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Comma Confusion Trivia Quiz

If commas trip you up as often they do me, take this quiz. If you have them down pat, the rest of us will forgive your high score...maybe, if you don't rub it in. (Quiz is according to American usage.)

A multiple-choice quiz by uglybird. Estimated time: 5 mins.

Author
uglybird

Time
5 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
173,004

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Average

Avg Score
7 / 10

Plays
4553

Awards
Top 20% Quiz

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. Reading a passage out loud enables some writers to sense a pause and properly place commas but other writers simply have to learn the rules. After which word(s) in the preceding sentence should commas be placed? (The University of Delaware Writing Center website is the source of comma rules used in this quiz.) Hint

A comma belongs only after the word "commas".

A comma belongs only after the word "pause".

A comma belongs after the words "commas" and "pause".

No commas are required.

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Question 2 of 10

2. I am trying to escape a frustrating, recurring, and inevitable cycle. I write a quiz submit it to an editor and correct it. After which words should a comma or commas be inserted in the preceding sentence? Hint

No commas are required.

A comma belongs after the words"quiz", "editor" and "correct".

A comma belongs after the words "quiz" and "editor".

A comma belongs only after the word "editor".

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Question 3 of 10

3. Unfortunately, some perverse little comma rules have exceptions. Why does the preceding sentence not read "perverse, little, comma, rules"? Hint

Groan! Sigh! Some grammatical usage is simply inscrutable.

Words in a series do not require commas between them if they "go together".

Adjectives in series do not require commas.

Actually, commas are required in that sentence.

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Question 4 of 10

4. Loving punctuation as I do, I find that creating a quiz such as this is pure pleasure. The opening is not an independent clause, so should the comma be removed?

Yes

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Question 5 of 10

5. When I speak slowly dear reader my wife sometimes completes my sentences for me. In fact, she completed the previous sentence. Where should one place the commas that my wife left out? Hint

A comma belongs only before the phrase "dear reader".

A comma belongs before and after the phrase "dear reader".

A Comma belongs only after the phrase "dear reader".

No commas are needed.

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Question 6 of 10

6. Anything, I should think, that interrupts the flow of a sentence, however minor, should, therefore, have commas around it. Were all the commas in that preceding sentence completely, totally, and absolutely necessary?

Yes

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Question 7 of 10

7. I think a person who "hears" grammar is fortunate indeed. The person lacking this auditory gestalt, I think, operates at a disadvantage. How come one "I think" merits commas while the other "I think" does not? Hint

Certain expressions do not impede the flow if placed at the beginning of a sentence, but the same expression would do so if placed at the end.

The instance of "I think" in the first sentence should have a comma after it.

Certain experts that have a powerful influence on grammatical usage wish to make the rules as complicated as possible.

The instance of "I think" in the second sentence needs no comma.

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Question 8 of 10

8. The comma, which many feel has an aesthetically pleasing shape, is also used to enclose information not essential to the main idea of the sentence. Were the commas in the preceding sentence necessary?

Yes

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Question 9 of 10

9. The University of Delaware Writing Center has a final rule for comma usage. "Use commas," they advise "to set off expressions such as 'he said', 'she asked', and 'they shouted' from direct quotations." Where is the comma missing in the preceding sentence? Hint

A comma belongs after the word "advise".

Actually, the comma can be removed from after the word "commas".

A comma belongs after the word "shouted".

The sentence is just fine as it is, thank you very much.

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Question 10 of 10

10. I ask you gentle reader, if I construct a convoluted, misbegotten, wordy sentence that is loaded with a truly, stupefying number of seemingly useless, redundant, and annoying commas, then will Word 2003 grammar checker, created by Microsoft, find at least one extraneous, unnecessary, or superfluous comma?

Yes

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Most Recent Scores

Jan 04 2025 : Upstart3: 6/10
Jan 04 2025 : DeepHistory: 10/10

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

Answer: A comma belongs only after the word "commas".

A comma should be placed before conjunctions that connect two independent clauses. "And properly place commas" is not an independent clause.

Answer: A comma belongs after the words "quiz" and "editor".

Commas should be placed between items in a series. Note that there is no comma after "inevitable" in the phrase "a frustrating, recurring, inevitable cycle." Commas are required only between the items, not after the last item. Note that the comma before the conjunction is typically omitted in British usage and may be omitted according to some American authorities.

3. Unfortunately, some perverse little comma rules have exceptions. Why does the preceding sentence not read "perverse, little, comma, rules"?

Answer: Words in a series do not require commas between them if they "go together".

The University of Delaware's suggestion for knowing whether items go together is to place the word "and" between them and then see if the phrase is "natural." The mangy black haired dog sat on the chair. The mangy and black and haired dog sat on the chair. Nope, no commas needed there.

4. Loving punctuation as I do, I find that creating a quiz such as this is pure pleasure. The opening is not an independent clause, so should the comma be removed?

Answer: No

A dependent clause used as an introductory expression for a sentence will generally require a comma after it. According to the University of Delaware, even if an introductory expression is just a word or a collection of words, an expression that does not flow smoothly into a sentence should be followed by a comma.

5. When I speak slowly dear reader my wife sometimes completes my sentences for me. In fact, she completed the previous sentence. Where should one place the commas that my wife left out?

Answer: A comma belongs before and after the phrase "dear reader".

My will to be serious is starting to crack. I hate punctuation. Why do we need it anyway? Why we should be tools of the egomaniacal, military-grammatical-complex imperialist lackey...? Wait. I'm taking deep breaths. I'm calming down. I'm Ok now. Commas, dear reader, must be placed around the name of a person to whom the writer is speaking.

Answer: Yes

This rule that anything, no matter how small, that interrupts a sentence, therefore, needs a comma is, if you ask me, a license for inordinate, specious, and even spurious comma introduction! But I guess it's better than having to leave out the interrupters.

Answer: Certain expressions do not impede the flow if placed at the beginning of a sentence, but the same expression would do so if placed at the end.

Expressions like "I think" and "I am sure" generally work well without commas when placed at the beginning of sentences. "I think" could be taken as the primary subject and verb of the first sentence, and then a comma would not be needed on that basis.

When they are placed at the beginning of sentences, words like "moreover" and "therefore" generally require commas. Take note that subordinate clauses like "when placed at the beginning of sentences" require commas if starting the sentence but not if ending one. Sigh...

Answer: Yes

An expression containing information not essential to the main idea of a sentence, no matter how amusing or enlightening that information may be, is to be placed, in lonely isolation, between two harsh and unfeeling commas. Should a rule that seems so heartless be obeyed? Woe, I fear that it must be so. How else are we to avoid wasting not only our own time, but our editor's time?

Answer: A comma belongs after the word "advise".

The seven rules for comma usage can be found at: "www.english.udel.edu/wc/handouts/rules_for_commas.html#2". I just may be returning there myself from time to time.

Answer: No

My grammar checker was happy with the above sentence. It didn't mind the extra comma after the word "truly" a bit. The one missing between "you" and "gentle" didn't bother my grammar checker at all. My grammar checker will neither weed out the unnecessary comma nor add a comma I omit. I must either master this nasty business or continue to burden the overworked Funtrivia editors with the task.

Source: Author uglybird

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor fringe before going online.
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