What punctuation is needed in the following sentence to make it correct? Because of a major accident on the freeway, the emergency room was overcrowded.
- A. Period
- B. Comma
- C. Exclamation point
- D. Semicolon
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: The correct sentence should be: 'Because of a major accident on the freeway, the emergency room was overcrowded.' A comma is needed after 'freeway' to separate the introductory dependent clause from the independent clause that follows. Choice A (Period) is incorrect as it would create two separate sentences. Choice C (Exclamation point) is incorrect as there is no exclamation in the sentence. Choice D (Semicolon) is incorrect as it is used to separate closely related independent clauses.
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Select the word that will make the following sentence grammatically correct. The lounge needs a thorough cleaning, ________ the windows must be washed.
- A. and
- B. or
- C. but
- D. yet
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: The correct answer is 'and.' The sentence requires a conjunction that shows the need for both a thorough cleaning and washing the windows. The word 'and' is used to connect two actions that must be performed, indicating a list of tasks that should be completed in the lounge. Choices B, C, and D are incorrect because 'or' would imply a choice between cleaning and washing the windows, 'but' would suggest a contrast or contradiction between cleaning and washing the windows, and 'yet' is used to show a contrast or unexpected result, which is not suitable in this context where both actions are necessary.
Select the word or phrase that makes the following sentence grammatically correct. The students promised ___________ themselves with quiet dignity.
- A. conduct
- B. conducting
- C. to conduct
- D. to be conducted
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: The correct answer is C. The sentence requires an infinitive form of the verb 'to conduct' after the verb 'promised.' This structure is commonly used in English grammar, where the main verb 'promised' is followed by an infinitive verb form. Therefore, the sentence should read: 'The students promised to conduct themselves with quiet dignity.' Choice A ('conduct') is incorrect as it is not in the infinitive form required after 'promised.' Choice B ('conducting') is incorrect as a gerund does not fit the grammatical structure of the sentence. Choice D ('to be conducted') is incorrect as it changes the meaning of the sentence, suggesting that someone else will conduct the students, rather than the students conducting themselves.
Which word is not spelled correctly in the context of the following sentence? Everyone in the fraternity found the four boys' pranks sophomoric.
- A. Everyone
- B. fraternity
- C. boys'
- D. sophomoric
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: The word 'boys'' should be spelled as 'boys' in this context. The correct possessive form of the plural noun 'boys' does not require an apostrophe before the final S, which indicates possession. In this sentence, the intent is to show that the pranks belong to the four boys collectively, so the correct possessive form is 'boys' without the additional apostrophe.
Select the phrase in the following sentence that is not used correctly. Before their hospitalization, the children had rarely eaten three meals a day.
- A. Before their
- B. children had
- C. had rarely
- D. rarely eat
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: The phrase 'had rarely' is not used correctly in the sentence. The correct form should be 'rarely eaten' instead of 'had rarely' to convey the past tense of the children's eating habits before their hospitalization. 'Had rarely' is incorrect because it does not match the structure needed to describe the children's eating habits in the past. Choices A, B, and D are grammatically sound and fit appropriately in the sentence.
Which word is used incorrectly in the following sentence? Moving stealthily, the sneaky little boy reached for the cookie jar on the topmost shelf.
- A. stealthy
- B. sneaky
- C. reached
- D. topmost
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: The word 'stealthy' is used incorrectly in the sentence. The correct adverb form of the word should be 'stealthily' to modify the verb 'moving.' Therefore, it should be 'Moving stealthily, the sneaky little boy reached for the cookie jar on the topmost shelf.' Choices B, C, and D are all used appropriately in the sentence. 'Sneaky' describes the boy, 'reached' is the action verb, and 'topmost' correctly describes the location of the cookie jar.