then traveled to find the general but no one knew he carried the message. When he reached the general however he delivered the message. Yes as you guessed it he had to shave his head again.
