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What would make the underlined portion grammatically correct?
To begin I should explain how it is that I am a sports-lover but lazy. I have tried as many sports as have been possible in my life and I have enjoyed all of them. I had competed in national gymnastics which is probably the most holistically challenging for ten years. This sport took precedence in all of middle and high school for me.
Extra information must be separated from the sentence by commas, dashes, or parenthesis. The same punctuation must be used to open the extra information as is used to close it.
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When I retired I took up sprinting. I ran for my university track team a D3 team so don’t get too excited—and performed as a top athlete in our conference. I fell in love with running so much that I even signed up to run cross country in the fall. Endurance is not my thing and that is part of why I am lazy. I played soccer one season because the team needed an extra body. I was an awful terrible soccer player but it was so much fun!
What would make the underlined portion grammatically correct?
Dashes are used to set apart extra information that is not vital to the sentence, meaning the sentence has a subject and a verb of its own without the portion dashed off; however, if the extra information is located in the middle of the sentence, it must be surrounded by a dash on both sides.
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The French philosopher Rene Descartes once went out to dinner at a French restaurant because (1) after all (2) where else would he go to eat? On that occasion (3) he ordered the escargot en beurre, the chicken liver paté, the gratineed scallops (4) and the blanquette de veau. Then he proceeded to order another portion of each dish. The waitress was appeased (5). She had never seen anyone order so much food in one sitting it (6) made her slightly ill to watch him eat it all. What made it worse he had no table manner at all since (7) philosophers tend to be thinking about life and death and (8) not about using a napkin. Finally (9) as he sipped the last of his burgundy (10) Descartes made a motion for the check. The waitress asked (11) "Would you care for any desert, monsieur?" At that point, Descartes replied, "I think not" (12) and promptly vanished.
Choose from the following four options the answer that best corrects the underlined mistake preceding the question number. If there is no mistake or the original text is the best option, choose "NO CHANGE."
The em-dash denotes a sudden addition to the sentence and is the only workable piece of punctuation here since what follows is not a complete sentence.
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Adapted from The Origin of Species by Charles Darwin (ed. 1896)
Look at a plant in the midst of it’s range. Why does it not double or quadruple its numbers? We know that it can perfectly well withstand a little more heat or cold, dampness or dryness, for elsewhere it ranges into slightly hotter or colder, damper or drier districts. In this case, we can clearly see that if we wish in imagination to give the plant the power of increasing in number, we should have to give it some advantage over its competitors, or over the animals of the wild that prey on it. On the confines of its geographical range, a change of constitution with respect to climate would clearly be an advantage to our plant; but we have reason to believe that only a few plants or animals range so far, that they are destroyed exclusively by the rigor of the climate. Not until we reach the extreme confines of life, in the Arctic regions or on the borders of an utter desert, will competition cease. The land may be extremely cold or dry, yet their will be competition between some few species, or between the individuals of the same species, for the warmest or dampest spots.
Hence we can see that when a plant or animal is placed in a new country amongst new competitors, the conditions of its life will generally be changed in an essential manner, although the climate may be exactly the same as in its former home. If it’s average numbers are to increase in its new home, we should have to modify it in a different way to what we should have had to do in its native country; for we should have to give it some advantage over a different set of competitors or enemies.
It is good thus to try in imagination to give to any one species an advantage over another. Probably in no single instance should we know what to do. This ought to convince us of our ignorance on the mutual relations of all organic beings; a conviction as necessary, as it is difficult to acquire. All that we can do is to keep steadily in mind that each organic being is striving to increase in a geometrical ratio; that each at some period of its life, during some season of the year, during each generation or at intervals, has to struggle for life and to suffer great destruction. When we reflect on this struggle, we may console ourselves with the full belief that the war of nature is not incessant, that no fear is felt, that death is generally prompt, and that the vigorous, the healthy, and the happy survive and multiply.
Consider the boldfaced and underlined selection in the first paragraph. Given that the commas are correctly placed, which of the following would be most closely equivalent?
Although the original use of commas is a bit awkward for contemporary English grammar, if we take them as being correctly placed, we can see that the author is trying to signal an "aside." That is, he is making an additional concession to his reader, as though saying, "between a few species—okay, or even between individuals—for." If we wish to retain the sense of this being an "aside" or extra concession, the best option among those provided is the one that uses dashes.
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Adapted from Sozein ta Phainomena: An Essay Concerning Physical Theory from Plato to Galileo by Pierre Duhem (translated by Matthew Minerd)
What are physical theories’ value? What relation does it have with metaphysical explication? These are questions that are greatly stirred and raised in our days. However, as with other questions, they are in no manner completely new. It is a question that has been posed in all ages. As long as there has been a science of nature, they have been posed. Granted, the form that they assume changes somewhat from one age to another, for they borrow their various appearance from the scientific vocabularies of their times. Nevertheless, one need only dismiss this outer vestment in order to recognize that they remain essentially identical to each other.
The science of nature offers us up until the 17th century at least, very few parties that managed to create theories expressed in a mathematical language. . . . If we leave aside several exceptions, an historical investigation places before our eyes strong evidence of a type science that would indeed be a prediction of modern mathematical physics. This science is astronomy. That is, where we would say, “Physical theory,” the Greek, Muslim, Medieval, and early Renaissance sages would say, “Astronomy.” However, for these earlier thinkers, the other parts of the study of nature did not attain a similar degree of perfection. That is, they did not express the laws of experience in a mathematical manner similar to that found in astronomy. In addition, during this time, the study of the material realities generally were not separated from what we would call today, “metaphysics.”
Thus, you can see why the question that concerns us takes two related, though different forms. Today, we ask, “What are the relations between metaphysics and physical theory?” However, in past days; indeed, for nearly two thousand years; it was formulated instead as, “What are the relations between physics and astronomy?”
Choose the answer that best corrects the underlined portion of the passage. If the underlined portion is correct as written, choose "NO CHANGE."
The phrase, "indeed, for nearly two thousand years" functions almost as a pure aside by the author. Since it significantly alters the flow of ideas, it is best to set it off by something more than mere commas. (This is particularly the case here, where there are already many commas involved.) You could do this either with long dashes or with parentheses.
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Adapted from The Sorrows of Young Werther by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1774; trans. Boylan 1854)
That the life of man is but a dream, many a man has surmised heretofore. I, too, am everywhere pursued by this feeling. When I consider the narrow limits within which our active and inquiring faculties are confined, I am silent. Likewise, when I see how all our energies are wasted in providing for mere necessities, which again has no further end than to prolong a wretched existence, I find myself to be silenced. Indeed, discovering that all our satisfaction concerning certain subjects of investigation ends in nothing better than a passive resignation, while we amuse ourselves painting our prison-walls with bright figures and brilliant landscapes—when I consider all this Wilhelm—I am silent. I examine my own being, and find there a world, but a world rather of imagination and dim desires, than of distinctness and living power. Then, everything swims before my senses, and I smile and dream while pursuing my way through the world.
All learned professors and doctors are agreed that children do not comprehend the cause of their desires; however, nobody is willing to acknowledge that the grown-ups should wander about this earth like children, without knowing whence they come or whither they go, influenced as little by fixed motives but, instead, guided like them by biscuits, sugar-plums, and the rod.
I know what you will say in reply. Indeed, I am ready to admit that they are happiest, who, like children, amuse themselves with their playthings, dress and undress their dolls. They are happiest, who attentively watch the cupboard, where mamma has locked up her sweet things, and, when at last they get a delicious morsel, eat it greedily, and exclaim, "More!" These are certainly happy beings; but others also are objects of envy, who dignify their paltry employments (and sometimes even their passions) with pompous titles, representing them to mankind as gigantic achievements performed for their welfare and glory. However, the man who humbly acknowledges the vanity of all this, who observes with what pleasure the thriving citizen converts his little garden into a paradise, and how patiently even the poor man pursues his weary way under his burden, and how all wish equally to behold the light of the sun a little longer—yes, such a man is at peace, and creates his own world within himself. Indeed, he is also happy precisely because he is a man. And then, however limited his sphere, he still preserves in his bosom the sweet feeling of liberty and knows that he can quit his prison whenever he likes.
Choose the answer that best corrects the bolded portion of the passage. If the bolded portion is correct as written, choose "NO CHANGE."
This is a long sentence, so let us break it down:
"Indeed, discovering . . . "
Discovering what? "that all our satisfaction concerning certain subjects of investigation ends in nothing better than a passive resignation"
To this is added the subordinate clause: "while we amuse ourselves painting our prison-walls with bright figures and brilliant landscapes"
Now, after this, the author comes to the main clause: "when I consider all this, Wilhelm, I am silent."
This could also be written: "I am silent, Wilhelm, when I consider all this."
Therefore, the best form of this phrase will set off the introductory portion with a long dash and set off "Wilhelm" with commas (because of direct address to a person).
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Adapted from The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
As they entered, they saw Dorian Gray who was seated at the piano his back to them, turning over the pages of a volume of Schumann's "Forest Scenes." "You must lend me these, Basil," he cried. "I want to learn them. They are perfectly charming." "That entirely depends on how you sit to-day, Dorian."
"Oh, I am tired of sitting, and I don't want a life-sized portrait of myself," answered the lad, swinging round on the music-stool in a willful, petulant manner. When he caught sight of Lord Henry, a faint blush colored his cheeks for a moment, and he started up. "I beg your pardon, Basil. I did’nt know you had any one with you."
"This is Lord Henry Wotton, Dorian, an old Oxford friend of mine. I have just been telling him what a capital sitter you were, and now you have spoiled everything."
"You have not spoiled my pleasure in meeting you, Mr. Gray," said Lord Henry, stepping forward and extended his hand. "My aunt has often spoken to me about you. You are one of her favorites, and, I am afraid, one of her victims also."
"I am in Lady Agatha's black books at present," answered Dorian with a funny look of penitence. "I promised to go to a club in Whitechapel with her last Tuesday, and I really forgot all about it. We were to have played a duet together: three duets, I believe. I don't know what she will say to me. I am far too frightened to call."
Choose the answer that best corrects the underlined portion of the passage. If the underlined portion is correct as written, choose "NO CHANGE."
Certainly, there needs to be some separation between "together" and "three." However, it is not correct to use a colon here. Colons are used before the enumeration of lists or directly stating some fact (e.g. "There is only one option: eat the peas!"). Among the options provided, only the hyphen provides an acceptable separation.
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In the afternoon, I went to the park to watch the pigeons there for a while. I sat on a bench for the better part of an hour. When I finally got up to head home, by then, it was already getting dark, I saw all of the pigeons take to the air in a great commotion.
Choose the answer that best corrects the underlined portion of the sentence. If the underlined portion is correct as written, choose "NO CHANGE."
In the underlined part of the sentence, the phrase “by then, it was already getting dark” gives extra descriptive information; however, we don't really need this extra information to understand the sentence as a whole. So, we can punctuate it as an aside, by enclosing it within dashes or parentheses. Asides have to begin and end with the same type of punctuation, so the only right answer is the one that surrounds “by then, it was already getting dark” with two dashes.
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Despite the car salesman's assurances that the used car had been inspected and showed no problems—my brother still had reservations about its safety.
Choose the answer that best corrects the underlined portion of the sentence. If the underlined portion is correct as written, choose "NO CHANGE."
Here, the first part of the sentence, “Despite the car salesman's assurances that the used car had been inspected and showed no problems,” is a dependent clause. It cannot stand by itself as a complete sentence. The second part of the sentence, “my brother still had reservations about its safety,” is an independent clause, or a clause that can be a complete sentence by itself. To connect these two types of clauses here, we only need a comma.
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As we grow older, we leave behind certain things that defined us in the past: clothes, friends, neighborhoods, ideas. And leaving behind these things allows us to grow and change.
Choose the answer that best corrects the underlined portion of the sentence. If the underlined portion is correct as written, choose "NO CHANGE."
Grammatically, the first sentence is fine as it is; however, the second sentence, as it is written, is a fragment. When we combine these two sentences together, we have to think about what is the most important information, and what is additional, unnecessary information. Here, you could cut out the phrase “clothes, friends, neighborhoods, ideas”, and instead write “we leave behind certain things that defined us in the past, and leaving behind these things allows us to grow and change.” We can think of the phrase we could cut out as an aside, and enclose it between two dashes. We have to introduce and close an aside using the same sort of punctuation, which is why some of the other answer choices don't work.
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One summer when I was little, my uncle took me to an ice cream shop. There were so many flavors of ice cream on the menu. Flavors that I had never even imagined, and it took me almost twenty minutes to decide what to get.
Choose the answer that best corrects the underlined portion of the sentence. If the underlined portion is correct as written, choose "NO CHANGE."
As it is written, the last sentence here is a fragment, so it needs to be corrected. We should connect the second and third sentences together. But how?
The phrase “Flavors that I had never imagined” continues the idea from the second sentence about how the shop had so many flavors of ice cream; however, “Flavors I had never imagined” provides extra information that isn't really necessary to understanding the sentence. We could cut that phrase out, and write, “There were so many flavors of ice cream on the menu, and it took me.” The best way to understand “Flavors I had never imagined” is to think of it as an aside, which should be enclosed in either parentheses or dashes.
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The shop offered strange, exotic-sounding flavors of ice cream, like “worms and dirt”, vanilla, gummy worms, and cookie crumbles, and “tortoiseshell”, chocolate ice cream blended with swirls of caramel and two kinds of dark chocolate.
Choose the answer that best corrects the underlined portion of the sentence. If the underlined portion is correct as written, choose "NO CHANGE."
This is a complex sentence, so to simplify it, we can think about which parts are most necessary and which parts are provide additional, less important information. The two flavors of ice cream that the narrator names are “worms and dirt” and “tortoiseshell.” This is important information. Following the names of the flavors are their descriptions. The descriptions are the less important, additional information, so they can be enclosed in parentheses. Using parentheses is the clearest way to rewrite this sentence, because it shows what exactly the names of the ice cream flavors are, and what the descriptions of the flavors are.
There needs to be a pause between the part of the sentence about “worms and dirt” and the part about “tortoiseshell,” which is why some of the other answers are not right.
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I wanted to bake an apple pie, but I didn't have some of the ingredients cinnamon, nutmeg, and butter, so I first had to make a trip to the nearby grocery store.
Choose the answer that best corrects the underlined portion of the sentence. If the underlined portion is correct as written, choose “NO CHANGE.”
In this sentence, “cinnamon, nutmeg, and butter” gives extra information about which ingredients were missing; however, this information isn't necessary for understanding the overall meaning of the sentence, so it can be thought of as an aside and enclosed in dashes. Asides have to begin and end with the same type of punctuation, which is why some of the other answers are not right.
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The correct use of certain types of punctuation—contrary to what many students, adults, and even college professors believe—is not set in stone, but is actually subject to controversy and evolves over time.
Choose the answer that best corrects the underlined portion of the sentence. If the underlined portion is correct as written, choose “NO CHANGE.”
This sentence is correct as it is. The part of the sentence enclosed by dashes, “contrary to what many students, adults, and even college professors believe”, gives extra information that can be cut out of the sentence without affecting the sentence's grammar. Asides like these can be enclosed by dashes or parentheses, but they have to be introduced and end with the same kind of punctuation.
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My father spent ten years as a political refugee in a refugee camp in Thailand. He didn't know whether he would ever be allowed to go back to his homeland. He told me, “In the camp we used to sing songs – old chants, laments about separation, and we prayed to see our own villages and fields again.”
Choose the answer that best corrects the underlined portion of the sentence. If the underlined portion is correct as written, choose “NO CHANGE.”
Here, the phrase “old chants, laments about separation” is similar to an appositive. It's a phrase that gives more detail about what types of songs the speaker's father sang in the refugee camp. Though this additional information is nice, it isn't necessary to understand the sentence. You could cut out the phrase so that the sentence read, “In the camp we used to sing songs, and we prayed.” So the “old chants, laments about separation” can be understood as an aside, and set apart with dashes. Asides need to open and close with the same type of punctuation, which is why some of the other answer choices would not work.
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Because it was raining—the elementary school students had recess inside the classroom. Instead of playing ball or swinging, they colored, played games of pretend, and drew on the whiteboard.
Choose the answer that best corrects the underlined portion of the sentence. If the underlined portion is correct as written, choose “NO CHANGE.”
Here, the first part of the sentence, “Because it was raining,” is a dependent clause; it cannot stand by itself as a complete sentence. The second part of the sentence, “The elementary school students had recess inside the classroom” is an independent clause; it can stand by itself as a sentence. Connecting these two types of clauses just requires a comma, not any type of fancier punctuation like a dash or a colon.
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My mother never wanted me to call her “mom.” Instead, she preferred "Rebecca," she said that name made her feel more like her own person.
Choose the answer that best corrects the underlined portion of the sentence. If the underlined portion is correct as written, choose “NO CHANGE.”
Here, we can break up the second sentence into two independent clauses, “Instead, she preferred 'Rebecca'” and “she said that name made her feel more like her own person." Both of these can be sentences in their own right. Two independent clauses can be joined by a comma followed by a conjunction, a dash, a semicolon, or, in certain cases, a colon. The only one of these pieces of punctuation offered as a possible answer is the dash, so that is the right answer.
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The word lithophyte refers to a plant that can grow on bare rock. It comes from the Greek words lithos: meaning “stone” and phyte: meaning “plant”.
Choose the answer that best corrects the underlined portion of the sentence. If the underlined portion is correct as written, choose “NO CHANGE.”
Here, we have to distinguish between the most important parts of the second sentence and the less important parts. The most important part of the sentence states that the word lithophyte comes from lithos and phyte. The definitions of those Greek words are less important. The definitions can be thought of as asides, so they should be enclosed in parentheses. Though separating out the definitions using commas or dashes might work, a pause is needed between the part of the sentence about lithos and the part about phyte, which is why the other answers do not work.
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How should doctors plan treatments for patients? In Western medicine, many believe that illnesses are just problems that can be fixed with the right combination of drugs: but maybe to really treat illnesses, we also have to examine the ways that illnesses take on meanings in different cultural, social, and historical contexts.
Choose the answer that best corrects the underlined portion of the sentence. If the underlined portion is correct as written, choose “NO CHANGE.”
Here, a dash is the best way to connect the two related phrases. Since the two phrases before and after the colon can be independent sentences by themselves, a semicolon could also work. However, that's not one of the choices. A colon would not work, since it is only used to introduce a list or details that illustrate what is said before the colon. A pause is needed after “drugs”, but is not needed after “maybe”, which is why two of the other answers would not work.
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Choose the answer that best corrects the underlined portion of the sentence. If the underlined portion is correct as written, choose "NO CHANGE."
Julia (and her ever-present dog, Fido) arrived at the fair with a sense of excitement and adventure.
Parentheses are used to provide additional information or to include information that may serve as an aside. In this case, the choice with the parentheses is the only choice that correctly identifies and her ever-present dog, Fido as additional information while using correct punctuation. A comma is not necessary after Julia because J_ulia and her ever-present dog_ are only two items separated by and. Some form of punctuation is necessary to indicate the additional information, but none of the other choices use punctuation consistently or correctly.
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