THEA THEA Grammar & Mechanics 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which of the following sentences contains a comma splice?
- I went to the store, and I bought milk.
- She studied hard, she passed the exam. (Correct answer)
- Although he was tired, he finished his homework.
- The weather was cold; therefore, we stayed inside.
Correct answer: She studied hard, she passed the exam.
A comma splice occurs when two independent clauses are joined with only a comma and no coordinating conjunction, as in 'She studied hard, she passed the exam.'
Question 2: Which sentence uses a semicolon correctly?
- I love to read; books, magazines, and newspapers.
- The concert was loud; but enjoyable.
- She arrived early; the doors were still locked. (Correct answer)
- He ate dinner; and then watched television.
Correct answer: She arrived early; the doors were still locked.
A semicolon correctly joins two independent clauses without a coordinating conjunction, as demonstrated in this sentence.
Question 3: Which sentence demonstrates correct subject-verb agreement?
- The team are playing well this season.
- Neither the players nor the coach were satisfied.
- Each of the participants has submitted a form. (Correct answer)
- The news are very disturbing today.
Correct answer: Each of the participants has submitted a form.
'Each' is a singular indefinite pronoun and always takes a singular verb, making 'has submitted' correct regardless of the prepositional phrase that follows.
Question 4: Which option correctly identifies the error in this sentence? 'The students, along with their teacher, was excited about the field trip.'
- 'students' should be 'student'
- 'was' should be 'were' (Correct answer)
- 'excited' should be 'exciting'
- 'about' should be 'for'
Correct answer: 'was' should be 'were'
The true subject is the plural 'students'; the phrase 'along with their teacher' is a parenthetical and does not change the subject, so the verb should be 'were.'
Question 5: Which sentence correctly uses a colon?
- The recipe calls for: flour, sugar, and eggs.
- She had three goals: to graduate, to travel, and to find a job. (Correct answer)
- I need to buy: groceries and cleaning supplies.
- He remembered: to lock the door.
Correct answer: She had three goals: to graduate, to travel, and to find a job.
A colon must follow an independent clause; 'She had three goals' is a complete sentence before the colon introduces the list.
Question 6: Which sentence avoids a dangling modifier?
- Walking to school, the rain began to fall.
- Having finished the exam, the room felt quiet.
- After studying all night, Maria finally understood the concept. (Correct answer)
- Barking loudly, the mailman was frightened by the dog.
Correct answer: After studying all night, Maria finally understood the concept.
In this sentence, 'Maria' is clearly the subject who studied all night, so the introductory modifier is correctly attached to the main clause subject.
Question 7: Which sentence uses apostrophes correctly?
- The book's on the shelf belong to James.
- It's a beautiful day outside. (Correct answer)
- The students' book's were left behind.
- The dog wagged it's tail happily.
Correct answer: It's a beautiful day outside.
'It's' is the contraction of 'it is,' which is used correctly here; the possessive 'its' does not take an apostrophe.
THEA THEA Grammar & Mechanics 1
Which of the following sentences contains a comma splice?