PARCC - Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers Comma Usage Practice Questions 1

Question 1

Which sentence correctly uses commas with an appositive phrase?

Accepted Answer

My sister, Elena, is studying medicine at Harvard.

Answer

An appositive phrase that renames or identifies a noun must be enclosed with commas on both sides. 'Elena' renames 'My sister,' so commas appear both before and after it.

Question 2

Which sentence correctly uses commas with a full date written mid-sentence?

Accepted Answer

The treaty was signed on July 4, 1776, in Philadelphia.

Answer

When a full date (month, day, and year) appears within a sentence, a comma follows both the day and the year. Option C correctly places a comma after '1776' before continuing the rest of the sentence.

Question 3

Which sentence correctly uses commas with a direct address?

Accepted Answer

Can you please help me, Marcus, with this problem?

Answer

When directly addressing someone by name mid-sentence, the name must be set off with commas on both sides. Option C correctly encloses 'Marcus' with commas before and after.

Question 4

Which sentence correctly uses commas around a parenthetical expression?

Accepted Answer

The new policy, in fact, has been very effective.

Answer

Parenthetical expressions like 'in fact' interrupt the flow of a sentence and must be enclosed by commas on both sides. Option D correctly places a comma both before and after 'in fact.'

Question 5

Which sentence correctly uses a comma with a contrasting element?

Accepted Answer

It was her persistence, not her talent, that won the prize.

Answer

Contrasting elements introduced by 'not' should be enclosed with commas. Option C correctly places a comma before 'not' and after 'talent' to set off the contrasting phrase from the rest of the sentence.

PARCC Practice Test

PARCC Practice Test

PARCC - Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers Comma Usage Practice Questions 1