English Grammar Test Punctuation Rules 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which sentence correctly uses a comma with a nonrestrictive clause?
- The book that I loved was out of print.
- My sister who lives in Texas called me.
- My sister, who lives in Texas, called me. (Correct answer)
- The car which is red belongs to him.
Correct answer: My sister, who lives in Texas, called me.
Nonrestrictive clauses (extra, non-essential information) are set off by commas.
Question 2: What punctuation should follow the salutation of a formal business letter?
- Comma
- Semicolon
- Colon (Correct answer)
- Period
Correct answer: Colon
Formal business letters use a colon after the salutation (e.g., 'Dear Ms. Smith:'), while personal letters use a comma.
Question 3: Which sentence correctly uses a dash to show a range?
- Pages 10—20 cover the topic.
- Pages 10–20 cover the topic. (Correct answer)
- Pages 10-20 cover the topic.
- Pages 10…20 cover the topic.
Correct answer: Pages 10–20 cover the topic.
An en dash (–) is used to indicate ranges of numbers, dates, or time, not a hyphen or em dash.
Question 4: Which sentence correctly uses commas with a date?
- On July 4 1776, the Declaration was signed.
- On July 4, 1776 the Declaration was signed.
- On July 4, 1776, the Declaration was signed. (Correct answer)
- On July, 4, 1776, the Declaration was signed.
Correct answer: On July 4, 1776, the Declaration was signed.
When a full date (month, day, year) appears mid-sentence, commas follow both the day and the year.
Question 5: In which case should you use 'who's' instead of 'whose'?
- "___ book is on the table?"
- "___ coming to the party?" (Correct answer)
- "The dog ___ owner left is missing."
- "___ coat is this?"
Correct answer: "___ coming to the party?"
'Who's' is a contraction of 'who is' or 'who has'; 'whose' is the possessive form.
Question 6: Which option shows correct hyphenation of a compound modifier?
- a fast moving car
- a fast-moving car (Correct answer)
- a fast, moving car
- a fastmoving car
Correct answer: a fast-moving car
When two or more words jointly modify a noun before it, they are hyphenated as a compound modifier.
Question 7: Which sentence correctly handles a quotation within a quotation?
- She said, "He told me 'good luck' before the test." (Correct answer)
- She said, 'He told me "good luck" before the test.'
- She said, "He told me "good luck" before the test."
- She said, 'He told me 'good luck' before the test.'
Correct answer: She said, "He told me 'good luck' before the test."
In American English, single quotation marks are used inside double quotation marks for a quote within a quote.
English Grammar Test Punctuation Rules 4
Which sentence correctly uses a comma with a nonrestrictive clause?