California High School Proficiency Exam California High School Proficiency Exam Language Mechanics 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which sentence uses a comma correctly?
- She went to the store, and bought milk.
- After the game, we celebrated at a restaurant. (Correct answer)
- I like cats, but, I also like dogs.
- The red, large, old barn stood at the edge of the field.
Correct answer: After the game, we celebrated at a restaurant.
A comma should follow an introductory adverbial phrase or clause before the main clause.
Question 2: Which sentence correctly punctuates an indirect question?
- She asked whether I was ready?
- She asked whether I was ready. (Correct answer)
- She asked whether I was ready!
- She asked whether I was ready;
Correct answer: She asked whether I was ready.
Indirect questions are statements, not questions, so they end with a period rather than a question mark.
Question 3: Where should the apostrophe be placed to show that multiple students share books?
- student's books
- students' books (Correct answer)
- students's books
- No apostrophe needed
Correct answer: students' books
When a plural noun already ends in -s, the apostrophe is placed after the s to show possession.
Question 4: Which sentence uses a semicolon correctly?
- I went to the store; and bought milk.
- She loves reading; she goes to the library every week. (Correct answer)
- He ran; quickly down the street.
- They ate dinner; but left early.
Correct answer: She loves reading; she goes to the library every week.
A semicolon correctly joins two independent clauses without a coordinating conjunction.
Question 5: Which sentence with dialogue is punctuated correctly?
- "Come here," she said, "I need your help."
- "Come here" she said "I need your help."
- "Come here," she said. "I need your help." (Correct answer)
- "Come here", she said "I need your help."
Correct answer: "Come here," she said. "I need your help."
When a speech tag is followed by a new complete sentence of dialogue, the tag ends with a period.
Question 6: Which sentence uses a colon correctly?
- I need: milk, eggs, and bread.
- My favorite subjects are: math and science.
- She had one goal: to graduate early. (Correct answer)
- He: ran to the store.
Correct answer: She had one goal: to graduate early.
A colon is correctly used after a complete independent clause to introduce what follows.
California High School Proficiency Exam California High School Proficiency Exam Language Mechanics 1
Which sentence uses a comma correctly?