Which of the following sentences correctly use commas after prepositional phrases?
A.The birds were singing, in the forest.
B. During the week I get coffee most days.
C. Until next year, the election will be all over the news.
D. As predators, cats are very deadly; some successfully catch up to 75% of the prey they pursue every night.
The correct answer and explanation is :
The correct answer is C. “Until next year, the election will be all over the news.”
Explanation:
Commas are used in sentences to separate introductory elements from the main part of the sentence. A prepositional phrase is a group of words that starts with a preposition (such as “in,” “on,” “under,” “until,” “during,” etc.) and is followed by a noun or pronoun that acts as the object of the preposition. In many cases, a comma is used to set off introductory phrases, especially if the phrase is long or might confuse the reader without it.
Let’s analyze each sentence in detail:
A. “The birds were singing, in the forest.”
This sentence is incorrect because the prepositional phrase “in the forest” is not introductory or long enough to require a comma. The sentence flows naturally without a comma between the subject and the prepositional phrase. The correct version should be:
- “The birds were singing in the forest.”
B. “During the week I get coffee most days.”
This sentence is also incorrect because the prepositional phrase “During the week” is relatively short and doesn’t need a comma. Generally, a comma after an introductory prepositional phrase is used when the phrase is more than four words long. Since this one is short, no comma is required:
- “During the week I get coffee most days.”
C. “Until next year, the election will be all over the news.”
This sentence is correct. The introductory prepositional phrase “Until next year” is longer than four words, and it makes sense to separate it with a comma to improve clarity. The comma helps the reader pause before continuing with the main clause:
- “Until next year, the election will be all over the news.”
D. “As predators, cats are very deadly; some successfully catch up to 75% of the prey they pursue every night.”
While this sentence is grammatically correct, the comma after “As predators” is necessary, but the semicolon used here is not ideal. It should be replaced with a comma:
- “As predators, cats are very deadly, some successfully catch up to 75% of the prey they pursue every night.”
In summary, option C is the only sentence that uses commas correctly after a prepositional phrase.