eSkill Spelling and Grammar 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Each of the quarterly reports ___ reviewed by the finance team.
- were
- are
- was (Correct answer)
- have been
Correct answer: was
'Each' is singular, so it takes a singular verb regardless of the plural noun in the prepositional phrase.
Question 2: Which sentence uses 'its' or 'it's' correctly?
- The company updated it's logo last year.
- Its going to rain during the conference.
- The team changed its meeting schedule. (Correct answer)
- The printer lost it's connection again.
Correct answer: The team changed its meeting schedule.
'Its' is the possessive form, while 'it's' always means 'it is' or 'it has'.
Question 3: Which phrase correctly shows a lounge shared by several employees?
- the employee's lounge
- the employees lounge
- the employees' lounge (Correct answer)
- the employee's' lounge
Correct answer: the employees' lounge
For a plural noun ending in 's', add only an apostrophe after the 's' to show possession.
Question 4: Which sentence is punctuated correctly?
- Our main office which is in Denver opens at 8 a.m.
- Our main office, which is in Denver, opens at 8 a.m. (Correct answer)
- Our main office, which is in Denver opens at 8 a.m.
- Our main office which, is in Denver, opens at 8 a.m.
Correct answer: Our main office, which is in Denver, opens at 8 a.m.
A nonrestrictive 'which' clause adds extra information and must be set off by commas on both sides.
Question 5: Which sentence uses parallel structure?
- She likes to write reports, analyzing data, and presentations.
- She likes writing reports, analyzing data, and giving presentations. (Correct answer)
- She likes writing reports, to analyze data, and presentations.
- She likes to write reports, analyzing data, and to present.
Correct answer: She likes writing reports, analyzing data, and giving presentations.
Items in a series should share the same grammatical form, here all '-ing' phrases.
Question 6: Choose the correct spelling.
- definately
- definitely (Correct answer)
- defenitely
- definitly
Correct answer: definitely
'Definitely' comes from 'finite', so it is spelled with 'i' after the 'f' and keeps the 'e' before '-ly'.
Question 7: Which sentence is grammatically correct?
- This draft has less errors than the last one.
- This draft has fewer errors than the last one. (Correct answer)
- This draft has lesser errors than the last one.
- This draft has fewer error than the last one.
Correct answer: This draft has fewer errors than the last one.
Use 'fewer' with countable nouns such as errors and 'less' with uncountable nouns.