Possessive punctuation
Which sentence correctly shows that the dog belongs to one girl?
A. The girls dog is brown.
B. The girl’s dog is brown.
C. The girls’ dog is brown.
B. The girl’s dog is brown.
Identify the appositive in this sentence:
“My brother, James, is a doctor.”
James.
Which sentence correctly uses a comma after an introductory word?
A. However I decided to stay home.
B. However, I decided to stay home.
C. However I, decided to stay home.
B. However, I decided to stay home.
Which sentence correctly uses commas in a series?
A. I bought apples oranges and bananas.
B. I bought apples, oranges, and bananas.
C. I bought, apples oranges, and bananas.
B. I bought apples, oranges, and bananas.
Which punctuation mark is used to introduce a list after a complete sentence?
A. Semicolon (;)
B. Colon (:)
C. Apostrophe (’)
B. Colon (:)
Which sentence correctly shows that several students own the same project?
A. The student’s project is complete.
B. The students project is complete.
C. The students’ project is complete.
C. The students’ project is complete.
Why?
Which sentence correctly uses commas around the nonessential appositive?
A. My teacher Mrs. Brown is very helpful.
B. My teacher, Mrs. Brown, is very helpful.
C. My, teacher Mrs. Brown, is very helpful.
B. My teacher, Mrs. Brown, is very helpful.
Which sentence correctly punctuates the introductory phrase?
A. After school we went to the library.
B. After, school we went to the library.
C. After school, we went to the library.
C. After school, we went to the library.
Which sentence correctly punctuates the list of adjectives?
A. She wore a beautiful, long, red dress.
B. She wore a beautiful long red, dress.
C. She wore, a beautiful long red dress.
Answer: A. She wore a beautiful, long, red dress.
Which sentence correctly uses a semicolon?
A. I have a big exam tomorrow; I need to study tonight.
B. I have a big exam; tomorrow I need to study tonight.
C. I have; a big exam tomorrow, I need to study tonight.
A. I have a big exam tomorrow; I need to study tonight.
Choose the sentence that correctly shows that a toy belongs to multiple children.
A. The childrens’ toy was broken.
B. The children’s toy was broken.
C. The childrens toy was broken.
B. The children’s toy was broken.
Identify the appositive phrase in this sentence:
“New York City, the largest city in New York State, attracts millions of visitors.”
The largest city in New York State.
Where should the comma be placed in this sentence?
“Before you submit your assignment check your answers carefully.”
After “assignment.”
Correct sentence: “Before you submit your assignment, check your answers carefully.”
Which sentence correctly uses commas to separate items in a series?
A. The conference included doctors, nurses and medical assistants.
B. The conference included doctors nurses, and medical assistants.
C. The conference included doctors, nurses, and medical assistants.
C. The conference included doctors, nurses, and medical assistants.
Which sentence correctly uses a colon to introduce a list?
A. I need to buy: milk, eggs, and bread.
B. I need three items: milk, eggs, and bread.
C. I need: milk, eggs, and bread.
Answer: B. I need three items: milk, eggs, and bread.
Which sentence correctly shows that two different people own two different cars?
A. James car and Maria car are parked outside.
B. James’s car and Maria’s car are parked outside.
C. James’ car and Marias’ car are parked outside.
B. James’s car and Maria’s car are parked outside.
Which sentence correctly punctuates the appositive?
A. Maya Angelou, a celebrated poet and author wrote several influential books.
B. Maya Angelou a celebrated poet and author, wrote several influential books.
C. Maya Angelou, a celebrated poet and author, wrote several influential books.
C. Maya Angelou, a celebrated poet and author, wrote several influential books.
Which sentence correctly punctuates the introductory participial phrase?
A. Exhausted from the long journey, the travelers went straight to bed.
B. Exhausted, from the long journey the travelers went straight to bed.
C. Exhausted from the long journey the travelers, went straight to bed.
A. Exhausted from the long journey, the travelers went straight to bed.
Which sentence correctly punctuates a series containing phrases?
A. She enjoys reading novels, traveling to new places, and learning foreign languages.
B. She enjoys reading novels traveling to new places, and learning foreign languages.
C. She enjoys, reading novels, traveling to new places and learning foreign languages.
A. She enjoys reading novels, traveling to new places, and learning foreign languages.
Which sentence correctly uses a semicolon to connect two independent clauses?
A. The meeting ended early; everyone went home.
B. The meeting; ended early everyone went home.
C. The meeting ended; early, everyone went home.
Answer: A. The meeting ended early; everyone went home.
Explanation: Both sides of the semicolon can stand alone as complete sentences.
Which sentence correctly shows that the office is shared by two business partners, Smith and Jones?
A. Smith and Jones’s office is on the second floor.
B. Smith’s and Jones’s office is on the second floor.
C. Smiths’ and Jones office is on the second floor.
A. Smith and Jones’s office is on the second floor.
Explanation: When two people share ownership, the apostrophe usually goes with the second name. When they own separate things, each name takes its own possessive form.
In the sentence below, should the appositive be set off by commas?
“My friend Jordan is moving to California.”
Assume the speaker has more than one friend and is identifying which friend is moving.
A. Yes, because the appositive provides extra information.
B. No, because “Jordan” identifies which friend is moving.
C. Yes, because every appositive must be surrounded by commas.
B. No, because “Jordan” identifies which friend is moving, so the information is essential to the sentence.
Which sentence correctly uses a comma after an introductory dependent clause?
A. Although the weather was cold we decided to go hiking.
B. Although, the weather was cold we decided to go hiking.
C. Although the weather was cold, we decided to go hiking.
C. Although the weather was cold, we decided to go hiking.
Which sentence correctly uses commas to separate items when one item contains the names of two people?
A. The invited guests were James, the manager, Sarah, the director, and Michael, the assistant.
B. The invited guests were James the manager, Sarah the director and Michael the assistant.
C. The invited guests were, James the manager, Sarah the director, and Michael the assistant.
A. The invited guests were James, the manager, Sarah, the director, and Michael, the assistant.
Explanation: The commas separate the names and their identifying titles. However, this sentence can be ambiguous without additional context. A clearer version would be: “The invited guests were James (the manager), Sarah (the director), and Michael (the assistant).
Which sentence correctly uses semicolons to separate items in a complex list?
A. The conference included speakers from Paris, France; Rome, Italy; and Madrid, Spain.
B. The conference included speakers from Paris; France, Rome; Italy, and Madrid; Spain.
C. The conference included speakers; from Paris, France, Rome, Italy, and Madrid, Spain.
Answer: A. The conference included speakers from Paris, France; Rome, Italy; and Madrid, Spain.
Explanation: Semicolons separate the list items because each item already contains a comma.