NWEA Language Usage 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which sentence uses commas correctly in a series?
- I need eggs milk and butter.
- I need eggs, milk and butter.
- I need eggs, milk, and butter. (Correct answer)
- I need, eggs, milk, and butter.
Correct answer: I need eggs, milk, and butter.
A serial (Oxford) comma is placed after each item in a list, including before the final 'and'.
Question 2: Select the sentence with the correct use of a semicolon.
- She was tired; but she kept working.
- She was tired; she kept working. (Correct answer)
- She was tired; because she stayed up late.
- She was; tired and kept working.
Correct answer: She was tired; she kept working.
A semicolon joins two independent clauses without a coordinating conjunction.
Question 3: Which word correctly completes the sentence: 'The storm caused ___ damage to the town'?
- less
- fewer
- little
- much (Correct answer)
Correct answer: much
'Much' is used with uncountable nouns like 'damage,' while 'fewer' and 'less' imply reduction.
Question 4: Which sentence is written in the passive voice?
- The dog chased the cat.
- Maria completed her homework.
- The trophy was awarded to the winner. (Correct answer)
- He finished the race quickly.
Correct answer: The trophy was awarded to the winner.
Passive voice has the subject receiving the action; 'the trophy' receives 'was awarded.'
Question 5: Choose the correctly punctuated dialogue.
- "Come here" she said.
- "Come here," she said. (Correct answer)
- "Come here," She said.
- "Come here." she said.
Correct answer: "Come here," she said.
A comma goes inside the closing quotation mark when followed by a dialogue tag like 'she said.'
Question 6: Which sentence has an error in pronoun-antecedent agreement?
- Each student submitted their project.
- The team won its championship.
- Everyone brought his or her lunch.
- Neither of the girls forgot their backpack. (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Neither of the girls forgot their backpack.
'Neither' is singular, so it requires a singular pronoun like 'her,' not the plural 'their.'
Question 7: What is the function of an appositive in a sentence?
- It modifies a verb.
- It replaces the subject.
- It renames or identifies a nearby noun. (Correct answer)
- It shows the relationship between clauses.
Correct answer: It renames or identifies a nearby noun.
An appositive is a noun phrase placed next to another noun to rename or describe it.
NWEA Language Usage 2
Which sentence uses commas correctly in a series?