Written Expression and Grammar Flashcards

Which sentence contains a subject-verb agreement error?

Answer: The group of teachers are presenting at noon.

The subject 'group' is singular, so the correct verb is 'is presenting,' not 'are presenting.'

On the VCLA Writing subtest, which of the following is a run-on sentence?

Answer: He was late he missed the meeting.

'He was late he missed the meeting' is a run-on because two independent clauses are joined without proper punctuation or conjunction.

Which sentence uses a comma splice incorrectly?

Answer: It was cold outside, she wore a heavy coat.

'It was cold outside, she wore a heavy coat' is a comma splice—two independent clauses incorrectly joined with only a comma.

Which of the following best corrects the dangling modifier in 'Running to catch the bus, the rain began to fall'?

Answer: Running to catch the bus, she noticed the rain began to fall.

Adding 'she noticed' gives the participial phrase 'Running to catch the bus' a clear subject to modify.

In VCLA writing tasks, which pronoun-antecedent agreement error appears in the following sentence: 'Everyone must submit their application by Friday'?

Answer: There is no error; 'their' is now accepted as a singular pronoun.

Modern grammar widely accepts 'their' as a singular gender-neutral pronoun, so the sentence contains no error.

Which punctuation mark correctly joins two closely related independent clauses without a conjunction on the VCLA?

Answer: Semicolon

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