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Example Questions
Example Question #25 : Correcting Grammatical Errors In A Sentence Fragment
1 E.J. Bellocq, who was he? 2 Those outside the photography coterie may not have heard of him, but his life’s work inspired innumerable films and works of literature. 3 Born into a rich family in the French Quarter of New Orleans Bellocq made a living, taking official photographs of ships, machinery, and other commercial items for local companies. 4 As a result, he became known for his portraits of Chinatown opium dens, and prostitutes in Storyville, one of the seediest districts of early 20th century New Orleans.
5 Bellocq’s work is categorized by its attention to detail and its rich aesthetic sensibility. 6 In his personal life, he was known for being eccentric, unfriendly, partially crippled, and possibly insane. 7 In his veritable Storyville portraits, the women are nude or clothed, looking at or away from the camera, and posed reclining or standing up, revealing great versatility on Bellocq’s part. 8 Tragically many of his negatives and prints were destroyed or damaged by an uncertain hand (mostly likely his or his Jesuit brother).
In Sentence 1, what punctuation mark should replace the comma?
Semicolon
Colon
Exclamation point
Comma (no change)
Question mark
Colon
Although colons are most frequently used to introduce lists, they can also occasionally introduce a full clause, as in this case. None of the other punctuation marks would be correct. A semicolon is inapropriate here since a name, by itself, is not an independent clause.
Example Question #26 : Correcting Grammatical Errors In A Sentence Fragment
1 Unlike most languages, Esperanto was created artificially and not arrived naturally from other language’s evolution. 2 If you’ve ever traveled in a foreign country where you don’t speak the language, you’ll be familiar with the motives of the creators of Esperanto; a universal language constructed in 1887. 3 It was invented by the linguist L.L. Zamenhof, its name translating roughly to “the hopeful one,” and it was intended as a simple, neutral language that could transfer national differences and promote international harmony.
4 Implementing Esperanto, although, was more difficult than anticipated. 5 Yet more than two million people world-wide are fluent in Esperanto, far more are fluent in so-called global languages, such as English, Mandarin Chinese, Spanish, and Hindi. 6 Linguistically, Esperanto relies within a Latin alphabet and a grammar and vocabulary based primarily on Indo-European languages. 7 Luckily, free online resources, local clubs, and interminable school-sponsored instruction have kept this valuable linguistic experiment from dying out altogether.
In Sentence 2, what punctuation change needs to be made?
replace the comma with a colon
delete the comma
delete the semicolon
replace the comma with a semicolon
replace the semicolon with a comma
replace the semicolon with a comma
Here we have (in order) a dependent clause, an independent clause, and a dependent clause. Independent and dependent clauses are always separated by commas.
Example Question #25 : Correcting Grammatical Errors In A Sentence Fragment
1 The legend of Billy the Kid, one of the most famous outlaws of the Wild West. 2 Allied Henry McCarty and William H. Bonney, Billy the Kid was a gunfighter who was rumored to have killed nearly two dozen men in 19th century America. 3 Friendly and charming, his status was relatively unknown until a price was put on his head in 1881 by the governor of New Mexico, than a territory. 4 He lived in New York City, Indiana, Kansas, and Arizona at various points within his life. 5 Billy the Kid’s various crimes include: murder, horse thievery, stealing firearms, and escaping from jail. 6 Many of these various crimes were committed as part of his membership in Old West gangs. 7 He was finally, captured and killed by Sheriff Pat Garrett in New Mexico in 1881.
How should the underlined portion of Sentence 2 be rewritten?
nearly, two dozen men
nearly, two-dozen men
nearly-two-dozen men
nearly two dozen men (no change)
nearly two-dozen men
nearly two dozen men (no change)
“Two dozen” is an adjective that does not require hyphenation (most plain numbers do not, although there are exceptions), and “nearly” is an adverb. Generally speaking, neither commas nor hyphens are needed to connect an adverb and an adjective preceding a noun.
Example Question #171 : Improving And Correcting Sentences
1 The legend of Billy the Kid, one of the most famous outlaws of the Wild West. 2 Allied Henry McCarty and William H. Bonney, Billy the Kid was a gunfighter who was rumored to have killed nearly two dozen men in 19th century America. 3 Friendly and charming, his status was relatively unknown until a price was put on his head in 1881 by the governor of New Mexico, than a territory. 4 He lived in New York City, Indiana, Kansas, and Arizona at various points within his life. 5 Billy the Kid’s various crimes include: murder, horse thievery, stealing firearms, and escaping from jail. 6 Many of these various crimes were committed as part of his membership in Old West gangs. 7 He was finally, captured and killed by Sheriff Pat Garrett in New Mexico in 1881.
How should the underlined portion of Sentence 2 be rewritten?
in the 19th century of America.
in 19th-century America.
in 19th century America. (no change)
in the 19th century America.
in the 19th-century America.
in 19th-century America.
Compound adjectives that immediately precede nouns must be hyphenated. No article is necessary in this phrase.
Example Question #51 : Rewriting A Sentence Fragment
1 The legend of Billy the Kid, one of the most famous outlaws of the Wild West. 2 Allied Henry McCarty and William H. Bonney, Billy the Kid was a gunfighter who was rumored to have killed nearly two dozen men in 19th century America. 3 Friendly and charming, his status was relatively unknown until a price was put on his head in 1881 by the governor of New Mexico, than a territory. 4 He lived in New York City, Indiana, Kansas, and Arizona at various points within his life. 5 Billy the Kid’s various crimes include: murder, horse thievery, stealing firearms, and escaping from jail. 6 Many of these various crimes were committed as part of his membership in Old West gangs. 7 He was finally, captured and killed by Sheriff Pat Garrett in New Mexico in 1881.
How should the underlined portion of Sentence 3 be rewritten?
the governor of New Mexico, than a territory.
New Mexico’s governor, than a territory.
the governor of New Mexico than a territory.
New Mexico’s governor, then a territory.
the governor of New Mexico, than a territory. (no change)
the governor of New Mexico, than a territory.
Here, the only problem is the use of “than,” a comparative term, with “then,” a term that indicates time. We want to use “then” to indicate that New Mexico was a territory in the past.
Example Question #173 : Improving And Correcting Sentences
1 The legend of Billy the Kid, one of the most famous outlaws of the Wild West. 2 Allied Henry McCarty and William H. Bonney, Billy the Kid was a gunfighter who was rumored to have killed nearly two dozen men in 19th century America. 3 Friendly and charming, his status was relatively unknown until a price was put on his head in 1881 by the governor of New Mexico, than a territory. 4 He lived in New York City, Indiana, Kansas, and Arizona at various points within his life. 5 Billy the Kid’s various crimes include: murder, horse thievery, stealing firearms, and escaping from jail. 6 Many of these various crimes were committed as part of his membership in Old West gangs. 7 He was finally, captured and killed by Sheriff Pat Garrett in New Mexico in 1881.
How should the underlined portion of Sentence 7 be rewritten?
He was finally captured, and killed by
He was finally, captured, and killed by
He was finally, captured and killed by (no change)
He was finally captured and killed by
He was finally, captured and killed, by
He was finally captured and killed by
“Finally” is an adverb modifying the verbs “captured” and “killed” in this sentence, and commas are generally not needed to separate adverbs from their verbs.
Example Question #174 : Improving And Correcting Sentences
1 The legend of Billy the Kid, one of the most famous outlaws of the Wild West. 2 Allied Henry McCarty and William H. Bonney, Billy the Kid was a gunfighter who was rumored to have killed nearly two dozen men in 19th century America. 3 Friendly and charming, his status was relatively unknown until a price was put on his head in 1881 by the governor of New Mexico, than a territory. 4 He lived in New York City, Indiana, Kansas, and Arizona at various points within his life. 5 Billy the Kid’s various crimes include: murder, horse thievery, stealing firearms, and escaping from jail. 6 Many of these various crimes were committed as part of his membership in Old West gangs. 7 He was finally, captured and killed by Sheriff Pat Garrett in New Mexico in 1881.
How should the underlined portion of Sentence 3 be rewritten?
Friendly and charming, his status being relatively unknown
Being friendly and charming, he was relatively unknown
Friendly and charming, he was relatively unknown
Friendly and charming, his status was relatively unknown (no change)
Being friendly and charming, his status was relatively unknown
Friendly and charming, he was relatively unknown
Here, we have a misplaced modifier. It wasn’t Billy’s status that was friendly and charming; it was Billy himself who had those attributes. We need to rewrite the phrase to make this relationship clear. We don’t need to add the word “being” anywhere; the phrase is sufficient without it.
Example Question #175 : Improving And Correcting Sentences
1 If you’re wearing clothes right now you’re likely wearing something a sewing machine has produced. 2 But what you may not know is the history of the sewing machine that made your clothes. 3 The device was invented in England during the Industrial Revolution in the late 18th-century. 4 Greatly increasing efficiency by mechanizing the process. 5 Early machines were often used for stitching leather and canvas for various purposes including, horse tack, sails, and shoes. 6 Gradually, other machines emerged that were superior in Europe and America. 7 Famous brands today; include those by 19th century inventor Isaac Singer. 8 As the 1800s progressed sewing machines became purchases for not just clothing manufacturers but individuals.
How should the underlined portion of Sentence 8 be rewritten?
As the 1800s progressed, sewing machines became purchases
As the 1800s progressed, sewing machines became purchases,
As, the 1800s progressed, sewing machines became purchases
As the 1800s progressed sewing machines became purchases,
As the 1800s progressed sewing machines became purchases (no change)
As the 1800s progressed, sewing machines became purchases
A comma is almost always needed to separate a dependent clause (“As the 1800s progressed”) from an independent clause (“sewing machines became purchases…”)
Example Question #176 : Improving And Correcting Sentences
1 The tornado, a dreaded meteorological phenomena and a verifiable force of nature. 2 But what is it really? 3 Also known as a twister or a cyclone, tornadoes are rapidly rotating funnels of air linked between a cloud and either the surface of the earth or water. 4 They are caused by the creation of strong thunderstorms by rotating columns of air, resultantly increased rainfall causes increased downward air movement. 5 Rather than the Richter scale measures the strength of hurricanes the Fujita scale measures the strength of a tornado. 6 This natural disasters’ destructive mite is commemorated in such classic films as the 1996, movie, Twister. 7 And the 2014 “Into the Storm” and even the 2013 sparse “Sharknado.” 8 The Fujita scale, also called the F-scale, was named after an employee at the University of Chicago and originally had 13 different levels.
How should the underlined portion of Sentence 3 be rewritten?
Also known as twisters or cyclones
Also known as twisters or cyclones,
Also known as: a twister or a cyclone,
Also known as: twisters or cyclones,
Also known as a twister or a cyclone, (no change)
Also known as twisters or cyclones,
For parallelism’s sake, we want to make all the nouns in the sentence plural. No punctuation changes are necessary here.
Example Question #177 : Improving And Correcting Sentences
1 The tornado, a dreaded meteorological phenomena and a verifiable force of nature. 2 But what is it really? 3 Also known as a twister or a cyclone, tornadoes are rapidly rotating funnels of air linked between a cloud and either the surface of the earth or water. 4 They are caused by the creation of strong thunderstorms by rotating columns of air, resultantly increased rainfall causes increased downward air movement. 5 Rather than the Richter scale measures the strength of hurricanes the Fujita scale measures the strength of a tornado. 6 This natural disasters’ destructive mite is commemorated in such classic films as the 1996, movie, Twister. 7 And the 2014 “Into the Storm” and even the 2013 sparse “Sharknado.” 8 The Fujita scale, also called the F-scale, was named after an employee at the University of Chicago and originally had 13 different levels.
How should the underlined portion of Sentence 3 be rewritten?
between – a cloud and either the surface of the earth or water.
between a cloud, and the surface of either the earth or water.
between a cloud and the surface of either the earth or water.
between a cloud and either the surface of the earth or water. (no change)
between: a cloud and either the surface of the earth or water.
between a cloud and the surface of either the earth or water.
When constructing an “either… or” clause, we want to make sure that the two objects in the clause are as similar as possible. The surface of the earth (1) and the water (2) are not as similar as the earth and the water. No punctuation is required after the word “between.”
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