FREE NYC Civil Service Written Expression and Grammar Questions and Answers Flashcards

Which sentence avoids a dangling modifier?

Answer: After reviewing the case file, the supervisor made a decision.

The modifier 'After reviewing the case file' must attach to the subject who performed the reviewing, which is 'the supervisor.'

Which of the following is a complete sentence?

Answer: The applicant failed to submit the required documents.

Only option C contains both a subject ('The applicant') and a complete predicate ('failed to submit the required documents').

Select the sentence with correct subject-verb agreement: 'Neither the manager nor the clerks _____ aware of the change.'

Answer: are

When using 'neither…nor,' the verb agrees with the subject closest to it; since 'clerks' is plural, 'are' is correct.

Which sentence uses apostrophes correctly?

Answer: The department's records are updated monthly.

'Department's' correctly shows singular possession; 'records' is simply plural and needs no apostrophe.

Which revision improves the clarity of this sentence? 'Employees that need assistance should contact their supervisor.'

Answer: Employees who need assistance should contact their supervisor.

'Who' is the correct relative pronoun for people; 'that' and 'which' are used for things.

Choose the option that correctly uses a semicolon.

Answer: The report was due Monday; however, it was submitted on Wednesday.

A semicolon precedes a conjunctive adverb like 'however,' which is then followed by a comma.