STUDY SMART TUTORS
POPPYCOCK! HOGWASH! BALDERDASH! 96
κόμμα Ironically, the comma was originally used as a pause. It was introduced by the Greek grammarian Aristophanes of Byzantium as part of a system of pauses of varying lengths during the oral recitation of written texts. The κόμμα was the shortest pause.
A COMMA IS NOT A PAUSE!
“Are you sure ? [1-second, 2-seconds, 3-seconds, 4-seconds] My teacher , [1-second, 2-seconds] Mrs. Krabappel , [1-second, 2-seconds] told me to think of them as pauses.”
While it’s convenient—and sometimes helpful—to think of commas or periods as pauses, you don’t necessarily have to pause. A comma signals a break—a grammatical break, not always a speaking break. Phonetically, pausing at commas and periods can definitely aid in speech, but it’s not required (though you might run out of breath if you don’t).
A comma is used to separate elements within a sentence (pausing is optional), clarifying meaning and preventing ambiguity 97 . Note: A comma is used to separate elements within a sentence, not separate sentences themselves. Never use a comma alone between two sentences.
Asyndeton A stylistic device in which conjunctions are omitted to create a dramatic effect. For example, after Julius Caesar took the SAT, he said, “I came, I saw, I conquered.”
PROPER BOUNDARIES BETWEEN SENTENCES
I love cruciferous vegetables they are a good source of indole-3-carbinol.
Is this one sentence or more than one? It looks like two sentences improperly fused together into one.
I love cruciferous vegetables they are a good source of indole-3-carbinol.
There are quite a few punctuation marks that could fix this fused sentence. For the SAT, you should be familiar with all of them.
PERIOD I love cruciferous vegetables . They are a good source of indole-3-carbinol.
•
SEMICOLON 98 I love cruciferous vegetables ; they are a good source of indole-3-carbinol.
•
For now, think of the semicolon as functioning similarly to a period. Therefore, if a period works, so will a semicolon.
The SAT stinks . It is stinky. ✓ The SAT stinks ; it is stinky. ✓
96 Dumb-Dumb-Dumb 97 Uncertainty of meaning or intention 98 Starting in 2013, the semicolon has come to represent hope, empathy, and support for anyone facing mental health challenges. See Project Semicolon for more information.
94
© Study Smart Tutors
Made with FlippingBook - PDF hosting