grammar practice

What type of clause is underlined in this sentence? "Do not talk to mom (until she has had her first cup of coffee)."

subordinate clause Explanation: Subordinate clauses cannot stand by themselves because they do not contain a complete thought. Here, the reader would be left wondering what happens "until she has had her first cup of coffee."

Which punctuation mark would correctly fill in the blank space? After standing in the rain for nearly half an hour _____ Dawn decided she was not going to wait on Mike any longer.

a comma Explanation: A comma is the correct answer. In this sentence, the word "after" is a common starter word for the introductory clause and should be followed by a comma. A clause is a group of words that contain both a subject and a predicate and help to form a sentence. Other common starter words that require a comma after the introductory clause include when, while, although, and since.

What word is the conjunction in the following sentence? Michael wanted to play basketball in college, but he had a hard time keeping his grades up.

but Explanation: A conjunction is a word used to connect individual words, phrases, and independent clauses. Other examples include and, or, nor, for, so, and yet.

Which of these sentences is written correctly? Its has been a great day. It's has been a great day. Its been a great day. It's been a great day.

It's been a great day. Explanation: It's is used in this sentence as a contraction for It has and requires an apostrophe (') to show where letters are missing (h and a). Writing any form of *it's has" would effectively make it mean "it has has."

Which of these sentences is grammatically correct? One of my best friend's is getting married next week. One of my best friends are getting married next week. One of my best friends is getting married next weak. One of my best friends is getting married next week.

One of my best friends is getting married next week. Explanation: Only this sentence has correct subject-verb agreement, correct punctuation, and the right word choice.

Which sentence is written correctly? They're going to Disney World next year. There going to Disney World next year. Their going to Disney World next year. Theyre going to Disney World next year.

They're going to Disney World next year. Explanation: They're is a contraction for the words they are, which makes sense in this sentence. There is a term for a place, like "over there." Their is used to show possession by more than one person, as in "Their book is on the table."

Please select the combination of words that makes these sentences correct: "I'm searching for good ____ that will help me get my finances in order. Can you ____ me on what I should do?" advise, advice advice, advise advice, advice advise, advise

advice, advise Explanation: Advice is a noun and is the term used for information given in the first sentence. Advise is a verb, and is the action word in the second sentence.

Which word is the adjective in this sentence? Sally was wearing a sparkly dress.

sparkly Explanation: An adjective is a word that describes a noun, which is a person, place, or thing. Sparkly describes the dress in this sentence.

Which sentence is grammatically correct? Because less people showed up to the party, we served fewer cookies. Because fewer people showed up to the party, we served less cookies. Because fewer people showed up to the party, we served fewer cookies. Because less people showed up to the party, we served less cookies.

Because fewer people showed up to the party, we served fewer cookies. Explanation: Both people and cookies are items you can count and would require the use of the word fewer. The word less is used to describe the amount of something generally appearing in bulk form and, therefore, uncountable, such as less sand or less water. However, you would write "fewer" bags of sand" and "fewer glasses of water."

Which of these sentences uses punctuation correctly? Honestly Michelle, what you are suggesting is never going to work. Honestly Michelle: what you are suggesting is never going to work. Honestly, Michelle, what you are suggesting is never going to work. Honestly; Michelle, what you are suggesting is never going to work.

Honestly, Michelle, what you are suggesting is never going to work. Explanation: Non-essential information in a sentence is set off by commas. In this case, Michelle's name isn't necessary for the sentence to be complete and make sense, so her name is set off by commas. Colons (:) are used to indicate that more information is to follow and that is not the case in this sentence. Semi-colons (;) join two independent clauses, which is not happening in this sentence.

Which transition best completes this sentence correctly? Sarah did not realize until after she arrived in New York that she had left her ball gown at home; ____, she was fortunate enough to find a shop that rented them by the evening. after all however because while

however Explanation: However is the correct answer because 'however' indicates that the relationship between two independent clauses is one of contrast or opposition. In this example, the first independent clause is a negative one, while the second is the positive that contrasts it.

Which punctuation mark would correctly fill in the blank space in this sentence? Jane ordered the steak __ Mark ordered the chicken salad.

a semicolon (;) Explanation: These are two independent clauses, which could each function as a complete sentence. To keep them together in one sentence, they need a semicolon to hold them together because a comma just isn't strong enough for two independent clauses. Without any punctuation, it becomes a run-on sentence.

Which words should be capitalized in this sentence? michelle watched the movie silence of the lambs and was afraid to sleep.

Michelle, Silence, Lambs Explanation: Michelle is the first word in the sentence and it is a person's name. Silence and Lambs are the important words in a movie title. Articles and other small words in titles are not capitalized. The word movie, as used in this sentence, is just an improper noun because it is not part of the name of something, so it is not capitalized.

What is the correct form of the missing words? The red car in the parking lot belonged to Sarah Jones. James knew that ____ car was new and fast. Sarah Jones Sarah Joneses Sarah Jones's or Sarah Jones' Sarah Jone's

Sarah Jones's or Sarah Jones' Explanation: Apostrophes show possession and one is needed here to show that the car belongs to Sarah Jones. Different references give various recommendations for doing this with words that end in s. Both of the versions in this answer choice are listed as correct methods by certain grammar authorities. Sarah Jone's would mean that Sarah Jone owns the car. Adding es to Jones would simply make Jones plural.

The underlined word in the sentence is which part of speech? "The panda chewed his bamboo shoot slowly and (carefully)."

adverb Explanation: Adverbs explain how something is done and usually end in -ly. In this case, carefully explains how the panda chewed (which is the verb in the sentence).

What would be considered the dependent clause in this sentence? "The students could finally see the bus, which was running 15 minutes behind schedule."

which was running 15 minutes behind schedule Explanation: "which was running 15 minutes behind schedule" is correct. The dependent clause in a sentence is the part which cannot stand alone as a complete sentence and functions a noun, adjective, or adverb.

What is the correct way to write the missing words in this sentence? The children learned that the ____ is sometimes considered a turning point of the war. siege of vicksburg siege of Vicksburg Siege of Vicksburg Siege Of Vicksburg

Siege of Vicksburg Explanation: The Siege of Vicksburg was a battle in the American Civil War and it is considered a proper noun. Proper nouns are people, places, organizations, and sometimes things and they must be capitalized. Prepositions (words like as, at, by, for, in, of, on, per, and to), are not typically capitalized unless they begin a sentence.

Which of these sentences is written correctly? The girl wanted him to take her to the store, hisself. The girl wanted him to take her to the store. The girl wanted he to take her to the store. The girl wanted himself to take her to the store.

The girl wanted him to take her to the store. Explanation: The correct form of the masculine pronoun for this sentence is him because it is used as an object. He would be used if it was the subject, as in "He took her to the store." Himself is not correct at this place in the sentence, but could be used to emphasize who she wanted to take her, as in "She wanted him to take her to the store, himself." There is no such word as hisself. The correct word is himself.

Which of the words in this sentence is a noun? The girl likes to run and jump.

girl Explanation: A noun is a person, place, or thing.

Which of these sentences contains a dependent clause? She is hungry but she's not going to eat. She told me she was hungry but wouldn't eat more. She said she is feeling hungry, but she is not going to eat. Although she is hungry, she is not going to eat.

Although she is hungry, she is not going to eat. Explanation: "Although she is hungry, she is not going to eat." is correct. A dependent clause begins with words such as although, since, if, when, and because. A dependent clause cannot stand on its own, so it may also be referred to as a "weak" clause.

Which of these sentences is written correctly? Him likes everything accept the Brussels sprouts. He likes everything except the Brussels sprouts. He likes everything accept the Brussels sprouts. Him likes everything except the Brussels sprouts.

He likes everything except the Brussels sprouts. Explanation: He is the correct pronoun to use as a subject. Accept means to receive and would not make sense in this sentence. **Brussels is capitalized here as the vegetable is named for the city of Brussels. However, some publications choose to leave it lowercase, so you may see it written both ways.

Which sentence is written correctly? She have a lot of grapes. She has a lot of grapes. Her has a lot of grapes. She has alot of grapes.

She has a lot of grapes. Explanation: She is the pronoun used when a female is the subject of the sentence. Her is also a pronoun for a female, but it is used when the person is the object of the sentence: "I gave the grapes to her." The pronoun she is singular and requires using has. Have is the verb used for plural nouns, such as they. There is no such word as alot. The two words, a and lot are always separated.

Select the option which makes this sentence grammatically correct. The paid vacation benefit is available to ____ employees in the company. part/ and full/time part and full time part- and full-time part and full-time

part- and full-time Explanation: Part- and full-time is the correct answer because with a series of nearly identical compounds, sometimes the final term is delayed until the last instance, allowing the hyphen to act as a kind of place holder.

Which sentence is grammatically correct? Kevin prays for his sister's salvation at St. Mary's Church, fervently. None of these are grammatically correct. Kevin prays at St. Mary's Church fervently for his sister's salvation. Kevin prays fervently at St. Mary's Church for his sister's salvation.

Kevin prays fervently at St. Mary's Church for his sister's salvation. Explanation: This choice presents the information in the clearest and most concise manner. Modifiers, such as "fervently," should be placed adjacent to the verb they modify. The other two versions of the sentence do not accomplish this.

What is the correct way to write the missing words in this sentence? Cara chose to study Jupiter, Saturn, ____ for her science project. Neptune, and the Sun neptune, and the sun Neptune, and the sun Neptune, and The Sun

Neptune, and the Sun Explanation: Both "Neptune" and "Sun" are capitalized in this sentence because they are proper nouns. Proper nouns are always capitalized and they include name-specific people, places, organizations, and things. Note: If you were talking about suns, in general, of which there are many in the universe, you would not capitalize the word sun. Example: "Each solar system revolves around a sun." Then, you would not be talking about any particular sun. But, when you use the article the before sun and it is mentioned along with other celestial bodies, it indicates one particular sun and that is capitalized.

Which of these sentences contains an active verb tense? The spaghetti was quickly devoured by the hungry children. The lawyer presented his case to the jury. The boy was rewarded with a trophy for his win. The woman was given an engagement ring by her boyfriend.

The lawyer presented his case to the jury. Explanation: This is the correct answer because active tense is when the subject of the sentence is performing the action. Passive verb tense shows the receiver of the action as the subject and is used in the other three choices. Active and passive verb tense are not dependent on whether the verb is in present or past tense.

What is the simple predicate in this sentence? Heather never speaks to her anymore.

speaks Explanation: A simple predicate is the verb in the sentence—an action word. The word never describes the verb, Heather is the subject, and her is a pronoun.

Which sentence is grammatically correct? Wash the baby with carefully unscented, hypoallergenic soap. Wash, carefully, the baby with unscented, hypoallergenic soap. Wash the baby with unscented, hypoallergenic soap, carefully. Carefully wash the baby with unscented, hypoallergenic soap.

Carefully wash the baby with unscented, hypoallergenic soap. Explanation: This is the most concise way to express this direction. The word carefully should describe how you wash the baby and not describe the soap used. Carefully should also be as close to the action word, wash, as possible.

Which is the correct verb form to use in the blank in this sentence? "Each player and coach on staff ____ for a new sports facility by next season." hoping hopes hope will have been hoping

hopes Explanation: The word each means that we are talking about a singular subject. Even though there may be more than one player or coach, each of them has this individual hope, so the verb must also be in the singular form, which is hopes. Also, usually the connecting word, and would create a plural subject while using or would indicate a singular subject. Here, however, the use of each (see above) overrides this and the subject is still singular. Note that, even though the word hopes appears to be plural, is is the singularform of the verb, to hope. In other words, it is the form of the verb that goes with all singular subjects: he hopes, she hopes etc. A plural subject, like they, would take the plural form of the verb, which has no s: hope (they hope).

Which one is the correct verb form to use in this sentence? My shower ___ a leak Friday night.

sprang Explanation: The action occurred in the past, therefore, sprang would be used because it is the simple past tense of the word spring. You would only use sprung if it was preceded by have, had, or has, as in "I noticed that my shower had sprung a leak."