NBT Sentence Construction and Grammar Flashcards

Which sentence correctly uses a semicolon?

Answer: She studied hard; she passed the exam.

A semicolon joins two independent clauses without a coordinating conjunction.

Identify the misplaced modifier: 'Running down the street, the rain soaked the children.'

Answer: 'Running down the street' should follow 'children'.

The participial phrase 'Running down the street' must be placed next to the noun it modifies — 'children,' not 'rain.'

Which option corrects the dangling modifier: 'After finishing the report, the meeting was cancelled.'?

Answer: After we finished the report, the meeting was cancelled.

A dangling modifier is fixed by naming the actual subject that performed the action.

Choose the sentence with correct subject-verb agreement:

Answer: Neither the students nor the teacher is ready.

With 'neither…nor,' the verb agrees with the subject closest to it — 'teacher' (singular), so 'is' is correct.

Which sentence avoids an awkward passive construction?

Answer: I read the book last night.

The active voice ('I read the book') is clearer and more direct than the passive.

Select the correctly punctuated sentence with an appositive:

Answer: My brother, a skilled engineer, built the bridge.

A non-restrictive appositive must be set off by commas on both sides.

Which sentence demonstrates correct parallel structure?

Answer: She likes hiking, swimming, and running.

Parallel structure requires all items in a list to use the same grammatical form — here, gerunds (-ing).