Proofreading & Editing Basic Proofreading 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which sentence contains a misplaced modifier?
- She almost drove her children to school every day. (Correct answer)
- The dog that barked loudly belonged to my neighbor.
- He quickly finished the assignment before lunch.
- Covered in mud, the children ran inside.
Correct answer: She almost drove her children to school every day.
'Almost' modifies 'drove' but should modify 'every day' — she drove almost every day, not almost drove.
Question 2: Which option correctly uses an apostrophe?
- The company's policy changed last year. (Correct answer)
- The companys' policy changed last year.
- The companies policy changed last year.
- The company's' policy changed last year.
Correct answer: The company's policy changed last year.
For a singular possessive, add apostrophe + s directly after the noun.
Question 3: The text reads: 'Between you and I, the deadline is unrealistic.' What is the error?
- Comma is missing after 'I'
- 'Between' should be 'among'
- 'I' should be 'me' — object of a preposition requires an object pronoun (Correct answer)
- No error exists
Correct answer: 'I' should be 'me' — object of a preposition requires an object pronoun
Prepositions require object pronouns; 'between you and me' is correct, not 'between you and I.'
Question 4: Which sentence avoids a comma splice?
- The meeting ended early, everyone left immediately.
- The meeting ended early, so everyone left immediately. (Correct answer)
- The meeting ended early everyone left immediately.
- The meeting ended early, however everyone left immediately.
Correct answer: The meeting ended early, so everyone left immediately.
Adding a coordinating conjunction like 'so' after the comma correctly joins two independent clauses.
Question 5: Which word is the correct spelling?
- occurance
- occurrance
- occurrence (Correct answer)
- ocurrence
Correct answer: occurrence
'Occurrence' has double 'c' and double 'r' followed by '-ence.'
Question 6: When proofreading, what does 'tr' written in the margin indicate?
- Delete and close up space
- Transpose — switch the order of letters, words, or elements (Correct answer)
- Translate this section
- Start a new track-changes revision
Correct answer: Transpose — switch the order of letters, words, or elements
The 'tr' or transposition mark tells the typesetter to reverse the order of the marked characters or words.
Question 7: Which sentence correctly punctuates a nonrestrictive clause?
- My sister who lives in Boston is visiting.
- My sister, who lives in Boston is visiting.
- My sister, who lives in Boston, is visiting. (Correct answer)
- My sister who lives in Boston, is visiting.
Correct answer: My sister, who lives in Boston, is visiting.
A nonrestrictive (non-essential) clause must be set off by commas on both sides.
Proofreading & Editing Basic Proofreading 4
Which sentence contains a misplaced modifier?