Praxis Writing Usage Exam 1 — Questions and Answers

Question 1: "Once you get the hang of it, surfing is one of the funnest activities around."

A: Once you
"B: hang of it, "
C: funnest (Correct answer)
D: around.
E: No error

Correct answer: C: funnest

"Funnest" is an informal and non-standard superlative form. The correct superlative for "fun" is "most fun." While "funnest" is sometimes used colloquially, in formal writing, "most fun" is preferred to maintain grammatical correctness.

Question 2: "Turn off your lights!" he shouted at there father.

A: “Turn
B: lights!”
C: there (Correct answer)
D: father.
E: No error

Correct answer: C: there

The original sentence incorrectly uses "there," which indicates a place, instead of "their." "Their" is the possessive pronoun needed to show that the father belongs to "them" (the implied subject). This is a common homophone error.

Question 3: "If only he had listened to the words of his mother, he wouldn't be in this silly situation."

A: If only he had
B: of his mother
C: he wouldn’t be
D: this silly situation.
E: No error (Correct answer)

Correct answer: E: No error

The sentence is grammatically correct, using the proper conditional structure ("If only he had listened... he wouldn't be"). There are no issues with punctuation, word choice, or verb tense. Therefore, the sentence requires no correction.

Question 4: Him and his sister ran and ran, but they could not seem to get away from the pack of dogs."

A: Him and his sister (Correct answer)
B: ran and ran
C: could not seem
D: pack of dogs.
E: No error

Correct answer: A: Him and his sister

The original sentence incorrectly uses the objective pronoun "Him" as part of the compound subject. As subjects of a sentence, pronouns should be in the nominative case, so "He" is required instead of "Him." The correct phrasing would be "He and his sister."

Question 5: The only person who can make that decision is the president of the United States.

A: The only person
B: who can
C: that decision
D: the president (Correct answer)
E: No error

Correct answer: D: the president

When referring to a specific person holding a high office, such as "President of the United States," the title should be capitalized. In this sentence, "the president" refers to a specific individual in that role, thus requiring capitalization for proper noun usage.

Question 6: "I don't want too and you can't make me," said he."

A: “I don’t
B: too (Correct answer)
"C: me,”"
D: said he.
E: No error

Correct answer: B: too

The original sentence incorrectly uses "too," which means "also" or "excessively." The correct word here is "to," which is part of the implied infinitive phrase "to do something" (e.g., "I don't want to [do it]"). This is a common homophone error.

Question 7: Many people would immediately stop smoking if they knew only all the dangers, says the report."

A: Many people
B: immediately stop
"C: dangers, says"
D: knew only (Correct answer)
E: No error

Correct answer: D: knew only

The word "only" is misplaced in the original sentence. It should modify "all the dangers" to convey that people would stop smoking if they knew *only* those dangers, or if they *just* knew all the dangers. The correct placement would be "if they only knew all the dangers" or "if they knew all the dangers only."

Question 8: "Lester, a giant fro his age; was respected by all the other children."

A: Lester
B: a giant for
C: age; was (Correct answer)
D: other children.
E: No error

Correct answer: C: age; was

The phrase "a giant for his age" is an appositive, providing additional information about Lester. Appositives should be set off by commas, not semicolons, when they are non-essential. A semicolon incorrectly separates the subject ("Lester") from its verb ("was respected").

Question 9: Asking for directions when you are lost is the properly course of action.

A: Asking
B: for directions
C: you are lost
D: properly (Correct answer)
E: No error

Correct answer: D: properly

The word "properly" is an adverb, but the sentence requires an adjective to modify the noun "course." The correct word should be "proper," as in "the proper course of action." Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs, while adjectives modify nouns.

Question 10: Ray drives across town and picked up some supplies for the celebratory meal.

A: Ray
B: drives (Correct answer)
C: up
D: celebratory meal.
E: No error

Correct answer: B: drives

The sentence demonstrates an error in verb tense consistency. "Drives" is in the present tense, while "picked up" is in the past tense. To maintain parallelism and consistency, both verbs should be in the same tense, either "drove" (past) or "drives and picks up" (present).

Question 11: " On a saturday night in the spring, the Jacksons threw an anniversary party for Henry and Jackie."

A: saturday night (Correct answer)
B: Jacksons
C: an anniversary party
D: for Henry and Jackie.
E: No error

Correct answer: A: saturday night

Days of the week, such as "Saturday," are proper nouns and should always be capitalized. The original sentence incorrectly uses a lowercase "s" for "saturday."

Question 12: "These brief setbacks despite being annoying, did not dissuade Leonard from his long - term goals."

A: setbacks despite (Correct answer)
"B: annoying, "
C: Leonard
D: long-term goal.
E: No error

Correct answer: A: setbacks despite

The phrase "despite being annoying" is an introductory or parenthetical phrase that modifies "setbacks." It should be set off by commas to clearly separate it from the main clause. The correct punctuation would be "setbacks, despite being annoying, did not dissuade..."

Question 13: " You know how I feel" he said quietly.

A: “You
B: feel” (Correct answer)
C: he said
D: quietly.
E: No error

Correct answer: B: feel”

In American English, commas and periods that are part of the main sentence (not part of the quoted material) should be placed *inside* the closing quotation marks. The original sentence incorrectly places the quotation mark before the comma.

Question 14: At long last the doctor - a total stranger; showed up at the house.

A: At long last
B: -- a
C: stranger; (Correct answer)
D: at the house.
E: No error

Correct answer: C: stranger;

The phrase "a total stranger" is an appositive providing additional information about "the doctor." When an appositive is set off by dashes, both opening and closing dashes should be used. A semicolon is inappropriate here and creates a grammatical error.

Question 15: " But it's important!" Hannah exclaimed.

A: “But
B: it’s
C: important!”
D: exclaimed.
E: No error (Correct answer)

Correct answer: E: No error

The sentence is grammatically correct and properly punctuated. The quotation marks, apostrophe in "it's," exclamation point, and capitalization are all used correctly. Therefore, no correction is needed.

Question 16: " The brightness of the morning; accentuated by the dew on the grass, made George feel much better."

A: brightness
B: morning; (Correct answer)
"C: grass,"
D: better.
E: No error

Correct answer: B: morning;

The phrase "accentuated by the dew on the grass" modifies "the brightness of the morning." This modifying phrase should be set off by a comma, not a semicolon, to separate it from the main clause. A semicolon incorrectly breaks the flow between the subject and its predicate.

Question 17: She didn't answer him; she was concentrating on her paper.

A: didn’t
B: him;
C: was concentrating
D: paper.
E: No error (Correct answer)

Correct answer: E: No error

The sentence is grammatically correct. The semicolon is appropriately used to connect two closely related independent clauses. There are no errors in punctuation, word choice, or sentence structure.

Question 18: The day after the dance: he called her up at her parents' house and asked her to dinner.

A: dance: (Correct answer)
B: he called her
C: parents’
D: to dinner.
E: No error

Correct answer: A: dance:

A colon is used to introduce a list, an explanation, or a quotation, none of which apply here. The phrase "The day after the dance" is an introductory time phrase that should be followed by a comma to separate it from the independent clause that follows.

Question 19: "This book is amazing," she sighed contented."

A: “This
"B: amazing,” "
C: she sighed
D: contented. (Correct answer)
E: No error

Correct answer: D: contented.

The word "contented" is an adjective, but an adverb is needed to describe how she sighed. The correct word should be "contentedly," which is the adverbial form. Adverbs modify verbs, describing *how* an action is performed.

Question 20: "He wasn't going to not say anything, until it became clear that this would be impossible."

A: wasn’t (Correct answer)
B: say anything
C: it became
D: impossible.
E: No error

Correct answer: A: wasn’t

The sentence contains a double negative: "wasn't going to not say anything." This construction is grammatically incorrect and confusing, as two negatives cancel each other out, implying the opposite of the intended meaning. To correct it, one of the negatives should be removed, for example, by changing "wasn't" to "was" or removing "not say anything" and replacing it with a positive action.

Question 21: It is a great glory to always be sitting among friends and kinfolk.

A: great glory
B: to always be (Correct answer)
C: among friends
D: kinfolk.
E: No error

Correct answer: B: to always be

The phrase "to always be sitting" is an example of a split infinitive, where the adverb "always" is placed between "to" and the base verb "be." While sometimes acceptable in informal speech, in formal writing, it is generally preferred to keep the infinitive intact. The more grammatically conventional phrasing would be "to be always sitting" or "always to be sitting."

Question 22: The defeated baseball team sat down to his and her supper with heavy hearts.

A: The defeated
B: sat down
C: his and her (Correct answer)
D: heavy hearts.
E: No error

Correct answer: C: his and her

The subject of the sentence, "The defeated baseball team," is a collective noun referring to multiple individuals. Therefore, the possessive pronoun used to refer to their supper should be plural, which is "their." "His and her" is a singular construction that refers to individual male and female possessors, which does not agree with the plural subject.

Praxis Writing Usage Exam 1

"Once you get the hang of it, surfing is one of the funnest activities around."