Writing Conventions Flashcards

Which sentence uses a semicolon correctly?

Answer: She studied all night; she passed the exam.

A semicolon correctly joins two independent clauses without a coordinating conjunction.

Which sentence contains a dangling modifier?

Answer: Running through the park, a deer was spotted by Maria.

A dangling modifier occurs when the subject performing the action is not the subject of the main clause; here 'a deer' is not running.

Which option corrects the comma splice: 'The report was late, the manager was furious.'?

Answer: Both A and C are correct.

A comma splice can be corrected by adding a coordinating conjunction after the comma or by using a colon when the second clause explains the first.

In which sentence is the apostrophe used correctly?

Answer: The students' projects were displayed in the hall.

When a plural noun already ends in -s, add only an apostrophe to show possession.

Which sentence demonstrates correct subject-verb agreement?

Answer: Neither the coach nor the players were ready.

With 'neither…nor,' the verb agrees with the subject closest to it; since 'players' is plural, the verb should be 'were.'

Which sentence correctly uses a colon?

Answer: She needed three things: a pencil, paper, and an eraser.

A colon should follow a complete independent clause before introducing a list or explanation.

Which sentence uses parallel structure correctly?

Answer: She likes hiking, swimming, and running.

Parallel structure requires all items in a series to use the same grammatical form; here all gerunds (-ing) are consistent.