Proofreading & Editing Basic Proofreading 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which sentence contains a dangling modifier?
- Running to the store, she forgot her wallet.
- Running to the store, the wallet was forgotten. (Correct answer)
- She forgot her wallet while running to the store.
- While running, she realized she forgot her wallet.
Correct answer: Running to the store, the wallet was forgotten.
A dangling modifier has no clear subject — 'the wallet' cannot run to the store.
Question 2: Which word is spelled correctly?
- accomodate
- accommodate (Correct answer)
- acommodate
- acomodate
Correct answer: accommodate
'Accommodate' has double 'c' and double 'm'.
Question 3: A proofreader sees: 'The data shows that less students passed.' What is wrong?
- Wrong verb form — should be 'show'
- 'Less' should be 'fewer' because students are countable (Correct answer)
- 'Passed' should be 'past'
- No error exists
Correct answer: 'Less' should be 'fewer' because students are countable
'Fewer' is used with countable nouns; 'less' is used with uncountable quantities.
Question 4: Which punctuation correctly separates two independent clauses?
- She studied hard, she passed the exam.
- She studied hard; she passed the exam. (Correct answer)
- She studied hard: she passed the exam.
- She studied hard — she passed the exam, therefore.
Correct answer: She studied hard; she passed the exam.
A semicolon correctly joins two independent clauses without a coordinating conjunction.
Question 5: What type of error is found in: 'Their going to the park tomorrow'?
- Subject-verb agreement error
- Homophone confusion — 'their' should be 'they're' (Correct answer)
- Missing comma
- Apostrophe error in 'tomorrow'
Correct answer: Homophone confusion — 'their' should be 'they're'
'They're' is the contraction of 'they are'; 'their' is possessive.
Question 6: Which sentence uses capitalization correctly?
- We visited the Pacific ocean last Summer.
- We visited the pacific Ocean last summer.
- We visited the Pacific Ocean last summer. (Correct answer)
- We visited the pacific ocean last summer.
Correct answer: We visited the Pacific Ocean last summer.
Proper nouns like 'Pacific Ocean' are capitalized; common nouns like 'summer' are not.
Question 7: In proofreading, what does 'stet' mean?
- Delete the marked text
- Move the text to a new paragraph
- Let the original stand — ignore the correction (Correct answer)
- Insert a space here
Correct answer: Let the original stand — ignore the correction
'Stet' is a Latin proofreading mark meaning 'let it stand' — restore the original text.
Proofreading & Editing Basic Proofreading 2
Which sentence contains a dangling modifier?