NCDAP Sentence Skills 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which sentence correctly uses a semicolon?
- I enjoy reading; especially mystery novels.
- The storm was severe; it knocked out power for hours. (Correct answer)
- She studied hard; but still failed the exam.
- He arrived late; because his car broke down.
Correct answer: The storm was severe; it knocked out power for hours.
A semicolon correctly joins two independent clauses; the other options misuse semicolons before dependent clauses or conjunctions.
Question 2: Which of the following sentences contains a pronoun-antecedent agreement error?
- Each student must bring their own pencil.
- The committee reached their decision quickly. (Correct answer)
- Every employee must submit his or her timesheet.
- The jury delivered its verdict after deliberating.
Correct answer: The committee reached their decision quickly.
'Committee' is a collective noun treated as singular, so 'its' rather than 'their' is the grammatically precise pronoun.
Question 3: Select the revision that best eliminates the wordiness from: 'Due to the fact that it was raining, we cancelled the game.'
- Due to rain, we cancelled the game.
- Because it was raining, we cancelled the game. (Correct answer)
- The game was cancelled due to the fact that rain occurred.
- We cancelled the game, and it was because of rain.
Correct answer: Because it was raining, we cancelled the game.
Replacing 'due to the fact that' with the single conjunction 'because' eliminates wordiness while preserving the meaning.
Question 4: Which sentence contains a subject-verb agreement error?
- The list of requirements is long.
- A box of chocolates was left on the table.
- The team of players are ready for the game. (Correct answer)
- Neither of the answers is correct.
Correct answer: The team of players are ready for the game.
The subject is 'team,' a singular collective noun, so the verb should be 'is' not 'are.'
Question 5: Which is the best way to rewrite the following to avoid passive voice? 'Mistakes were made by the accounting department.'
- The accounting department made mistakes. (Correct answer)
- Mistakes had been made by accountants.
- It was the accounting department that made mistakes.
- The mistakes of the accounting department were noted.
Correct answer: The accounting department made mistakes.
Option A converts the passive construction to active voice by placing the doer (accounting department) in the subject position.
Question 6: Choose the sentence that correctly uses a comma:
- The tall, dark, and handsome man entered the room. (Correct answer)
- She bought apples, and oranges at the market.
- After the movie we went to dinner.
- He said, that he would be late.
Correct answer: The tall, dark, and handsome man entered the room.
Commas correctly separate adjectives in a series when each adjective independently modifies the noun.
Question 7: Which sentence avoids a dangling modifier?
- Exhausted from the hike, the tent was set up immediately.
- Exhausted from the hike, we set up the tent immediately. (Correct answer)
- Having set up the tent, exhaustion overcame the hikers.
- The tent was set up, exhausted from the hike.
Correct answer: Exhausted from the hike, we set up the tent immediately.
In option B, the participial phrase 'exhausted from the hike' correctly modifies the subject 'we,' not an inanimate noun.
NCDAP Sentence Skills 3
Which sentence correctly uses a semicolon?