SAT Grammar / Punctuation

Essential and Non-Essential Elements

Part of the full libraryOpens January 2, 2027 · $97 for a year
What’s included
semicolonThe mark ; that joins two complete sentences about closely related ideas. It works like a period that keeps them in one sentence.

You’ll leave with these skills

  1. Tell whether a description needs commas around itCover the description and reread, and if the sentence still points to the same person or thing, put a comma at each end of the description.
  2. Spot the extra comma before “that”When “that” starts a description of the noun before it, put no comma between the noun and “that.”
  3. Tell whether a name after a job title needs commasPut no commas around a name that comes just after a job title like “ecologist” with no “the” or “a” in front.
  4. Mark both ends of a phrase that interrupts the sentenceFind where the interrupting phrase starts and ends, check that the sentence still reads correctly with the phrase covered, and put a comma at each end.

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