Ohio Civil Service Grammar and Written Expression Questions and Answers — Questions and Answers
Question 1: The collection of reports, which detail the agency's quarterly expenditures, _____ ready for the director's review.
- are
- is (Correct answer)
- were
- have been
Correct answer: is
The correct answer is 'is'. The subject of the sentence is 'collection', which is a singular noun. Therefore, it requires the singular verb 'is'. The prepositional phrase 'of reports' does not change the number of the subject.
Question 2: Which of the following sentences is grammatically correct?
- The training session was mandatory; however, several employees were absent. (Correct answer)
- The training session was mandatory, however, several employees were absent.
- The training session was mandatory, several employees were absent.
- The training session was mandatory; but several employees were absent.
Correct answer: The training session was mandatory; however, several employees were absent.
The correct sentence uses a semicolon to join two independent clauses. 'The training session was mandatory' and 'several employees were absent' are both complete sentences. A semicolon is appropriate here, especially before a conjunctive adverb like 'however'. The other options create a comma splice or misuse punctuation.
Question 3: Which of the following sentences is written most clearly and correctly?
- Stored in the archive room, the clerk found the historical documents.
- The clerk found the historical documents stored in the archive room. (Correct answer)
- The clerk, stored in the archive room, found the historical documents.
- Finding the historical documents, the archive room was where the clerk looked.
Correct answer: The clerk found the historical documents stored in the archive room.
This sentence is the most clear because the modifying phrase 'stored in the archive room' is correctly placed immediately after 'historical documents,' the noun it describes. The other options contain misplaced or dangling modifiers, creating illogical meanings (e.g., suggesting the clerk was stored in the archive room).
Question 4: The new state regulation will significantly ________ the way local agencies handle public records, and the long-term ________ of this change is still unknown.
- effect, affect
- effect, effect
- affect, effect (Correct answer)
- affect, affect
Correct answer: affect, effect
The correct choice is 'affect, effect'. 'Affect' is a verb meaning 'to influence or impact'. 'Effect' is a noun meaning 'a result or consequence'. The regulation will influence (affect) the agencies, and the result (effect) of the change is unknown.
Question 5: The duties of the administrative assistant include managing schedules, processing invoices, and _______ reports for the department head.
- to prepare
- the preparation of
- preparing (Correct answer)
- will prepare
Correct answer: preparing
To maintain parallel structure, all items in a series should be in the same grammatical form. The first two items in the list, 'managing' and 'processing', are gerunds (verbs ending in -ing used as nouns). Therefore, the third item must also be a gerund, making 'preparing' the correct answer.
Question 6: Each department in the agency must submit ______ annual budget proposal by Friday.
- their
- it's
- there
- its (Correct answer)
Correct answer: its
The antecedent of the pronoun is 'Each department'. 'Each' is a singular indefinite pronoun, making the subject 'department' singular. Therefore, the singular possessive pronoun 'its' is required. 'Their' is plural, 'it's' is a contraction of 'it is', and 'there' indicates a place.
Ohio Civil Service Grammar and Written Expression Questions and Answers
The collection of reports, which detail the agency's quarterly expenditures, _____ ready for the director's review.