PARCC Comma Practice Test Questions

Question 1

1. For the Thanksgiving reunion, relatives were sitting in the dining room, on the porch, and in the carport.

Accepted Answer

No error

Answer

The sentence correctly uses commas to separate items in a series: 'in the dining room, on the porch, and in the carport.' The use of the Oxford comma before 'and' is grammatically acceptable and enhances clarity. There are no other punctuation or grammatical errors in the sentence.

Question 2

2. Lydia seems to be a kind, considerate girl.

Accepted Answer

No error

Answer

In the phrase 'kind, considerate girl,' 'kind' and 'considerate' are coordinate adjectives, meaning they independently modify the noun 'girl' and could be joined by 'and' (a kind and considerate girl). When coordinate adjectives appear before a noun, they should be separated by a comma. Since the comma is correctly placed, there is no error in the sentence.

Question 3

3. This fishing pole Nathan, has seen better days.

Accepted Answer

pole, Nathan,

Answer

The name 'Nathan' in this sentence is used in direct address, meaning the speaker is directly speaking to Nathan. When a noun or name is used in direct address, it must be set off by commas. Therefore, the phrase 'pole Nathan' should be 'pole, Nathan,' to correctly punctuate the direct address.

Question 4

4. My cousin has moved to 56 Central Street Narragansett, Rhode Island 02882.

Accepted Answer

Central Street,

Answer

When writing an address, commas are used to separate different elements. Specifically, a comma should separate the street address from the city. The original sentence is missing a comma after 'Street,' so it should correctly read '56 Central Street, Narragansett, Rhode Island 02882.'

Question 5

5. The badger, a shy animal sometimes makes friends with a coyote.

Accepted Answer

a shy animal,

Answer

The phrase 'a shy animal' is an appositive that provides additional, non-essential information about 'the badger.' Non-essential appositives must be set off by commas. A comma is missing after 'animal,' so the sentence should correctly read: 'The badger, a shy animal, sometimes makes friends with a coyote.'

PARCC Practice Test

PARCC Practice Test

PARCC Comma Practice Test Questions