CBST Grammar and Punctuation 3

Question 1

Which sentence correctly uses a colon?

Accepted Answer

He had one goal: to finish the race.

Answer

A colon is correctly used after a complete independent clause to introduce a word, phrase, or list — here it introduces 'to finish the race.'

Question 2

Choose the sentence with a correctly used hyphen.

Accepted Answer

She is a well-known author.

Answer

A hyphen joins compound modifiers like 'well-known' when they appear before the noun they modify.

Question 3

Which sentence uses the past perfect tense correctly?

Accepted Answer

She had finished the report before the meeting started.

Answer

Past perfect ('had finished') indicates an action completed before another past event ('the meeting started').

Question 4

Identify the sentence that avoids double negatives.

Accepted Answer

They didn't find any errors in the document.

Answer

'Didn't find any errors' correctly uses a single negative; double negatives like 'didn't say nothing' cancel each other out.

Question 5

Which sentence demonstrates correct capitalization?

Accepted Answer

We visited the Pacific Ocean last summer.

Answer

Proper nouns like 'Pacific Ocean' are capitalized, while common nouns and seasons like 'summer' are not.

(CBST) Criteria Basic Skills Test Practice Test