Boundaries Punctuation and Grammar Flashcards

Which sentence uses a semicolon correctly?

Answer: The storm was fierce; trees fell everywhere.

A semicolon correctly joins two independent clauses. 'The storm was fierce' and 'trees fell everywhere' are both complete sentences.

Choose the sentence with the correct apostrophe usage.

Answer: The dog wagged its tail.

'Its' (no apostrophe) is the possessive pronoun. 'It's' is a contraction of 'it is.'

Which option correctly fixes this run-on sentence: 'The meeting ran late everyone was exhausted'?

Answer: The meeting ran late; everyone was exhausted.

A semicolon correctly separates two independent clauses. Option A creates a comma splice.

Which sentence correctly uses a colon?

Answer: She had one goal: to win the championship.

A colon after a complete independent clause introducing a list, explanation, or appositive is correct.

Select the correctly punctuated sentence.

Answer: My sister, who lives in Boston, loves coffee.

The nonrestrictive clause 'who lives in Boston' is correctly set off with commas on both sides.

Which sentence has a subject-verb agreement error?

Answer: Neither the teacher nor the students was present.

With 'neither...nor,' the verb agrees with the subject closest to it. 'Students' is plural, so 'were' is correct, not 'was.'

Which punctuation best fills the blank: 'She had three options __ leave, stay, or fight.'?

Answer: :

A colon introduces a list after a complete independent clause.

Which version correctly uses a dash?

Answer: The trip—Paris, Rome, and Athens—was unforgettable.

Dashes can enclose a parenthetical list or interruption. Both dashes correctly set off the appositive 'Paris, Rome, and Athens.'