SAT Writing : Identifying Punctuation Errors
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Example Questions
Example Question #691 : Sat Writing
Choose the punctuation mark that, when inserted into the blank, makes the sentence meet the requirements of standard written English.
The defendant claimed that he had been unjustly incarcerated Â__________ and that key evidence had been falsified.
, (comma)
; (semi-colon)
. (period and capital)
No punctuation
— (dash)
No punctuation
The phrase following the blank is not a full sentence, nor is it a modifying phrase. No punctuation is needed.
Example Question #151 : Identifying Punctuation Errors
Choose the best punctuation for the blank:
Because it was the only recourse left to me ÂÂÂ__________ I swallowed my pride and called my high school math teacher.
No punctuation
; (semi-colon)
, (comma)
. (period and new sentence)
— (dash)
, (comma)
If a sentence starts with because, it needs a comma before the main clause starts.
Example Question #5 : Identifying Other Punctuation Errors
Select the underlined word or phrase that needs to be changed to make the sentence correct. Some sentences contain no error at all.
Far from passive players in their colonial fate, Africans throughout the nineteenth-century responded to the encroaching European presence with various forms of resistance and negotiation. No error
No error
Far from passive players
encroaching
nineteenth-century
fate, Africans
nineteenth-century
“Far from passive players” correctly modifies the subject, “Africans.” The phrase “fate, Africans” illustrates the correct use of a comma to link a dependent clause with an indepent clause when the dependent clause precedes the independent clause. “Encroaching” is an appropriate vocabulary word to describe the “European presence.” The problem comes with “nineteenth-century.” Because the phrase is used as a noun here, it should not be hyphenated. It would be hyphenated if the two words together were functioning as an adjective modifying a different word, as in the phrase "nineteenth-century problems."
Example Question #152 : Identifying Punctuation Errors
Select the underlined word or phrase that needs to be changed to make the sentence correct. Some sentences contain no error at all.
The tourists were enamored with the brightly-colored dresses and necklaces, and they nearly bought out the entire market. No error
enamored with
No error
they
necklaces, and
brightly-colored
brightly-colored
Because “brightly” is an adverb, not an adjective, it shouldn’t be hyphenated. Only compound adjectives—two words together functioning as a single adjective—need hyphenation.
Example Question #153 : Identifying Punctuation Errors
Select the underlined word or phrase that needs to be changed to make the sentence correct. Some sentences contain no error at all.
As part of their defense, the lawyers presented a ninety page document that asserted their client’s innocence in exhausting detail. No error
ninety page document
No error
their client's
asserted
defense,
ninety page document
“Ninety page” is a compound adjective that appears directly in front of a noun. In standard English, compound adjectives that immediately precede nouns are always hyphenated for clarity’s sake. “Ninety-page document” is the correct form.
Example Question #1 : Identifying Other Punctuation Errors
Select the underlined word or phrase that needs to be changed to make the sentence correct. Some sentences contain no error at all.
The heiress wept when she discovered that her favorite two year old horse had broken a leg and would never race again. No error
heiress
No error
wept
two year old horse
would never race again
two year old horse
Here, “two year old” is a compound adjective that appears immediately before a noun, so it must be hyphenated. “Two-year-old horse” is the correct form.
Example Question #151 : Identifying Punctuation Errors
Select the underlined word or words that need to be changed to make the sentence correct. Some sentences may not contain an error.
“If you’ve never seen a group of ninety year olds dance the polka, you’ve never lived,” he laughed. No error
No error
"If
lived,"
laughed.
ninety year olds
ninety year olds
Here, “ninety year olds” needs to be hyphenated as it is functioning as a noun.
Example Question #154 : Identifying Punctuation Errors
Select the underlined word or phrase that needs to be changed to make the sentence correct. Some sentences contain no error at all.
“In all my years on the force, I’ve never seen such a thinly-veiled attempt at blackmail,” the police captain said. No error
"In all my years
blackmail,"
force,
No error
thinly-veiled
thinly-veiled
Because “thinly” is an adverb, not an adjective, it shouldn’t be hyphenated. Only compound adjectives that immediately precede nouns require hyphenation.
Example Question #155 : Identifying Punctuation Errors
Select the underlined word or phrase that needs to be changed to make the sentence correct. Some sentences contain no error at all.
I was wondering if, after the fair, we could stop by the farmers market? No error
fair,
No error
stop by
if,
market?
market?
In this sentence, the speaker is making a statement (“I am wondering”), not answering a question (“Am I wondering?”). Even though the sentence is expressing uncertainty, it is not an interrogative sentence and therefore should not end with a question mark. A period is the correct punctuation to use to end this sentence.
Example Question #151 : Identifying Punctuation Errors
Select the underlined word or phrase that needs to be changed to make the sentence correct. Some sentences contain no error at all.
The eldest male dog became awfully selfish during feeding time, he would not even let his own pups get a scrap of food. No error
No error
eldest
time, he
awfully
feeding
time, he
Two independent clauses that can each stand alone must be separated by either a period or a semicolon, or connected by a comma followed by a conjunction. Because this sentence doesn't include a conjunction like "and" after its comma, it is incorrect. (This error, where two independent clauses are incorrectly connected by a comma, is known as a "comma splice.")
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