RLA Sentence Structure and Punctuation 4

Question 1

Which sentence correctly uses parentheses?

Accepted Answer

She finally passed the test (after three attempts).

Answer

When parenthetical information ends a sentence, the period goes outside the closing parenthesis.

Question 2

Which option corrects the comma splice: 'I was tired, I went to bed early.'

Accepted Answer

I was tired; I went to bed early.

Answer

A semicolon correctly joins two independent clauses that are closely related.

Question 3

Which sentence correctly uses a hyphen?

Accepted Answer

She is a well-known author.

Answer

Compound modifiers before a noun are hyphenated, so 'well-known' is correct before 'author'.

Question 4

Which sentence is grammatically correct?

Accepted Answer

Neither the players nor the coach was ready.

Answer

With 'neither...nor,' the verb agrees with the subject closest to it ('coach'), which is singular.

Question 5

Which sentence uses an appositive correctly?

Accepted Answer

My brother, a doctor, lives in Boston.

Answer

An appositive phrase that adds non-essential information is set off by commas on both sides.

RLA - Reasoning through Language Arts Practice Test