CHSPE Language - Mechanics and Editing 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which word is spelled correctly?
- Occurance
- Occurence
- Occurrence (Correct answer)
- Occurrance
Correct answer: Occurrence
The correct spelling is 'occurrence' with double 'c' and double 'r.'
Question 2: Select the correctly written sentence regarding quotation marks:
- She said, "I will be there tomorrow".
- She said, "I will be there tomorrow." (Correct answer)
- She said, 'I will be there tomorrow.'
- She said "I will be there tomorrow".
Correct answer: She said, "I will be there tomorrow."
In American English, periods and commas go inside the closing quotation marks.
Question 3: Which word is a homophone pair used incorrectly in: 'The principle of the school gave a speech.'?
- 'speech' should be 'speach'
- 'principal' is misspelled as 'principle' (Correct answer)
- 'gave' should be 'give'
- No error in the sentence
Correct answer: 'principal' is misspelled as 'principle'
The head of a school is the 'principal' (your pal), while 'principle' refers to a rule or belief.
Question 4: Which sentence correctly uses a hyphen?
- She is a well known scientist.
- She is a well-known scientist. (Correct answer)
- The scientist is well-known.
- The well known-scientist gave a talk.
Correct answer: She is a well-known scientist.
Compound modifiers before a noun (well-known scientist) are hyphenated, but not when used after the noun.
Question 5: Select the sentence that correctly uses 'effect' and 'affect':
- The rain effected our plans.
- Stress can affect your health. (Correct answer)
- The medicine had no affect.
- She tried to effect a change in her mood.
Correct answer: Stress can affect your health.
'Affect' is typically a verb meaning to influence; 'effect' is typically a noun meaning a result.
Question 6: Which sentence correctly uses a dash (em dash)?
- She bought three items — milk, eggs, bread. (Correct answer)
- She bought three items, milk, eggs, bread.
- She bought three items: — milk, eggs, bread.
- She bought three — items: milk, eggs, bread.
Correct answer: She bought three items — milk, eggs, bread.
An em dash can replace a colon to introduce a list, especially for dramatic or emphatic effect.
CHSPE Language - Mechanics and Editing 2
Which word is spelled correctly?