It is not always desirable to leave a chord ringing once it has been played. Playing some of the chords staccato can make the rhythm sound much tighter and give a feeling of movement and life to a chord progression. With chords containing open strings, staccato is usually achieved by placing the side of the right hand across all the strings immediately after strumming the chord. Practice this on one chord until you have control of the technique and then try the following example.
This example uses nearly all of the 7th chords you have learned. Notice the staccato rhythm pattern.
Rhythm Pattern