Writing Usage Flashcards

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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."

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

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.

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

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.

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

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."

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

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").

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

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.

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

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).

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

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."

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

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..."

" You know how I feel" he said quietly.

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.

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

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.

" But it's important!" Hannah exclaimed.

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

"This book is amazing," she sighed contented."

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.

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

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.