Sentence Structure & Punctuation Flashcards

Which sentence correctly uses an apostrophe to show singular possession?

Answer: The dog's bone was buried in the yard.

For singular possession, add an apostrophe followed by 's' to the noun.

"The cat licked _______ paws after eating." Which form is correct?

Answer: its

'Its' without an apostrophe is the possessive pronoun; 'it's' is a contraction of 'it is.'

Which sentence correctly uses em dashes to set off a parenthetical element?

Answer: She finally answered—after three days—the urgent email.

Em dashes used in pairs effectively set off parenthetical information with greater emphasis than commas.

"The experiment failed three times. _______, the team revised their hypothesis." Which transition correctly shows the logical relationship?

Answer: Consequently

'Consequently' signals a cause-and-effect relationship, showing that the failures led to the revision.

Which sentence correctly introduces a list with a colon?

Answer: The meeting covered three topics: budget, staffing, and policy.

A colon correctly introduces a list when it follows a complete independent clause.

Which sentence is ambiguous due to the missing Oxford comma?

Answer: I thanked my parents, the mayor and the principal.

Without the Oxford comma, 'my parents, the mayor and the principal' could suggest the parents are the mayor and the principal.

Which sentence correctly uses parentheses?

Answer: The new policy (effective January 1st) will affect all employees.

Parentheses enclose supplementary information without needing additional punctuation outside the parentheses.