OSSLT - Ontario Secondary School Literacy Applying Punctuation Rules Questions and Answers 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which sentence uses the apostrophe correctly?
- The student's were excited about the field trip to Ottawa.
- The students' projects were displayed in the hallway. (Correct answer)
- The students project's were on display.
- The student's project's were graded.
Correct answer: The students' projects were displayed in the hallway.
The apostrophe in 'students'' correctly shows plural possession.
When showing possession for a plural noun ending in 's,' add only an apostrophe after the 's' (students').
Question 2: Which sentence correctly uses a semicolon?
- The hockey game was intense; and the crowd cheered loudly.
- Toronto is Ontario's capital; it is also Canada's largest city. (Correct answer)
- She packed her lunch; including a sandwich and fruit.
- We visited Niagara Falls; which was breathtaking.
Correct answer: Toronto is Ontario's capital; it is also Canada's largest city.
A semicolon correctly joins two independent clauses that are closely related without a coordinating conjunction.
A semicolon joins two independent clauses that are closely related. Both parts of option B are complete sentences with a clear connection.
Question 3: Which sentence correctly uses commas to set off a non-essential clause?
- The Parliament Buildings which are located in Ottawa attract millions of visitors.
- The Parliament Buildings, which are located in Ottawa, attract millions of visitors. (Correct answer)
- The Parliament Buildings, which are located in Ottawa attract millions of visitors.
- The Parliament Buildings which are located in Ottawa, attract millions of visitors.
Correct answer: The Parliament Buildings, which are located in Ottawa, attract millions of visitors.
Non-essential clauses must be set off by commas on both sides.
A non-essential clause provides extra information and must be enclosed by commas on both sides.
Question 4: What is the correct way to punctuate a direct quotation within a sentence?
- The teacher said that "please open your textbooks."
- The teacher said, "Please open your textbooks." (Correct answer)
- The teacher said "Please open your textbooks".
- "The teacher said, please open your textbooks."
Correct answer: The teacher said, "Please open your textbooks."
A direct quotation requires a comma before the opening quotation mark, capitalization of the first word, and the period inside the closing quotation mark.
When punctuating direct speech: use a comma after the speech tag, capitalize the first word of the quotation, and place the period inside the closing quotation marks.
Question 5: Which sentence correctly uses a colon?
- She needed: bread, milk, and eggs from the store.
- The recipe calls for three main ingredients: flour, sugar, and butter. (Correct answer)
- The provinces include: Ontario, Quebec, and Alberta.
- He said: that he would be late.
Correct answer: The recipe calls for three main ingredients: flour, sugar, and butter.
A colon follows a complete sentence and introduces a list.
A colon is used after a complete independent clause to introduce a list. Option B has a complete sentence before the colon.
Question 6: Which sentence uses quotation marks correctly with other punctuation?
- Did she say, "I'll meet you at the library"?
- She asked, "Did you finish your homework?" (Correct answer)
- "I can't believe it", she said.
- She said "I love reading".
Correct answer: She asked, "Did you finish your homework?"
When the quoted material is itself a question, the question mark goes inside the quotation marks.
When the quoted speech is a question, the question mark belongs inside the quotation marks.
OSSLT - Ontario Secondary School Literacy Applying Punctuation Rules Questions and Answers 2
Which sentence uses the apostrophe correctly?