Proofreading & Editing Grammar & Punctuation 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which sentence uses a comma correctly?
- She loves editing, and she is very good at it. (Correct answer)
- She loves editing and, she is very good at it.
- She loves, editing and she is very good at it.
- She loves editing and she, is very good at it.
Correct answer: She loves editing, and she is very good at it.
A comma is correctly placed before a coordinating conjunction joining two independent clauses.
Question 2: Which of the following is a run-on sentence?
- She proofread the document, and she found several errors.
- She proofread the document she found several errors. (Correct answer)
- She proofread the document; she found several errors.
- She proofread the document. She found several errors.
Correct answer: She proofread the document she found several errors.
A run-on sentence incorrectly joins two independent clauses without proper punctuation or a conjunction.
Question 3: Which word is a conjunction in the sentence: 'He edited the report, but he missed a typo'?
- edited
- report
- but (Correct answer)
- missed
Correct answer: but
'But' is a coordinating conjunction that connects two independent clauses.
Question 4: Which punctuation mark is used to introduce a list?
- Semicolon
- Colon (Correct answer)
- Em dash
- Ellipsis
Correct answer: Colon
A colon is used to introduce a list, quotation, or elaboration.
Question 5: What is the correct possessive form of 'children'?
- childrens'
- children's (Correct answer)
- childrens's
- childrens
Correct answer: children's
Since 'children' is an irregular plural that does not end in 's', you add apostrophe + s to show possession.
Question 6: Which sentence contains a dangling modifier?
- Running quickly, she caught the bus.
- Running quickly, the bus was caught by her. (Correct answer)
- She ran quickly and caught the bus.
- She caught the bus by running quickly.
Correct answer: Running quickly, the bus was caught by her.
A dangling modifier occurs when the modifying phrase does not logically connect to the subject of the main clause — the bus cannot run.
Proofreading & Editing Grammar & Punctuation 1
Which sentence uses a comma correctly?