Comma Drama

1. He looked through the door, but he did not see anyone inside the church.

2. "We could wait to see if anyone else came or we could go back home," she said.

3. Reed, a graduate of Washington State University, was elected Secretary of State in 2000.

4. The organization paid the speaker $1,000, but its officers were unable to attend the event.

5. According to Washington state law, bars will become smoke-free on Feb.15.

6. He saw Karen and they had coffee.

7. The bales are then sold to a processing center in Tacoma, Wash., which ships them to Moscow, Idaho.

8. It was raining. We stayed home.

9. Later, he phoned again.

10. This will end up having an effect on consumers, she said.

11. He introduced the speaker to Floyd, Moos and Wulff.

Appositions, hyperbatons and non-restrictive relative clauses: We don't need to remember the names of these grammar tools. But let's look at how they can help us form shorter descriptive phrases. In other words, squish these two sentences into one.

1. Sam Reed, who is a graduate of Washington State University, spoke at the Honors College on Wednesday, Sept. 22.
2. The concert, part of WSU's Homecoming weekend, will be held on Friday night.
3. Frusterated by cuts to higher education, President Elson S. Floyd promised he would lobby legislators in Olympia.