English Grammar & Punctuation Procedural 9–11 yrs

Commas Before Joining Words

连接词前的逗号

Description

Use a comma before a coordinating conjunction (and, but, or, so, yet) when joining two independent clauses in a compound sentence

Mastery Evidence

✓ Place a comma before the coordinating conjunction in a compound sentence, e.g. 'I wanted to go outside, but it was raining'
✓ Distinguish compound sentences (two independent clauses) from simple sentences with compound predicates, e.g. 'She sang and danced' needs no comma but 'She sang a song, and he played the piano' does
✓ Edit writing to insert missing commas before coordinating conjunctions in compound sentences

Assessment Prompt

When your child joins two complete thoughts with a word like "but" or "so" — like "I wanted to go, but it was raining" — do they put a comma before that joining word?