Clerical Exams Proofreading 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Identify the error in this sentence: 'The report was submited to the director on Friday.'
- 'report' should be 'Report'
- 'submited' should be 'submitted' (Correct answer)
- 'director' should be 'Director'
- No error
Correct answer: 'submited' should be 'submitted'
'Submitted' has a double 't' before the '-ed' suffix. 'Submited' is a spelling error.
The verb 'submit' follows the doubling rule: when a verb ends in a single consonant preceded by a single vowel and the stress is on the final syllable, the consonant is doubled before adding '-ed'. Therefore, 'submit' becomes 'submitted', not 'submited'.
Question 2: Which sentence uses correct punctuation?
- Please review the attached files, and return your comments by Monday
- Please review the attached files and return your comments by Monday. (Correct answer)
- Please review the attached files and return your comments by Monday
- Please, review the attached files and return your comments, by Monday.
Correct answer: Please review the attached files and return your comments by Monday.
Option B is correctly punctuated with a period at the end and no unnecessary commas.
Option B is correct: it ends with a period and does not use an unnecessary comma before 'and' (no comma needed when the second clause has no subject). Option A places a comma before 'and' connecting two verb phrases (not two independent clauses), which is not required. Option C lacks a period. Option D adds misplaced commas.
Question 3: Find the error: 'Each of the employees were required to submit there timesheets by noon.'
- 'employees' should be 'employee's'
- 'were' should be 'was' and 'there' should be 'their' (Correct answer)
- 'required' should be 'requiring'
- No error
Correct answer: 'were' should be 'was' and 'there' should be 'their'
'Each' is singular, so the verb should be 'was'. 'There' (location) should be 'their' (possessive).
Two errors appear: First, 'each' is always singular, requiring the singular verb 'was', not 'were'. Second, 'there' refers to a place; the possessive pronoun 'their' is needed here (their timesheets). Both corrections make the sentence grammatically and logically correct.
Question 4: Which version correctly uses a colon?
- We need the following: staples, paper clips, and tape. (Correct answer)
- We need: the following staples, paper clips, and tape.
- We: need the following staples, paper clips, and tape.
- We need the following staples: paper clips, and tape.
Correct answer: We need the following: staples, paper clips, and tape.
A colon is correctly placed after a complete independent clause that introduces a list.
Option A correctly uses a colon after the complete clause 'We need the following' to introduce the list. Colons must follow an independent clause (complete thought). Options B, C, and D place the colon incorrectly — interrupting the sentence structure or separating only one list item from others.
Question 5: Identify the error: 'The manger approved the budget for the new project.'
- 'manger' should be 'manager' (Correct answer)
- 'approved' should be 'approves'
- 'budget' should be 'Budget'
- No error
Correct answer: 'manger' should be 'manager'
'Manger' is a feeding trough; 'manager' is the intended word.
This is a classic spell-check trap: 'manger' is a real English word (a trough for animal feed) but is not the intended word. The correct word is 'manager.' Proofreading requires reading for meaning, not just relying on spell-check, because it won't flag correctly-spelled-but-wrong words.
Question 6: Which sentence contains a capitalization error?
- The Director of Finance will present the Annual Report.
- The meeting is scheduled for tuesday at 2:00 PM. (Correct answer)
- Our office is located on the fifth floor.
- Please contact Human Resources for assistance.
Correct answer: The meeting is scheduled for tuesday at 2:00 PM.
Days of the week must always be capitalized: 'Tuesday', not 'tuesday'.
Days of the week (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, etc.) are proper nouns and must always be capitalized. 'tuesday' is incorrect — it should be 'Tuesday'. The other sentences are capitalized correctly: titles before names, proper nouns, and department names are appropriately capitalized.
Clerical Exams Proofreading 2
Identify the error in this sentence: 'The report was submited to the director on Friday.'