NCDAP English Grammar & Writing Mechanics 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which sentence uses a semicolon correctly?
- She studied hard; and passed the exam.
- He was tired; however, he finished the project. (Correct answer)
- They went to the store; to buy groceries.
- I like coffee; but prefer tea.
Correct answer: He was tired; however, he finished the project.
A semicolon correctly joins two independent clauses, especially with a conjunctive adverb like 'however.'
Question 2: Identify the dangling modifier in this sentence: 'Running down the street, the rain soaked my clothes.'
- Running down the street (Correct answer)
- the rain
- soaked my clothes
- There is no dangling modifier
Correct answer: Running down the street
'Running down the street' dangles because it incorrectly modifies 'the rain' rather than a person.
Question 3: Which word correctly completes the sentence? 'The committee made ______ decision after a long debate.'
- their
- its (Correct answer)
- it's
- there
Correct answer: its
'Committee' is a collective noun treated as singular, so 'its' is the correct singular possessive pronoun.
Question 4: Which sentence contains a misplaced modifier?
- The tall man walked into the room.
- She almost drove her children to school every day. (Correct answer)
- He quietly left the building.
- The tired student fell asleep.
Correct answer: She almost drove her children to school every day.
'Almost' is misplaced; the intended meaning is that she drove them nearly every day, so it should be 'drove her children to school almost every day.'
Question 5: Select the sentence with correct subject-verb agreement.
- Neither the students nor the teacher are ready.
- Neither the teacher nor the students are ready. (Correct answer)
- Neither the teacher nor the students is ready.
- Neither the students nor the teacher were ready.
Correct answer: Neither the teacher nor the students are ready.
With 'neither/nor,' the verb agrees with the subject closest to it; 'students' is plural, so 'are' is correct.
Question 6: Which option correctly punctuates this sentence? 'My favorite cities are Paris France Rome Italy and Barcelona Spain.'
- My favorite cities are Paris, France, Rome, Italy, and Barcelona, Spain.
- My favorite cities are Paris France, Rome Italy, and Barcelona Spain.
- My favorite cities are Paris, France; Rome, Italy; and Barcelona, Spain. (Correct answer)
- My favorite cities are: Paris France; Rome Italy; Barcelona Spain.
Correct answer: My favorite cities are Paris, France; Rome, Italy; and Barcelona, Spain.
Semicolons separate items in a list when the items themselves contain commas.
Question 7: Which sentence correctly uses the apostrophe?
- The dog wagged it's tail.
- Its going to rain today.
- The childrens' toys were scattered.
- The children's toys were scattered. (Correct answer)
Correct answer: The children's toys were scattered.
'Children' is an irregular plural, so the possessive is formed by adding 's to get 'children's.'
NCDAP English Grammar & Writing Mechanics 2
Which sentence uses a semicolon correctly?