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Afraid of Math? Take a Number
Punctual Grammar Slammer
Wrong Word
Potpourri
Hyphenate That!
100
Our Facebook page views increased by _____. A. Two percent B. 2 percent C. 2%
What is B. 2 percent? Use figures for percent and percentages: 1 percent, 2.5 percent, 10 percent, etc. For a range, 12 to 15 percent, or between 12 and 15 percent.
100
Bacon and eggs ______ his favorite breakfast. A. is B. are
What is A. is? "Bacon and eggs" is a single things here.
100
The new UEP/HSUS agreement will _________ thousands of farmers. A. affect B. effect
What is A. affect? To affect is to have an effect on. Effect is usually the noun. But Effect as a verb means "to bring about in an effective manner." (Managers like this word; they "effect" changes.) "Affect" is also psychological jargon for "emotion." ("The patient displayed no affect.")
100
Jenny said the meeting time was _______ with her. A. Okay B. O.K. C. OK
What is C. OK? Use OK, OK'd, OK'ing, OKs. Do not use okay.
100
The CFI research is ______. A. cutting edge B. cutting-edge
What is B. cutting-edge? It's a two-word predicate adjective after a "to be" verb, so it needs that hyphen.
200
Cliff learned to ride his bike when he was _____. A. 3 years old B. Three years old C. Three-years-old
What is A. 3 years old? Always use figures for ages. Use hyphens for ages expressed as adjectives before a noun or as substitutes for a noun. Examples: A 5-year-old boy, but the boy is 5 years old.
200
Randa nominates __________ to lead the sing along. A. Roxi, Mark, and Abby B. Roxi, Mark and Abby
What is B. Roxi, Mark and Abby In AP style, do not use a comma before the conjunction (e.g., "and") in a simple series.
200
Edit your work carefully to __________ accuracy. A. ensure B. insure
What is A. ensure? ENSURE is to guarantee: A good writer takes every possible measure to ensure accuracy. INSURE is used in references to insurance.
200
____________ Charlie Arnot demonstrated how to do Tae bo to the staff. Hinda Mitchell, ___________, chuckled loudly in the corner. A. President and CEO; Vice President B. President and CEO; vice-president C. President and CEO; vice president
What is C. President and CEO; vice president? Lowercase and spell out titles in constructions that set them off from a name by commas. Titles should also be lowercased when they are not used with an individual's name: The president issued a statement. Capitalize formal titles when they are used immediately before one or more names: President Barack Obama. Other titles serve primarily as occupational descriptions: astronaut John Glenn, peanut farmer Jimmy Carter.
200
Remember to send the _________ about the ______ before you leave! A. email; ecard B. e-mail; e-card C. email; e-card D. e-mail; ecard
What is C. email; e-card? Email should be written as one word. Other "e" terms, such as e-book, e-commerce, etc., retain the hyphen.
300
Jim donated ________ to the Humane Society of the United States this year. A. six thousand B. $6 thousand C. $6,000
What is C. $6,000? Always lowercase. Use figures and the $ sign in all except casual references or amounts without a figure: The book cost $4. Dad, please give me a dollar.
300
I had ______________ for breakfast. A. orange juice, toast, and ham and eggs B. orange juice, toast and ham and eggs
What is A. orange juice, toast, and ham and eggs? Put a comma before the concluding conjunction in a series. Also, use a comma before the concluding conjunction in a complex series of phrases.
300
A ________ tomatoes splatted onto the stage. A. Couple B. Couple of
What is B. Couple of? Couple of. Like pair of, group of, selection of, etc. However, "of" is not necessary in "off of"; He fell off the bed.
300
He was traveling from ____________ to _____________ en route to his home in _____________. A. Nashville, Tenn.,; Austin, Texas,; Albuquerque, N.M. B. Nashville, Tenn.; Austin, Texas; Albuquerque, N.M. C. Nashville, Tennessee; Austin, Texas; Albuquerque, New Mexico
What is A. Nashville, Tenn.,; Austin, Texas,; Albuquerque, N.M.? Punctuation: Place one comma between the city and the state name, unless ending a sentence or indicating a dateline. State abbreviations are required in conjunction with the name of a city, town, village or military base. The names of eight states are never abbreviated: Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Ohio, Texas and Utah. Consult the AP Stylebook for more specific guidelines on state names.
300
Make sure to check out the ___________ on the CMA _______ for news updates. A. homepage; website B. home page; Web site C. homepage; Web site D. home page; website
What is D. home page; website. Home page is always two words. Website should be one word and lower cased. Also, webcam, webcast and webmaster, Web page, the Web.
400
My nephew celebrated his ______ birthday on _________. A. fifth; August 5, 2011 B. 5th; August 5, 2011 C. fifth; Aug. 5, 2011
What is C. fifth; Aug. 5, 2011? Capitalize the names of months in all uses. When a month is used with a specific date, abbreviate only Jan., Feb., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov. and Dec. Spell out when using alone, or with a year alone. Spell out first through ninth when they indicate sequence in time or location. Starting with 10th use figures.
400
_________ the corporal cried. A. "Halt!", B. "Halt!"
What is B. "Halt!"? Place the mark inside quotation marks when it is part of the quoted material. Do not use a comma or period after the exclamation mark or a period after the exclamation mark. Avoid overuse.
400
They went to the game, _________ they had been given the tickets. A. because B. since
What is B. since? Use because to denote a specific cause-effect relationship. Since is acceptable in a casual sense when the first event in a sequence led logically to the second but was not its direct cause.
400
Diane's favorite season is _______ because of the Circleville Pumpkin Show! A. Fall B. fall
What is B. fall? Lowercase spring, summer, fall, winter and derivatives such as springtime unless part of a formal name.
400
The _________ campaign is _________. A. fundraising; ongoing B. fund-raising; on-going C. fundraising; on-going D. fund-raising; ongoing
What is A. fundraising; ongoing. Fundraising and fundraiser should be one word in all cases. Ongoing should be written as one word.
500
The Ohio office is located at _______. A. 2740 Airport Drive B. 2740 Airport Dr.
What is B. 2740 Airport Dr.? Use the abbreviation Ave., Blvd. and St. only with a numbered address. Spell them out and capitalize when part of a format street name without a number. All similar words (alley, drive, road, terrace, etc.) always are spelled out. See the AP Stylebook for more specific information.
500
So long, suckers. I have _________ vacation. A. two weeks B. two weeks' C. two-weeks
What is B. two weeks'? For plural nouns ending in "s", add only an apostrophe.
500
The team ___________ is in first place. A. , which finished last a year ago, B. that finished last a year ago
What is A. , which finished last a year ago,? Use THAT for essential clauses, important to the meaning of a sentence, without commas. Use WHICH for nonessential clauses, where the pronoun is less necessary, and use commas. Tip: If you can drop the clause and not lose the meaning of the sentence, use WHICH; otherwise, use THAT.
500
I have lived in ________ Ohio all my life. Allyson has a ________ accent. A. central; southern B. Central; Southern C. central; Southern D. Central; southern
What is C. central; Southern? The preferred form is to lowercase directional or area descriptions when referring to a section of a state or city. In general, lowercase north, south, northeast, northern, etc., when they indicate compass direction; capitalize these words when they designate regions.
500
He received a _________ sentence in prison. A. 10-20 year B. 10 to 20 year C. 10- to 20-year D. 10 to 20-year
What is C. 10- to 20-year? Use a hyphen to separate figures in odds, ratios, scores, some fractions and some vote tabulations.