Punctuation
Which of the following is correct?
A. My pin number has two 5's. It's easy to remember.
B. My pin number has two 5s. It's easy to remember.
B. My pin number has two 5s. It's easy to remember.
You do not need apostrophes after time periods, numbers, or symbols
For example: The 1900s, MP3s, *s (asterisks)
Complete the following sentence with the correct preposition (to, toward, on, onto, in, or into):
Anna has returned ____ her home town.
Anna has returned to her home town.
Choose the sentence with the correct verb tense consistency:
A. If the club limited its membership, it will have to raise its dues.
B. If the club limited its membership, it would have to raise its dues.
C. If the club limits its membership, it would have to raise its dues.
B. If the club limited its membership, it would have to raise its dues.
Which of the following is correct?
A. I enjoy going out to a movie as much as I like to rent a movie and stay home to watch it.
B. I enjoy going out to a movie as much as I enjoy renting a movie and staying home to watch it.
B. I enjoy going out to a movie as much as I enjoy renting a movie and staying home to watch it.
Parallelism: Conjoined items in a sentence must be in the same grammatical form, i.e. grammatically parallel.
Choose the correct combination of adjective and adverbs in the following sentence:
He (correct, correctly) defined the terms. The answer sounded (correctly, correct).
He correctly defined the terms. The answer sounded correct.
Choose the correct sequence of capitalized words to fill in the blanks:
The _____ was a period of great achievements. It followed the _____ _____ and lasted from the 14th _____ until 1600.
A. Renaissance, Middle Ages, Century
B. Renaissance, Middle Ages, century
C. Renaissance, middle ages, century
D. renaissance, middle ages, century
B. Renaissance, Middle Ages, century
Historical events and periods should be capitalized but not centuries:
Examples: the Civil War, the Age of Enlightenment, the eighteenth century.
Complete the following sentence with the correct preposition (to, toward, on, onto, in, or into):
Matthew and Michelle moved the table ______ the dining room.
Matthew and Michelle moved the table into the dining room.
Choose the sentence with the correct verb tense consistency:
A. After Capt. James Cook visited Alaska on his third voyage, he was killed by Hawaiian islanders in 1779.
B. After Capt. James Cook visited Alaska on his third voyage, he is killed by Hawaiian islanders in 1779.
C. After Cap. James Cook visits Alaska on his third voyage, he was killed by Hawaiian islanders in 1779.
A. After Capt. James Cook visited Alaska on his third voyage, he was killed by Hawaiian islanders in 1779.
Which of the following is correct?
A. Neither of the players in the last game was injured.
B. Neither of the players in the last game were injured.
A. Neither of the players in the last game was injured.
Pronoun Agreement: Pronouns must agree in number, gender, and person with their antecedents.
The pronoun neither is always singular and the verb needs to agree in number with it.
Choose the correct combination of adjective and adverbs in the following sentence:
She (quickly, quick) adjusted the fees. She adapted (quick, quickly) to any situation.
She quickly adjusted the fees. She adapted quickly to any situation.
Which of the listed punctuation issues applies to the following sentence?
Quantum mechanics is a branch of physics, it was initially developed to explain atoms.
A. This sentence has a comma splice.
B. This is a sentence fragment.
C. This is a run-on sentence.
A. This sentence has a comma splice.
When two complete sentences are joined by a comma, and there is no conjunction present, we get a comma splice.
Correct: Quantum mechanics is a branch of physics. It was initially developed to explain atoms.
Complete the following sentence with the correct preposition (to, toward, on, onto, in, or into):
The waitress noticed that there was no more Diet Coke ______ Michael's glass.
The waitress noticed that there was no more Diet Coke in Michael's glass.
Choose the sentence with the correct verb tense consistency:
A. Everyone hopes the plan would work.
B. Everyone hoped the plan will work.
C. Everyone hoped the plan would work.
C. Everyone hoped the plan would work.
Which of the following is correct?
A. Anne whose research on health effects of air pollution was well-known was invited to speak at a conference.
B. Anne, whose research on health effects of air pollution was well-known, was invited to speak at a conference.
C. Anne which research on health effects of air pollution was well-known was invited to speak at a conference.
B. Anne, whose research on health effects of air pollution was well-known, was invited to speak at a conference.
Non-defining relative clauses: provide non-essential or extra information about the noun and are separated from the noun by commas.
When the noun modified is a person and also an object of the clause, the pronoun who or whom is used (or whose to express that it is possessive)
Choose the correct combination of adjective and adverbs in the following sentence:
He measured the floor (exact, exactly). They proved to be (perfectly, perfect) (exact, exactly) measurements.
He measured the floor exactly. They proved to be perfectly exact measurements.
Which of the listed punctuation issues applies to the following sentence?
Maria came home from work early she had been feeling ill all morning.
A. This sentence has a comma splice.
B. This is a run-on sentence.
C. This is a sentence fragment.
B. This is a run-on sentence.
A run-on sentence occurs when two independent clauses run together without proper punctuation or appropriate conjunctions.
Correct: Maria came home from work early; she had been feeling ill all morning.
or
Maria came home from work early. She had been feeling ill all morning.
Complete the following sentence with the correct preposition (to, toward, on, onto, in, or into):
I walk ______ the amusement park.
I walk toward the amusement park.
Choose the sentence with the correct verb tense consistency:
A. The boy insisted that he has paid for the candy bars.
B. The boy insists that he had paid for the candy bars.
C. The boy insisted that he had paid for the candy bars.
C. The boy insisted that he had paid for the candy bars.
Which of the following is preferred?
A. When I did my lab experiments, I tried to thoroughly document each of my measurements.
B. When I did my lab experiments, I tried to document thoroughly each of my measurements.
B. When I did my lab experiments, I tried to document thoroughly each of my measurements.
Split Infinitive: An infinitive is a verb preceded by the word to: (to write, to examine, to take, to cooperate). When an adverb appears between to and the verb itself, we get a split infinitive.
Choose the correct combination of adjective and adverbs in the following sentence:
Her voice sounds (beautifully, beautiful). She sang the song (exact, exactly) as it was written. We heard it (perfectly, perfect).
Her voice sounds beautiful. She sang the song exactly as it was written. We heard it perfectly.
Which of the listed punctuation issues applies to the following sentence?
Students dislike Mr. Jones. Because his classes can be tough.
A. This sentence has a comma splice.
B. This is a sentence fragment.
C. This is a run-on sentence.
B. This is a sentence fragment.
A sentence fragment is an incomplete sentence that is missing either its subject or its main verb.
Correct: Students dislike Mr. Jones because his classes can be tough.
Complete the following sentence with the correct preposition (to, toward, on, onto, in, or into):
Julia jumped ______ the stage and danced.
Julia jumped onto the stage and danced.
Choose the sentence with the correct verb tense consistency:
A. The doctor suggests bed rest for the patient, who was suffering from a bad cold.
B. The doctor suggested bed rest for the patient, who was suffering from a bad cold.
C. The doctor suggested bed rest for the patient, who suffers from a bad cold.
B. The doctor suggested bed rest for the patient, who was suffering from a bad cold.
Is this sentence correct?
The suspects were interviewed right after the crime was committed by the detectives.
A. This sentence is correct.
B. This sentence has a misplaced modifier.
C. This sentence needs a different form of the verb.
B. This sentence has a misplaced modifier.
Misplaced Modifier: Modifiers should be placed next to the words they modify, and any exception to the rule can produce ambiguity or even a complete lack of clarity.
Correct: The suspects were interviewed by the detectives right after the crime was committed.
Choose the correct combination of adjective and adverbs in the following sentence:
Andrea knows the material very (good, well). She always treats us (good, well).
Andrea knows the material very well. She always treats us well.