FSOT English Grammar and Usage 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which sentence contains a comma splice?
- She finished the report, and she submitted it on time.
- She finished the report, she submitted it on time. (Correct answer)
- She finished the report; she submitted it on time.
- She finished the report before submitting it on time.
Correct answer: She finished the report, she submitted it on time.
A comma splice incorrectly joins two independent clauses with only a comma, without a coordinating conjunction.
Question 2: Which is the correct possessive form for a plural noun ending in 's'?
- The ambassadors's report
- The ambassadors' report (Correct answer)
- The ambassador's report
- The ambassadors report
Correct answer: The ambassadors' report
For plural nouns ending in 's,' add only an apostrophe after the 's' to form the possessive.
Question 3: What grammatical error appears in this sentence? 'Being that it was late, the meeting was postponed.'
- Passive voice
- Dangling modifier
- Faulty subordination with 'being that' (Correct answer)
- Comma splice
Correct answer: Faulty subordination with 'being that'
'Being that' is non-standard; formal writing requires 'because' or 'since' to introduce causal clauses.
Question 4: Which sentence correctly uses 'affect' versus 'effect'?
- The new policy will effect how we operate.
- The new policy will affect how we operate. (Correct answer)
- The new policy will have an affect on operations.
- The policy effected the employees greatly.
Correct answer: The new policy will affect how we operate.
'Affect' is typically the verb meaning to influence; 'effect' is typically the noun meaning result.
Question 5: Which sentence demonstrates correct subject-verb agreement with a collective noun?
- The committee have reached their decision.
- The committee has reached its decision. (Correct answer)
- The committee have reached its decision.
- The committees has reached their decision.
Correct answer: The committee has reached its decision.
In American English, collective nouns like 'committee' take singular verbs when acting as a unified body.
Question 6: Which of the following is an example of faulty parallelism?
- The job requires writing, editing, and proofreading.
- The job requires to write, to edit, and to proofread. (Correct answer)
- The job requires writing reports, editing drafts, and proofreading documents.
- The job requires that you write, edit, and proofread.
Correct answer: The job requires to write, to edit, and to proofread.
Mixing infinitives ('to write, to edit, to proofread') is parallel, but faulty parallelism mixes forms inconsistently in other constructions.
Question 7: Which sentence uses an appositive correctly?
- My colleague Sarah she reviewed the document.
- My colleague, Sarah, reviewed the document. (Correct answer)
- My colleague Sarah; reviewed the document.
- My colleague — Sarah reviewed the document.
Correct answer: My colleague, Sarah, reviewed the document.
An appositive renames or identifies the noun before it and is set off by commas when nonessential.
FSOT English Grammar and Usage 4
Which sentence contains a comma splice?