English 104

Choose the option that corrects the following faulty collective ownership error. All of the people on my street have a nice yard.

All of the people on my street have nice yards.

Why is I want to be an English major, so I will go grocery shopping this afternoon an example of a non sequitur?

Because wanting to be an English major has nothing to do with when you go grocery shopping.

Third person narration can contain which of the following pronouns?

His

Identify the grammatically correct version of this sentence: She was not nice she did not share her Twinkie with me.

She was not nice, for she did not share her Twinkie with me.

Which of the following sentences has the BEST diction for achieving a light tone?

The robot's primary job was to make fun of bad movies.

Which of the following demonstrates correct comma usage when separating elements in a series?

The rock flew from his hand, skipped across the pond, and sank from sight.

Identify the error in the following sentence that makes it unclear: About how to succeed, many people ask me for advice, because I am a wealthy artist.

The sentence is disorganized.

Identify the verb or verbs in the following sentence: The brazen criminal shot his way through the police barricade.

shot

Improve the following sentence by selecting one of the choices below. 'Denny loved certain funny jokes.'

'Certain' is not a specific enough word; it doesn't give the reader a lot of information. Deleting it and adding a specific detail - 'stand-up' in this case - makes the sentence much stronger.

In the following sentence, identify the misplaced modifier and why it doesn't work. The Senator nearly spoke for two hours about the somewhat unfair tax increase before the committee tiredly voted on the motion.

'Nearly,' because it should appear before the words 'two hours.'

Which of the following is an example of a non sequitur?

Bill has reached retirement age, so he is going to go to the football game.

Which of the following demonstrates correct comma usage with adjectives?

Commas should be used between adjectives that aren't coordinated.

What changes, if any, should be made to the following sentence to make it active voice? If you liked it, then you should have put a ring on it.

No change because it is already in active voice.

Please select what type of faulty comparison error, if any, is in the sentence that follows: Doing what you love will make you happier.

No comparison error. The comparison is missing.

One of the things that is NOT important when it comes to writing well is _____

having a similar thesis as the rest of your class so your reader is not taken by surprise.

When quotation marks are involved, which of the following demonstrates the correct usage of a comma?

''It's going to be gorgeous weather outside today,'' the teacher said.

In the following sentence, identify the phrases that correctly modify the word 'sheep.' Startled by the explosion, the sheep began racing around the pen, ignoring the crowds.

'Startled by the explosion' and 'ignoring the crowds.'

What element do sentences written in passive voice usually contain?

A past participle which is a verb written in the past tense.

Which of the following is an example of an either/or fallacy?

Either you live in the north, or you don't like the snow.

What is a problem with the following sentence? Looking for his favorite pair of glasses.

It is a sentence fragment.

Which of the following is NOT an element of good diction?

Repeating yourself often to make a point

First person point of view narration can reference the subject with which of the following pronouns?

The narrator is speaking directly to the reader from their own perspective, so 'I' is used in first person point of view.

Which of the following answers uses correct punctuation? (3)

Their new home was ideally situated by the river; furthermore, the ten-foot high fence kept the neighbors out.

Which of the following sentences is an example of second person point of view?

You punch a tiger, which makes him angry.

Which of the following sentences is grammatically correct? (4)

''To whom do I owe the pleasure of tonight's entertainment?'' he asked the masked singer. ''I find your singing delightful.''

In the following sentence, identify the dangling modifier and why it is wrong. Since getting that new job out of town, my gas bills have doubled and my car is falling apart.

'Since getting that new job,' because it incorrectly modifies 'my gas bills.'

How does a dependent clause differ from an independent clause?

A dependent clause isn't a complete sentence on its own, while an independent clause can be a stand-alone sentence.

How could the following sentence be altered to be clearer? Without help I would not finish this assignment.

Add a comma after 'help.'

Please select what type of faulty comparison error, if any, is in the sentence that follows: Desiree likes chocolate milkshakes more than her brother Desmond.

Ambiguous comparison error

Why is business the only subject in the following sentence? The business with the casino owner and the oil tycoon was shady.

Because it corresponds to the verb was shady.

Why is it generally better to avoid the passive voice?

Because it emphasizes the wrong parts of the sentence.

Why is the word 'who' important to the following dependent clause? ''The man who had it all eventually lost everything.''

Because it is a relative pronoun that connects the dependent clause 'who had it all'.

Check the parallelism of the following sentence. Choose the answer that best corrects the problem. He sat down at the table expecting to order, eat, and be enjoying his meal alone.

Change be enjoying to enjoy

In the sentence, 'Sixty-five percent of the tulips in this field are white', the subject-verb agreement is:

Correct because the plural verb 'are' agrees with the plural noun 'tulips.'

Consider the following sentence: I was jolted back to life by electrocuting myself with a car battery. Other than the fact you would not want to try it, how is this thought best expressed using an active voice?

Electrocuting myself with a car battery jolted me back to life.

Choose the option that corrects the following faulty collective ownership error. Expensive cars should have a good sound system.

Expensive cars should have good sound systems.

Which of the following correctly identifies the subjective and objective pronouns found in the following sentence? 'Run away from the hooded monks with the giant swords?' he asked. 'You don't have to tell me twice.'

He - subject pronoun; you - subject pronoun; me - object pronoun

Which of the following sentences has multiple subjects?

He and his wife waited and waited for any good news.

Which of the following answers uses correct punctuation? (2)

His goals were simple: find the girl, get the bad guys, take off with the cash.

Identify the most appropriate conjunction and the correct comma placement for the following sentence:

I don't always use commas, but when I do, I use them correctly.

Which of the following sentences is an example of first person point of view?

I hit my thumb with the hammer.

Which of the following sentences is grammatically correct? (1)

I survived the shipwreck; incidentally, I am an excellent swimmer.

Please select what type of faulty comparison error, if any, is in the sentence that follows: It's a well-known fact that theaters are more expensive than staying at home.

Illogical comparison

When writing, what should you consider to be most important so that your essay is free from distractions?

It is important to make sure your writing is grammatically correct and free of editorial errors.

What is the significance of an Oxford comma?

It is the final comma in a listing of items

Why should you avoid logical fallacies in your writing?

Logical fallacies can undermine your credibility and confuse your reader.

Determine if the following sentence contains an incorrect modifier. After falling from a ladder, the firefighter was rushed to the emergency room in a taxi and given blood before surgery.

No: the modifying phrases are correctly ordered and the meaning is clear.

Which of the following is an example of an overly broad generalization?

Overly broad generalizations present a kernel of truth, but try to make it sound like that truth applies in a much larger context than it does. In the example, it is an overly broad generalization to say that 'everyone' who voted for Governor Jones does not care about education reform.

To correct faulty collective ownership, a writer should look for wording that suggests group ownership and _____.

Pluralize the object the group is owning or using

Which word would make the following sentence grammatically correct? 'Students should check with their teachers before you leave the classroom.'

Replace 'you' with 'they'

Which of the following sentences about ice cream cakes is grammatically correct?

She couldn't decide which of the ice cream cakes she liked best. Which one should she choose?

Which pronouns are present in the following sentence? She said, 'Gosh, Darren, it is almost like you don't know the first thing about human sacrifice!'

She, it, you

Why is it important to be specific in your writing?

Specifics help strengthen your arguments.

Which of the following is NOT an example of an introductory word?

That

Which of the following indicates that a verb should be singular?

The subject is singular

Which of the following sentences has an INCORRECT subject-verb agreement? (1)

The thought of all the home repairs we need after the bathrooms flooded are daunting.

Choose the sentence that contains a faulty collective ownership error.

The woman with the three dogs are going to the veterinarian.

Relative clauses perform the following functions EXCEPT that _____.

There is no reason why a relative clause would sound more informal.

Which of the following sentences is an example of third person point of view?

They ate all of the cupcakes before she even got to the break room.

Which of the following sentences is written correctly?

This dog looks funny, but that's just my opinion, isn't it?

Please select what type of faulty comparison error, if any, is in the sentence that follows: Mustache Dad is the best character in the Twilight series.

This sentence does not have an error.

Part of becoming a better writer is being able to check your own writing for confusing words. Which of the following combinations of homophones should be used in the following sentence? _____ boys walked _____ school today, and they walked home, _____.

Two, to, too

Which of the following is NOT the correct way to use the colon?

We are trying very hard to explain the situation to everyone and work on all of the existing concerns: Moving on, there are many difficult things we must discuss.

Deciding whether the verb should be singular or plural in 'either/or' and 'neither/nor' sentence structures depends on whether:

With the conjunctions 'or' and 'nor,' however, the tense of the subject closest to the verb tells the verb whether it should be singular or plural.

Which of the following sentences is NOT grammatically correct?

You insult my honor I am challenging you to a duel.

What is another name for group nouns?

collective nouns

A semicolon can be used for all of the following EXCEPT to _____.

connect two independent clauses that are widely dissimilar from each other

Identify the subject(s) of the following sentence: He didn't know the mob boss paid off the cop.

he; mob boss

Identify the verb or verbs in the following sentence: She poured a drink for herself and took a very long sip.

poured; took

If you can't come up with an original idea while writing an essay _____

you should make sure that the argument you do choose is well-researched and full of strong examples.

Check the parallelism of the following sentence. Choose the answer that best corrects the problem. Although he enjoyed running and to play baseball, he decided to try out for volleyball instead.

Change to play baseball to playing baseball

Which of the following sentences about Gary is grammatically correct?

Gary, who was sorry he hadn't used Study.com, still believed in the value of higher education.

What is wrong with the following sentence? Most of the movies I like don't have a lot of explosions, sometimes I like horror movies though.

It has a comma splice.

Which of the following is NOT a suggested way to make sure your sentences are clear and easy to understand?

Taking time to brainstorm creative ideas.

Which of the following sentences has an INCORRECT subject-verb agreement? (3)

The debate team from Des Moines are going to state nationals.

The way a word makes you feel, and its connection to other words you think of, is known as its _____.

connotation

When using coordinating conjunctions like but, and, or and so, writers should _____

edit to make the words on either side of the conjunction parallel.

Which pronouns are found in the following sentence? 'I kept telling her that we would go back for Elmo, but I knew we had left him behind. '

I, her, we, I, we, him

In the following sentence, _____ is the subject noun and _____ is the verb. 'The two girls, as they stroll past the park, hear the faint sound of church bells chiming the hour.'

girls; hear

Which of the following correctly lists the coordinating conjunctions?

for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so.

Which of the following sentences has an INCORRECT subject-verb agreement? (2)

Across the bay, fleets of old fishing boats was seen on the horizon.

Choose the option that corrects the following faulty collective ownership error. All of the dogs at the animal shelter have to wear a collar.

All of the dogs at the animal shelter have to wear collars.

Jim has entered the classroom to find his teacher saying: 'Whose pencil is lying over there on the floor?' Why did his teacher use an interrogative pronoun to start the sentence?

Because it's the correct way to ask the question.

Which of the following is an example where a comma is correctly used despite there not being any conjunction?

He was angry with you, not playing a joke.

What is wrong with the following sentence? Clint didn't talk much he just stared you down with cold, dead eyes.

It is a regular run-on sentence.

Please select what type of faulty comparison error, if any, is in the sentence that follows: Between gelato and ice cream, gelato is sweetest and therefore best.

Misused comparative or superlative form

Which of the choices below is NOT a good way to fix the following sentence? Jones is a terrific agent she is the best marksman we have.

Put a comma after 'agent'

Which of the following pronouns must ALWAYS be paired with a plural verb?

Some indefinite pronouns always require a plural verb just as their brethren require a singular verb. These are few, many, both, others, and several. These indefinite pronouns have something in common with them in that they're singular nouns that are composed of more than one thing. The reason these always require a plural verb is that you can't break them down into their individual parts.

How do you change this sentence from passive voice to active voice? The bloody space battle was fought mostly by children.

The children fought the bloody space battle.

Correctly place the commas around the non-essential clause:

The dragon, even though the villagers denied it, was actually a nice guy.

The most important reason modifiers should be correctly placed in a sentence is that _____.

Well placed modifiers make the intended meaning of the sentence clear to the reader.

Choose the most correct statement regarding parallel structure in a series of items.

When writing parallel sentences, you also want to make sure your verb tenses are the same. As before, remember to look on either side of the conjunction or connecting phrase to make sure the forms match.

Which of the following sentences has an INCORRECT subject-verb agreement?

Many of the people attending the trial seems upset.

Which of the following answers uses correct punctuation?

The family's trip took them to New York, New York; Providence, RI; Savannah, Georgia; and New Orleans, Louisiana -- and back.

If you are trying to determine whether a sentence has been written in passive or active voice, what should you consider first?

The first part of the sentence to be considered is the action that is happening. If it is in the past tense we know that the sentence may be in the passive voice.

Unity of content and form means _____

Unity of content and form is the structure of the piece reflects the argument you're trying to make or story you're trying to tell.

Which of the following sentences has a plural subject pronoun and a plural object pronoun?

We is the plural subject pronoun, while us is the plural objective pronoun.

Jim is writing an essay and used the following sentence. Why was his teacher disappointed with sentence clarity? The easiest and most, complicated form of political activism is civil activism.

Because the incorrect comma makes it difficult to understand the substance of the sentence.

What changes, if any, should be made to the following sentence to make it active voice? The winning home run was hit by the worst player on the team.

The worst player on the team hit the winning home run.

Check the parallelism of the following sentence. Choose the answer that best corrects the problem. We neither had money nor enough time to escape.

We had neither enough money nor enough time to escape.