Deck 4: The Fourth Step in Writing

Question 1

Insert a semicolon where the break occurs between the two complete thoughts in each of the following run-ons.
EXAMPLE
I missed the bus by seconds; there would not be another for half an hour.
1. I spend eight hours a day in a windowless office it's a relief to get out into the open air after work.
2. The audience howled with laughter the comedian enjoyed a moment of triumph.
3. It rained all week parts of the highway were flooded.
4. Tony never goes to a certain gas station anymore he found out that the service manager overcharged him for a valve job.
5. The washer shook and banged with its unbalanced load then it began to walk across the floor.

Answer 1

Correcting Run-Ons Method 3-Semicolon Alone (437)
1. office; it's
2. laughter; the
3. week; parts
4. anymore; he
5. load; then

Question 2

For each of the italicized verbs, fill in the three missing forms in the following order:
(a) Present tense, which takes an - s ending when the subject is he, she, it, or any one person or thing (see pages 447-448)
(b) Past tense
(c) Past participle - the form that goes with the helping verb have, has, or had
After completing the activity, compare answers with a partner.
EXAMPLE
My uncle likes to give away certain things. He (a) gives old, threadbare clothes to the Salvation Army. Last year he (b) gave me a worthless television set whose picture tube was burned out. He has (c) given away stuff that a junk dealer would reject.
1. I like to freeze Hershey bars. A Hershey bar (a) _______ in half an hour. Once I (b) __________ a bottle of Pepsi. I put it in the freezer to chill and then forgot about it. Later I opened the freezer and discovered that it had (c) _______________ and exploded.
2. Natalie speaks French. She (a) ________ German too. Her grandmother (b) ________ both languages and taught them to her. Since she was a baby, Natalie has (c) ________ them both as well as she speaks English.
3. An acquaintance of mine is a shoplifter, although he knows it's wrong to steal. He (a) ________ candy bars from supermarkets. Last month he (b) ________ a digital camera and was caught by a store detective. He has (c) ________ pants and shirts by wearing several layers of clothes out of a store.
4. I go to parties a lot. Often Camille (a) ________ with me. She (b) ________ with me just last week. I have (c) ________ to parties every Friday for the past month.
5. My brother likes to throw things. Sometimes he (a) ________ socks into his bureau drawer. In high school he (b) ________ footballs while quarterbacking the team. And he has (c) ________ Frisbees in our backyard for as long as I can remember.
6. I would like to see a UFO. I spend hours looking at the night sky, hoping to ( a ) ________ one. A neighbor of ours claims he (b) ________ one last month. But he says he has (c) ________ the Abominable Snowman, too.
7. I often lie down for a few minutes after a hard day's work. Sometimes my cat (a) ________ down near me. Yesterday was Saturday, so I (b) ________ in bed all morning. I probably would have (c) ________ in bed all afternoon, but I wanted to get some planting done in my vegetable garden.
8. I do not understand the assignment. It simply (a) ________ not make sense to me. I was surprised to learn that Shirley (b) ________ understand it. In fact, she had already (c) ________ the assignment.
9. I often find it hard to begin writing a paper. The assignment that I must do (a) ________ to worry me while I'm watching television, but I seldom turn off the set. Once I waited until the late movie had ended before I (b) ________ to write. If I had (c) ________ earlier, I would have gotten a decent night's sleep.
10. Martha likes to eat. She (a) ________ as continuously as some people smoke. Once she (b) ________ a large pack of cookies in half an hour. Even if she has (c) ________ a heavy meal, she often starts munching snacks right afterward.

Answer 2

1. (a) freezes (b) froze (c) frozen
2. (a) speaks (b) spoke (c) spoken
3. (a) steals (b) stole (c) stolen
4. (a) goes (b) went (c) gone
5. (a) throws (b) threw (c) thrown
6. (a) see (b) saw (c) seen
7. (a) lies (b) lay (c) lain
8. (a) does (b) did (c) done
9. (a) begins (b) began (c) begun
10. (a) eats (b) ate (c) eaten

Question 3

Underline the correct word in the parentheses.
1. If I left dinner up to (he, him), we'd have pizza every night.
2. The vase on my dresser belonged to my grandmother, and the candlesticks on the windowsill were (hers', hers) as well.
3. My boyfriend offered to drive his mother and (I, me) to the mall to shop for his birthday present.
4. (Them, Those) little marks on the floor are scratches, not crumbs.
5. I took a picture of my brother and (I, me) looking into the hallway mirror.
6. When Lin and (she, her) drove back from the airport, they talked so much that they missed their exit.
7. (That there, That) orange juice box says "Fresh," but the juice is made from concentrate.
8. Eliot swears that he dreamed about (she, her) and a speeding car the night before Irina was injured in a car accident.
9. The waitress brought our food to the people at the next table and gave (theirs, theirs') to us.
10. Since it was so hot out, Lana and (he, him) felt they had a good excuse to study at the beach.

Answer 3

1. him
2. hers
3. me
4. Those
5. me
6. she
7. That
8. her
9. theirs
10. he

Question 4

Cross out the mistakes in numbers and write the corrections in the spaces provided.
1. Pearl Harbor was attacked on December the seventh, nineteen forty-one.
____________ _____________
2. When the 2 children failed to return from school, more than 50 people volunteered to search for them.
____________ _____________
3. At 1 o'clock in the afternoon last Thursday, an earthquake destroyed at least 20 buildings in the town.
____________ _____________

Question 5

Use commas to set off interrupting words.
1. On Friday my day off I went to get a haircut.
2. Dracula who had a way with women is Tony's favorite movie hero. He feels that the Wolfman on the other hand showed no class in wooing women.
3. Many people forget that Franklin Roosevelt one of our most effective presidents was disabled.
4. Mowing the grass especially when it is six inches high is my least favorite job.
5. A jar of chicken noodle soup which was all there was in the refrigerator did not make a very satisfying meal.

Question 6

Principal Parts of Irregular Verbs
Murder is a regular verb and forms its principal parts by adding -ed or -ing to the stem of the verb. When a verb is irregular, the dictionary lists its principal parts. For example, with give the present tense comes first (the entry itself, give ). Next comes the past tense ( gave ) , and then the past participle ( given )-the form of the verb used with such helping words as have, had, and was. Then comes the present participle ( giving )-the -ing form of the verb.
Look up the principal parts of the following irregular verbs and write them in the spaces provided. The first one has been done for you.

Question 7

Underline the correct preposition in parentheses.
1. Your next appointment is (on, at) Tuesday.
2. Class begins (on, at) 9 A.M.
3. I plan to watch the game (on, in) a large TV.
4. Sonia is moving to Florida (in, at) a month.
5. The children's birthday party was held (on, at) the bowling alley.

Question 8

See if you can locate and correct the ten sentence-skills mistakes in the following passage. The mistakes are listed in the box below. As you locate each mistake, write the number of the word group containing that mistake. Use the spaces provided. Then (on separate paper) correct the mistakes.
5 fragments _____ ________ ______ _____
5 run-ons _______ _______ _______ _______
Family Stories
1 When I was little, my parents invented some strange stories to explain everyday events to me, my father, for example, told me that trolls lived in our house. 2 When objects such as scissors or pens were missing. 3 My father would look at me and say, "The trolls took them." 4 For years, I kept a flashlight next to my bed. 5 Hoping to catch the trolls in the act as they carried away our possessions. 6 Another story I still remember is my mother's explanation of pussy willows. 7 After the fuzzy gray buds emerged in our backyard one spring. 8 I asked Mom what they were. 9 Pussy willows, she explained, were cats who had already lived nine lives, in this tenth life, only the tips of the cats' tails were visible to people. 10 All the tails looked alike. 11 So that none of the cats would be jealous of the others. 12 It was also my mother who created the legend of the birthday fairy, this fairy always knew which presents I wanted. 13 Because my mother called up on a special invisible telephone. 14 Children couldn't see these phones, every parent had a direct line to the fairy. 15 My parents' stories left a great impression on me, I still feel a surge of pleasure when I think of them.

Question 9

In each of the following sentences, draw one line under the subject and two lines under the verb.
1. A sudden thunderstorm ended the baseball game.
2. The curious child stared silently at the shopping mall Santa.
3. The test directions confused the students.
4. Cotton shirts feel softer than polyester ones.
5. The fog rolled into the cemetery.
6. Yoko invited her friends to dinner.
7. A green fly stung her on the ankle.
8. Every other night, garbage trucks rumble down my street on their way to the river.
9. The elderly man sat for a few minutes on the park bench.
10. With their fingers, the children drew pictures on the steamed window.

Question 10

Choose a logical transitional word from the list in the box and write it in the space provided. Put a semicolon before the connector and a comma after it.
EXAMPLE
Exams are over ;however, I still feel tense and nervous.
1. I did not understand her point ______ I asked her to repeat it.
2. Janis spent several minutes trying to pry open the case of her new CD ________ she didn't succeed until she attacked it with a hammer.
3. Post offices are closed for today's holiday _______ no mail will be delivered.
4. Mac and Alana didn't have a fancy wedding ________ they used their money for a nice honeymoon.
5. I had to skip lunch _______ I would have been late for class.

Question 11

Underline the correct verb in the parentheses.
1. As I began my speech, my hands (shaked, shook) so badly I nearly dropped my notes.
2. Oscar came into the gym and (began, begun) to practice on the parallel bars.
3. Over half the class has (taken, took) this course on a pass-fail basis.
4. Even though my father (teached, taught) me how to play baseball, I never enjoyed any part of the game.
5. Because I had (lended, lent) him money, I had a natural concern about what he did with it.
6. The drugstore clerk (gave, gived) him the wrong change.
7. Lola (brang, brought) a sweatshirt with her, for she knew the mountains got cold at night.
8. My sister (was, be) at school when a stranger came asking for her at our home.
9. The mechanic (did, done) an expensive valve job on my engine without getting my permission.
10. The basketball team has (broke, broken) the school record for most losses in one year.
11. Someone (leaved, left) his or her books in the classroom.
12. Fran's muscle was (tore, torn) when she slipped on the wet pavement.
13. If I hadn't (threw, thrown) away the receipt, I could have gotten my money back.
14. I would have (become, became) very angry if you had not intervened.
15. As the flowerpot (fell, falled) from the windowsill, the little boy yelled, "Bombs away!"

Question 12

Add to each sentence the correct form of the word in the margin.
EXAMPLES
bad
The worst scare I ever had was the time when I thought my son was on an airplane that had crashed.
wonderful
The day of my divorce was even more Wonderful than the day of my wedding.
1. good
The Grammy awards are given to the _________ recording artists of each year.
2. popular
Vanilla ice cream is even ________ than chocolate ice cream.
3. bad
One of the _______ things you can do to people is ignore them.
4. light
A pound of feathers is no __________ than a pound of stones.
5. little
The ________ expensive way to accumulate a wardrobe is to buy used clothing whenever possible.

Question 13

Cross out the words that should not be abbreviated and correct them in the spaces provided. Then compare your answers with a partner's.
1. On a Sat. morning I will never forget, Jan. 15, 2004, at ten min. after eight 2 o'clock, I came downstairs and discovered that I had been robbed.
____________ _____________ ____________
2. For six years I lived at First Ave. and Gordon St. right next to Shore Memorial Hosp., in San Fran., Calif.
____________ _____________ ____________ ____________ _____________
3. Before her biol. and Eng. exams, Linda was so nervous that her doc. gave her a tranq.
____________ _____________ ____________ ____________ _____________

Question 14

In the following sentences, place a comma before each joining word that connects two complete thoughts (two subject-verb combinations). Do not place a comma within the sentences that have only one subject and a double verb; label these as "correct."
1. The oranges in the refrigerator were covered with blue mold and the potatoes in the cupboard felt like sponges.
2. All the pants in the shop were on sale but not a single pair was my size.
3. Martha often window-shops in the malls for hours and comes home without buying anything.
4. Tony left the dentist's office with his mouth still numb from Novocain and he talked with a lisp for two hours.
5. The whole family searched the yard inch by inch but never found Mom's missing wedding ring.
6. The car squealed down the entrance ramp and sped recklessly out onto the freeway.
7. No one volunteered to read his or her paper out loud so the instructor called on Amber.
8. The aliens in the science fiction film visited our planet in peace but we greeted them with violence.
9. I felt like shouting at the gang of boys but didn't dare open my mouth.
10. Lenny claims that he wants to succeed in college but he has missed classes all semester.

Question 15

Plural Forms of Irregular Nouns
The dictionary supplies the plural forms of all irregular nouns. (Regular nouns like murder form the plural by adding - s or - es ). Give the plurals of the following nouns. If two forms are shown, write down both.
analysis ________________________________________
dictionary ________________________________________
criterion ________________________________________
activity ________________________________________
thesis ________________________________________

Question 16

Underline the correct form in parentheses.
1. When I looked out the window, I was surprised by the deep (snow, snows).
2. (Are, There are) cockroaches in the kitchen.
3. When she did not get the job she wanted, Laura felt (depressing, depressed) for a few days.
4. Owls hunt (at, in) night and sleep most of the day.
5. Larry (postponed to go, postponed going) on vacation because he broke his foot.
6. My English teacher wears a (silver small, small silver) ring in his ear.
7. Marta (has, is having) a very bad cold.
8. (On, In) Valentine's Day, friends and lovers send each other affectionate cards.
9. (Turkey is, Turkeys are) the traditional main course at Thanksgiving dinner.
10. Before the camera was invented, (the paintings, paintings) were the only way to record how people look

Question 17

See if you can locate and correct the ten sentence-skills mistakes in the following passage. The mistakes are listed in the box below. As you locate each mistake, write the number of the word group containing that mistake. Use the spaces provided. Then (on separate paper) correct the mistakes.
2 fragments _____ _________
2. missing commas between items in a series _______ _________
2 faulty parallelisms _________ _________
2 missing commas around an interrupter ________ __________
1 apostrophe mistake ________
1 run-on _________
A Place of Fear
1 College is supposed to be a place of discovery. 2 But for some students can be a place of fear. 3 In the classroom for example many students are afraid of appearing dumb in front of their classmates or professors. 4 Such students often try to hide in class by sitting in the back of the room. 5 Avoiding eye contact with instructors. 6 Fear prevents them from raising their hands answering questions or being part of class discussions. 7 Fear also leads to problems outside the classroom. 8 Worried that their peers wont like them, many college students smoke or drinking heavily to blend in with the crowd. 9 They also try drugs or joining in hurtful pranks they may even practice unsafe sex out of fear. 10 Finally, students who get into trouble are often too scared to seek help in solving their problems.

Question 18

Draw a single line under the subjects and a double line under the verbs in the following sentences. Be sure to include all parts of the verb.
1. A burning odor from the wood saw filled the room.
2. At first, sticks of gum always feel powdery on your tongue.
3. Vampires and werewolves are repelled by garlic.
4. Three people in the long bank line looked impatiently at their watches.
5. The pelting rain had pasted wet leaves all over the car.
6. She has decided to find a new apartment.
7. The trees in the mall were glittering with tiny white lights.
8. The puppies slipped and tumbled on the vinyl kitchen floor.
9. Tony and Lola ate at Pizza Hut and then went to a movie.
10. We have not met our new neighbors in the apartment building.

Question 19

Punctuate each sentence by using a semicolon and a comma.
EXAMPLE
My brother's asthma was worsening; as a result, he quit the soccer team.
1. My brother ate an entire pizza for supper in addition he had a big chunk of pound cake for dessert.
2. The man leaned against the building in obvious pain however no one stopped to help him.
3. Our instructor was absent therefore the test was postponed.
4. I had no time to shop for a gift instead I gave my friend a gift certificate to her favorite store.
5. Lola loves the velvety texture of cherry Jell-O moreover she loves to squish it between her teeth.

Question 20

Underline the correct verb form in the parentheses.
1. The decisions of the judge (seem, seems) questionable.
2. The flakes in this cereal (taste, tastes) like sawdust.
3. The woman with the dark sunglasses (is, are) our mayor.
4. Many people in Europe (speak, speaks) several languages.
5. A hamburger with a large order of french fries (is, are) my usual lunch.
6. That silk flower by the candles (look, looks) real.
7. One of my son's worst habits (is, are) leaving an assortment of dirty plates on the kitchen counter.
8. The rust spots on the back of Emily's car (need, needs) to be cleaned with a special polish.
9. The collection of medicine bottles in my parents' bathroom (overflow, overflows) the cabinet shelves.
10. A tired-looking student in my classes often (sleep, sleeps) through most of the lectures.

Question 21

Underline the adjective or adverb needed. (Remember that adjectives describe nouns, and adverbs describe verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs.)
1. During a quiet moment in class, my stomach rumbled (loud, loudly).
2. I'm a (slow, slowly) reader, so I have to put aside more time to study than some of my friends.
3. Thinking no one was looking, my daughter (quick, quickly) peeked into the bag to see what we had bought for her.
4. The kitchen cockroaches wait (patient, patiently) in the shadows; at night they'll have the place to themselves.
5. I hang up the phone (immediate, immediately) whenever the caller is a recorded message.

Question 22

Cross out the mistakes in numbers and abbreviations and correct them in the spaces provided.
1. At three-fifteen P.M., an angry caller said a bomb was planted in a bus stat. locker.
____________ _____________
2. Page eighty-two is missing from my chem. book.
____________ _____________
3. Martha has over 200 copies of People mag.; she thinks they may be worth money someday.
____________ _____________
4. When I was eight yrs. old, I owned three cats, two dogs, and 4 rabbits.
____________ _____________
5. Approx. half the striking workers returned to work on Nov. third, two thousand six.
____________ _____________ ____________ ____________

Question 23

Use commas to set off quotations from the rest of the sentence.
1. Hassan came to the door and called out "Welcome to my home!"
2. My partner on the dance floor said "Don't be so stiff. You look as if you swallowed an umbrella."
3. The question on the anatomy test read "What human organ grows faster than any other, never stops growing, and always remains the same size "
4. The student behind me whispered "The skin."
5. "My stomach hurts" Bruce said "and I don't know whether it was the hamburger or the math test."

Question 24

Use the sentence context to try to explain the meaning of the underlined word UBiyKi in each of the following sentences. Write your definition in the space provided. 3 Then look up and record the dictionary meaning of the word. Be sure to select the meaning that fits the word as it is used in the sentence.
1. I spend an inordinate amount of time watching television.
Your definition: ___________________________
Dictionary definition: ___________________________
2. I appreciated her candid remark that my pants were so baggy they made me look like a clown.
Your definition: ___________________________
Dictionary definition: ___________________________
3. The FBI squelched the terrorists' plan to plant a bomb in the White House.
Your definition: ___________________________
Dictionary definition: ___________________________
4. One of the cardinal rules in our house was, "Respect other people's privacy."
Your definition: ___________________________
Dictionary definition: ___________________________
5. A special governor prevents the school bus from traveling more than fifty- five miles an hour.
Your definition: ___________________________
Dictionary definition: ___________________________
Meanings
When a word has more than one meaning, the meanings are numbered in the dic­tionary, as with the verb murder. In many dictionaries, the most common meanings of a word are presented first. The introductory pages of your dictionary will explain the order in which meanings are presented.

Question 25

Fragments and Run-Ons
The word groups below are numbered 1 through 20. In the space provided for each, write C if a word group is a complete sentence, write F if it is a fragment, and write RO if it is a run-on. Then correct the errors.
1 I had a frightening dream last night, I dreamed that I was walking high up on an old railroad trestle. 2 It looked like the one I used to walk on recklessly. 3 When I was about ten years old. 4 At that height, my palms were sweating, just as they did when I was a boy. 5 I could see the ground out of the corners of my eyes, I felt a sickening, swooning sensation. 6 Suddenly, I realized there were rats below. 7 Thousands upon thousands of rats. 8 They knew I was up on the trestle, they were laughing. 9 Because they were sure they would get me. 10 Their teeth glinted in the moonlight, their red eyes were like thousands of small reflectors. 11 Which almost blinded my sight. 12 Sensing that there was something even more hideous behind me. 13 I kept moving forward. 14 Then I realized that I was coming to a gap in the trestle. 15 There was no way I could stop or go back I would have to cross over that empty gap. 16 I leaped out in despair. 17 Knowing I would never make it. 18 And felt myself falling helplessly down to the swarm of rejoicing rats. 19 I woke up bathed in sweat. 20 Half expecting to find a rat in my bed.
1. ___________
2. ___________
3. ___________
4. ___________
5. ___________
6. ___________
7. ___________
8. ___________
9. ___________
10. ___________
11. ___________
12. ___________
13. ___________
14. ___________
15. ___________
16. ___________
17. ___________
18. ___________
19. ___________
20. ___________

Question 26

See if you can locate and correct the ten sentence-skills mistakes in the following passages. The mistakes are listed in the box below. As you locate each mistake, write the number of the word group containing that mistake. Use the spaces provided. Then (on separate paper) correct the mistakes.
2 fragments ______ _______
1 run-on _______
1 irregular verb mistake ________
1 missing comma between items in a series _______
1 missing comma after introductory words _______
2 apostrophe mistakes _______ ________
1 faulty parallelism ________
1 missing quotation mark _________
Fred's Funeral
1 Sometimes when Fred feels undervalued and depression, he likes to imagine his own funeral. 2 He pictures all the people who will be there. 3 He hears their hushed words sees their tears, and feels their grief. 4 He glows with warm sadness as the minister begins a eulogy by saying, Fred Grencher was no ordinary man..." 5 As the minister talks on Freds eyes grow moist. 6 He laments his own passing and feels altogether appreciated and wonderful.
Feeding Time
7 Recently I was at the cat house in the zoo. 8 Right before feeding time. 9 The tigers and lions were lying about on benches and little stands. 10 Basking in the late-afternoon sun. 11 They seemed tame and harmless. 12 But when the meat was brung in, a remarkable change occurred. 13 All the cats got up and moved toward the food. 14 I was suddenly aware of the rippling muscles' of their bodies and their large claws and teeth. 15 They seemed three times bigger, I could feel their power.

Question 27

Draw a single line under subjects and a double line under verbs. Crossing out prepositional phrases may help you to find the subjects.
1. A cloud of fruit flies hovered over the bananas.
2. Candle wax dripped onto the table and hardened into pools.
3. Nick and Fran are both excellent poker players.
4. The leaves of my dying rubber plant resembled limp brown rags.
5. During the first week of vacation, Ken slept until noon every day.
6. They have just decided to go on a diet together.
7. Psychology and graphic design are my favorite subjects.
8. The sofa in the living room has not been cleaned for over a year.
9. The water stains on her suede shoes did not disappear with brushing.
10. Fred was caught in traffic and, as a result, arrived late for work.

Question 28

Choose a logical dependent word from the box on page 439 and write it in the space provided. Then team up with a partner and compare your answers.
EXAMPLE
Because I had so much to do, I never even turned on the TV last night.
1. _________ we emerged from the darkened theater, it took several minutes for our eyes to adjust to the light.
2. _________"All Natural" was printed in large letters on the yogurt carton, the fine print listing the ingredients told a different story.
3. I can't study for the test this weekend _______ my boss wants me to work overtime.
4. ________ the vampire movie was over, my children were afraid to go to bed.
5. _________you have a driver's license and two major credit cards, that store will not accept your check.

Question 29

Working in pairs, write the correct form of the verb in each space provided.
1. is, are
What ________ your middle name
2. was, were
Among the guests _________ a private detective
3. do, does
Where ________ you go when you want to be alone
4. is, are
There _______ many hungry people in American cities.
5. rest, rests
In that grave _________ the bones of my great-grandfather.
6. was, were
There _________ too many people in the room for me to feel comfortable.
7. is, are
Why _________ the lights turned off
8. stand, stands
Across the street __________ the post office.
9. is, are
Here _________ the tickets for tonight's game.
10. was, were
Stuffed into the mailbox _________ ten pieces of junk mail and three ripped magazines.

Question 30

Write well or good in each of the sentences that follow. Compare your answers with a partner's.
1. I could tell by the broad grin on Della's face that the news was ________.
2. They say my grandfather sang so __________ that even the wind stopped to listen.
3. The food at the salad bar must not have been fresh, because I didn't feel __________ after dinner.
4. When I want to do a really __________ job of washing the floor, I do it on my hands and knees.
5. The best way to get along _________ with our boss is to stay out of his way.

Question 31

Combine the following words into contractions. One is done for you.
1.we + are = we're
2. are + not = _________
3. you + are = ________
4. they + have = ________
5. would + not = __________
6. you + have = _________
7. has + not= ___________
8. who + is= _________
9. does + not= ____________
10. there + is = __________

Question 32

Place commas where needed. Compare your answers with a partner's.
1. I expected you to set a better example for the others Mike.
2. Liz with your help I passed the test.
3. The movie stars Kitty Litter and Dredge Rivers were married on September 12 2006 and lived at 3865 Sunset Boulevard Los Angeles California for one month
4. They received 75000 congratulatory fan letters and were given movie contracts worth $3000000 in the first week of their marriage.
5. Kitty left Dredge on October 12 2006 and ran off with their marriage counselor.

Question 33

Usage Labels
As a general rule, use only standard English words in your writing. If a word is not standard English (as is the case, for example, with the fourth meaning of murder as a verb), your dictionary will probably give it a usage label like one of the follow­ing: informal, nonstandard, slang, vulgar, obsolete, archaic, rare.
Look up the following words and record how your dictionary labels them. Remember that a recent hardbound desk dictionary will always be the best source of information about usage.
flunk ____________________________________________
tough (meaning "unfortunate, too bad") ___________________________________
creep (meaning "an annoying person") ___________________________________
ain't ___________________________________________________
scam _____________________________________________

Question 34

Fragments and Run-Ons
The word groups below are numbered 1 through 20. In the space provided for each, write C if a word group is a complete sentence, write F if it is a fragment, and write RO if it is a run-on. Then correct the errors.
1 My sister asked my parents and me to give up television for two weeks. 2 As an experiment for her psychology class. 3 We were too embarrassed to refuse, we reluctantly agreed. 4 The project began on Monday morning. 5 To help us resist temptation. 6 My sister unplugged the living room set. 7 That evening the four of us sat around the dinner table much longer than usual, we found new things to talk about. 8 Later we played board games for several hours, we all went to bed pleased with ourselves. 9 Everything went well until Thursday evening of that first week. 10 My sister went out after dinner. 11 Explaining that she would be back about ten o'clock. 12 The rest of us then decided to turn on the television. 13 Just to watch the network news. 14 We planned to unplug the set before my sister got home. 15 And pretend nothing had happened. 16 We were settled down comfortably in our respective chairs, unfortunately, my sister walked in at that point and burst out laughing. 17 "Aha! I caught you," she cried. 18 She explained that part of the experiment was to see if we would stick to the agreement. 19 Especially during her absence. 20 She had predicted we would weaken, it turned out she was right.
1. _____________
2. _____________
3. _____________
4. _____________
5. _____________
6. _____________
7. _____________
8. _____________
9. _____________
10. _____________
11. _____________
12. _____________
13. _____________
14. _____________
15. _____________
16. _____________
17. _____________
18. _____________
19. _____________
20. _____________

Question 35

See if you can locate and correct the ten sentence-skills mistakes in the following passage. The mistakes are listed in the box below. As you locate each mistake, write the number of the word group containing that mistake. Use the spaces provided. Then (on separate paper) correct the mistakes.
1 run-on
1 mistake in subject-verb agreement _______
1 missing comma after introductory words ________
2 missing commas around an interrupter _______ ________
1 missing comma between items in a series __________
2 apostrophe mistakes ________ _________
2 missing quotation marks _________ _________
Walking Billboards
] Many Americans have turned into driving, walking billboards. 2 As much as we all claim to hate commercials on television we dont seem to have any qualms about turning ourselves into commercials. 3 Our car bumpers for example advertise lake resorts underground caverns, and amusement parks. 4 Also, we wear clothes marked with other peoples initials and slogans. 5 Our fascination with the names of designers show up on the backs of our sneakers, the breast pockets of our shirts, and the right rear pockets of our blue jeans. 6 And we wear T-shirts filled with all kinds of advertising messages. 7 For instance, people are willing to wear shirts that read, "Dillon Construction," "Nike," or even I Got Crabs at Ed's Seafood Palace. 8 In conclusion, we say we hate commercials, we actually pay people for the right to advertise their products.

Question 36

Each item that follows lacks basic punctuation. There is no period to mark the end of one sentence and no capital letter to mark the start of the next. Read each item 1 aloud (or in your head) so that you "hear" where each sentence begins and ends. Your voice will tend to drop and pause at the point of each sentence break. Draw a light slash mark (/) at every point where you hear a break. Then go back and read the item a second time. If you are now sure of each place where a split occurs, insert a period and change the first small letter after it to a capital. Minor pauses are often marked in English by commas; these are already inserted. Part of item 1 is done for you as an example.
1. I take my dog for a walk on Saturdays in the big park by the lake I do this very early in the morning before children come to the park that way I can let my dog run freely.
jumps out the minute I open the car door and soon sees the first innocent squirrel
he is off like a shot and doesn't stop running for at least half an hour.
2. Lola hates huge tractor trailers that sometimes tailgate her Honda Civic the enormous smoke-belching machines seem ready to swallow her small car she shakes her fist at the drivers, and she screams out many angry words recently she had a very satisfying dream she broke into an army supply depot and stole a bazooka she then became the first person in history to murder a truck.
3. When I sit down to write, my mind is blank all I can think of is my name, which seems to me the most boring name in the world often I get sleepy and tell myself I should take a short nap other times I start daydreaming about things I want to buy sometimes I decide I should make a telephone call to someone I know the piece of paper in front of me is usually still blank when I leave to watch my favorite television show.
4. One of the biggest regrets of my life is that I never told my father I loved him I resented the fact that he had never been able to say the words "I love you" to his children even during the long period of my father's illness, I remained silent and unforgiving then one morning he was dead, with my words left unspoken a guilt I shall never forget tore a hole in my heart I determined not to hold in my feelings with my daughters they know they are loved, because I both show and tell them this all people, no matter who they are, want to be told that they are loved.
5. Two days ago, Greg killed seven flying ants in his bedroom he also sprayed a column of ants forming a colony along the kitchen baseboard yesterday he picked the newspaper off the porch and two black army ants scurried onto his hand this morning, he found an ant crawling on a lollipop he had left in his shirt pocket if any more insects appear, he is going to call Orkin Pest Control he feels like the victim in a new horror movie called The Ants he is half afraid to sleep the darkness may be full of tiny squirming things waiting to crawl all over him.

Question 37

Some of the run-ons that follow are fused sentences, having no punctuation between the two complete thoughts; others are comma splices, having only a comma between the two complete thoughts. Correct the run-ons by using one of the following three methods:
• Period and capital letter
• Comma and joining word
• Semicolon
Do not use the same method of correction for every sentence.
EXAMPLE
Three people did the
could have done it alone.
1. The impatient driver tried to get a jump on the green light he kept edging his car into the intersection.
2. The course on the history of UFOs sounded interesting, it turned out to be very dull.
3. That clothing store is a strange place to visit you keep walking up to dummies that look like real people.
4. Everything on the menu of the Pancake House sounded delicious they wanted to order the entire menu.
5. Chung pressed a cold washcloth against his eyes, it helped relieve his headache.
6. Marc used to be a fast-food junkie now he eats only vegetables and sunflower seeds.
7. I knew my term paper was not very good, I placed it in a shiny plastic cover to make it look better.
8. The boy smiled joyously, his silver braces flashed in the sun.
9. My boss does not know what he is doing half the time then he tries to tell me what to do.
10. In the next minute, 100 people will die, over 240 babies will be born.

Question 38

Write the correct form of the verb in the space provided.
1. stays, stay
Our cats and dog __________ at a neighbor's house when we go on vacation.,
2. Is, Are
_________ the birthday cake and ice cream ready to be served
3. holds, hold
Staples and Scotch tape _________ all our old photo albums together.
4. was, were
Rent and car insurance _________ my biggest expenses last month.
5. wants, want
Neither the students nor the instructor _________ to postpone the final exam till after the holidays.
6. is, are
An egg and a banana _________ required for the recipe.
7. was, were
Owning a car and having money in my pocket _______ the chief ambitions of my adolescence.
8. visits, visit
My aunt and uncle from Ireland _______ us every other summer.
9. was, were
Before they saw a marriage therapist, Peter and Jenny _________ planning to get divorced.
10. acts, act
Not only the landlady but also her children ________ unfriendly to us.

Question 39

Underline the correct word in the parentheses.
1. In Egypt, silver was once (more valued, most valued) than gold.
2. The doctor predicted that Ben would soon be (good, well) enough to go home.
3. The (little, less) coffee I drink, the better I feel.
4. Light walls make a room look (more large, larger) than dark walls do.
5. One of the (unfortunatest, most unfortunate) men I know is a millionaire.
6. The moth (continuous, continuously) thumped against the screen.
7. The Amish manage (good, well) without radios, telephones, or television.
8. When the store owner caught the little boys stealing, he scolded them (bad, badly) and called their parents.
9. It is (good, better) to teach people to fish than to give them fish.
10. With a fast Internet connection, you can send a letter around the world more (quick, quickly) than you can write your name on a sheet of paper

Question 40

Working in pairs, write the contractions for the words in parentheses. One is done for you.
1. (Are not) Aren't you coming with us to the concert
2. (I am) __________ going to take the car if (it is) ___________ all right with you.
3. (There is) __________ an extra bed upstairs if (you would) _________ like to stay here for the night.
4. (I will) __________ give you the name of the personnel director, but there (is not) ___________ much chance that (he will) __________ speak to you.
5. Denise (should not) ___________ complain about the cost of food if (she is) ___________ not willing to grow her own by planting a backyard garden.

Question 41

Insert commas where needed. In the space provided below each sentence, summarize briefly the rule that explains the use of the comma or commas.
1. The best features of my new apartment are its large kitchen its bay windows and its low rent.
________________________________________________________
2. Because we got in line at dawn we were among the first to get tickets for the concert.
________________________________________________________
3. "When will someone invent a cell phone" Lola asked "that will ring only at convenient moments "
________________________________________________________
4. Without opening his eyes Simon stumbled out of bed and opened the door for the whining dog.
________________________________________________________
5. I think Roger that you had better ask someone else for your $2500 loan.
________________________________________________________
6. Hot dogs are the most common cause of choking deaths in children for a bite-size piece can easily plug up a toddler's throat.
________________________________________________________
7.Tax forms though shortened and revised every year never seem to get any simpler.
________________________________________________________
8.Sandra may decide to go to college full-time or she may start by enrolling in a couple of evening courses.
________________________________________________________
9. I remember how with the terrible cruelty of children we used to make fun of the shy girl who lived on our street.
________________________________________________________
10. Although that old man on the corner looks like a bum he is said to have a Swiss bank account.
________________________________________________________

Question 42

Synonyms
A synonym is a word that is close in meaning to another word. Using synonyms helps you avoid unnecessary repetition of the same word in a paper. A paperback dictionary is not likely to give you synonyms for words, but a good desk dictionary or an online dictionary will. You might also want to own a thesaurus, a book that lists synonyms and antonyms (words approximately opposite in meaning to another word). You can also find a thesaurus online-for example, www.merriam-webster. com will give you access to a thesaurus as well as a dictionary.
Consult a desk dictionary that gives synonyms for the following words, and write the synonyms in the spaces provided.
heavy ___________________________________________________
escape __________________________________________________
necessary _________________________________________________

Question 43

Verbs
Each sentence contains a mistake involving (1) standard English or irregular verb forms, (2) subject-verb agreement, or (3) consistent verb tense. Circle the letter that identifies the mistake. Then cross out the incorrect verb and write the correct form in the space provided.
1. _________ One of my apartment neighbors always keep the radio on all night.
Mistake in: a. Subject-verb agreement b. Verb tense
2. _________ The more the instructor explained the material and the more he wroted on the board, the more confused I got.
Mistake in: a. Irregular verb form b. Verb tense
3. ________ I grabbed the last carton of skim milk on the supermarket shelf, but when I checks the date on it, I realized it was not fresh.
Mistake in: a. Subject-verb agreement b. Verb tense
4. ________ This morning my parents argued loudly, but later they apologized to each other and embrace.
Mistake in: a. Subject-verb agreement b. Verb tense
5. _________ When the bell rang, Mike takes another bite of his sandwich and then prepared for class.
Mistake in: a. Irregular verb form b. Verb tense
6. _________ Someone called Marion at the office to tell her that her son had been bit by a stray dog.
Mistake in: a. Irregular verb form b. Verb tense
7. Because I had throwed away the receipt, I couldn't return the microwave.
Mistake in: a. Irregular verb form b. Verb tense
8. My dog and cat usually ignores each other, but once in a while they fight.
Mistake in: a. Subject-verb agreement b. Verb tense
9. From the back of our neighborhood bakery comes some of the best smells in the world.
Mistake in: a. Subject-verb agreement b. Verb tense
10. The cost of new soles and heels are more than those old shoes are worth.
Mistake in: a. Subject-verb agreement b. Verb tense

Question 44

See if you can locate and correct the ten sentence-skills mistakes in the following passage. The mistakes are listed in the box below. As you locate each mistake, write the number of the word group containing that mistake. Use the spaces provided. Then (on separate paper) correct the mistakes.
3 fragments ________
____________ __________
2 run-ons _________ __________
1 irregular verb mistake _________
1 faulty parallelism _________
1 mistake in pronoun point of view __________
1 dangling modifier _________
1 dangling modifier complete thoughts _________
Too Many Cooks
1 The problem in my college dining hall was the succession of incompetent cooks who were put in charge. 2 During the time I worked there, I watched several cooks come and go. 3 The first of these was Irving. 4 He was skinny and greasy like the undercooked bacon he served for breakfast. 5 Irving drank, by late afternoon he begun to sway as he cooked. 6 Once, he looked at the brightly colored photograph on the orange juice machine. 7 And asked why the TV was on. 8 Having fired Irving, Lonnie was hired. 9 Lonnie had a soft, round face that resembled the Pillsbury Doughboy's but he had the size and temperament of a large bear. 10 He'd wave one paw and growl if you entered the freezers without his permission. 11 He also had poor eyesight. 12 This problem caused him to substitute flour for sugar and using pork for beef on a regular basis. 13 After Lonnie was fired, Enzo arrived. 14 Because he had come from Italy only a year or two previously. 15 He spoke little English. 16 In addition, Enzo had trouble with seasoning and spices. 17 His vegetables were too salty, giant bay leaves turned up in everything. 18 Including the scrambled eggs. 19 The cooks I worked for in the college dining hall would have made Bobby Flay go into shock.

Question 45

Working with a partner, underline the dependent-word fragment or fragments in each item. Then correct each fragment by attaching it to the sentence that comes 2 before or the sentence that comes after it-whichever sounds more natural. Put a comma after the dependent-word group if it starts the sentence.
1. When a flock of birds is resting in the trees. One always acts as a lookout. It will warn the others of possible danger.
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
2. Bill always turns on the radio in the morning to hear the news. He wants to get an update on world events. Before he gets on with his day.
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
3. Although Mr. Simon is over eighty years old. He walks briskly to work every day. He seems like a much younger man. Since he is so active and involved in life.
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
4. My dog ran in joyous circles on the wide beach. Until she found a dead fish. Before I had a chance to drag her away. She began sniffing and nudging the smelly remains.
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
5. When the air conditioner broke down. The temperature was over ninety degrees. I then found an old fan. Which turned out to be broken also.
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________

Question 46

Correct each run-on by using subordination. Choose from among the following dependent words:
after before unless
although even though until
as if when
because since while
EXAMPLE
My eyes have been watering all day, I can tell the pollen count is high.
Because my eyes have been watering all day, I can tell the pollen
count is high.
1. There are a number of suits and jackets on sale, they all have very noticeable flaws.
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
2. Rust has eaten a hole in the muffler, my car sounds like a motorcycle.
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
3. I finished my household chores, I decided to do some shopping.
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
4. The power went off for an hour during the night, all the clocks in the house must be reset.
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
5. Gas-saving hybrid vehicles are now available, they make up only a fraction of the new car market.

Question 47

Write the correct form of the verb in the space provided.
1.is, are
Everybody at my new school ________ friendly.
2. feel, feels
Neither of those mattresses _______ comfortable.
3. knows, know
Nobody in my family _________ how to swim.
4. needs, need
Each of the children __________ some attention.
5. sounds, sound
Something about Robbie's story __________ suspicious.
6. pitches, pitch
If each of us _________ in, we can finish this job in an hour.
7. was, were
Everybody in the theater ________ getting up and leaving before the movie ended.
8. provides, provide
Neither of the restaurants _________ facilities for the handicapped.
9. likes, like
No one in our family _________ housecleaning, but we all take a turn at it.
10. steals, steal
Someone in our neighborhood _________ vegetables from people's gardens.

Question 48

Underline the misplaced word or words in each sentence. Then rewrite the sentence, placing related words together and thereby making the meaning clear.
EXAMPLES
The suburbs nearly had five inches of rain.
The suburbs had nearly five inches of rain.
We could see the football stadium driving across the bridge.
Driving across the bridge, We could see the football stadium.
1. I saw mountains of uncollected trash walking along the city streets.
__________________________________________________
2. I almost had a dozen job interviews after I sent out my résumé.
__________________________________________________
3. The child stared at the movie monster with huge, innocent eyes.
__________________________________________________
4. Joanne decided to live with her grandparents while she attended college to save money.
__________________________________________________
5. Charlotte returned the hamburger to the supermarket that was spoiled.
__________________________________________________
6. Roger visited the old house still weak with the flu.
__________________________________________________
7. The phone almost rang fifteen times last night.
__________________________________________________
8. My uncle saw a kangaroo at the window under the influence of whiskey.
__________________________________________________
9. We decided to send our daughter to college on the day she was born.
__________________________________________________
10. Fred always opens the bills that arrive in the mailbox with a sigh.
__________________________________________________

Question 49

Rewrite the italicized part of each of the sentences below, using' s to show possession. Remember that the 's goes with the owner or possessor.
EXAMPLE
The toys belonging to the children filled an entire room.
The children's toys
1. The new sunglasses belonging to Elena have been stolen.
___________________________________________
2. The visit of my cousin lasted longer than I wanted it to.
___________________________________________
3. The owner of the pit bull was arrested after the dog attacked a child.
___________________________________________
4. A prescription of a doctor is needed for the pills.
___________________________________________
5. The jeep owned by Dennis was recalled because of an engine defect.
___________________________________________
6. Is this the hat of somebody
___________________________________________
7. You will probably hate the surprise ending of the movie.
___________________________________________
8. The cords coming from the computer were so tangled they looked like spaghetti.
___________________________________________
9. The energy level possessed by the little boy is much higher than hers.
___________________________________________
10. The foundation of the house is crumbling.
___________________________________________

Question 50

Insert commas where needed.
1. My dog who is afraid of the dark sleeps with a night-light.
2. "Although men have more upper-body strength" said the lecturer "women are more resistant to fatigue."
3. The hot dogs at the ball park tasted delicious but they reacted later like I delayed time bombs.
4. Janice attended class for four hours worked at the hospital for three hours and £ studied at home for two hours.
5. The patient as he gasped for air tried to assure the hospital clerk that he had ! an insurance card somewhere.
6. George and Ida sat down to watch the football game with crackers sharp cheese salty pretzels and two frosty bottles of beer.
7. Although I knew exactly what was happening the solar eclipse gave me a strong feeling of anxiety.
8. The company agreed to raise a senior bus driver's salary to $42000 by January 1 2009.
9. Even though King Kong was holding her at the very top of the Empire State Building Fay Wray kept yelling at him "Let me go!"
10. Navel oranges which Margery as a little girl called belly-button oranges are her favorite fruit.

Question 51

Writing in pairs, combine the following words and endings by applying the three rules above.
1. worry + ed = ____________
2. write + ing = _____________
3. marry + es = _______________
4. run + ing = _____________
5. terrify + ed = _____________
6. dry + es = _____________
7. forget + ing = _____________
8. care + ful = ____________
9. control + ed = ____________
10. debate + able = _____________

Question 52

Verbs
Each sentence contains a mistake involving (1) standard English or irregular verb forms, (2) subject-verb agreement, or (3) consistent verb tense. Circle the letter that identifies the mistake. Then cross out the incorrect verb and write the correct form in the space provided.
1. _________ My friend's bitter words had stinged me deeply.
Mistake in: a. Irregular verb form b. Verb tense
2. _________ After she poured the ammonia into the bucket, Karen reels backward because the strong fumes made her eyes tear.
Mistake in: a. Subject-verb agreement b. Verb tense
3. _________ Flying around in space is various pieces of debris from old space satellites.
Mistake in: a. Subject-verb agreement b. Verb tense
4. _________ Eileen watched suspiciously as a strange car drived back and forth in front of her house.
Mistake in: a. Irregular verb form b. Verb tense
5. _________ Both crying and laughing helps us get rid of tension.
Mistake in: a. Subject-verb agreement b. Verb tense
6. _________ All my clothes were dirty, so I stayed up late and washes a load for tomorrow.
Mistake in: a. Subject-verb agreement b. Verb tense
7. _________ McDonald's has selled enough hamburgers to reach to the moon.
Mistake in: a. Irregular verb form b. Verb tense
8. _________ When Chen peeled back the bedroom wallpaper, he discovered another layer of wallpaper and uses a steamer to get that layer off.
Mistake in: a. Subject-verb agreement b. Verb tense
9. _________ Rosie searched for the fifty-dollar bill she had hid somewhere in her dresser.
Mistake in: a. Irregular verb form b. Verb tense
10. _________ The realistic yellow tulips on the gravestone is made of a weather-resistant fabric.
Mistake in: a. Subject-verb agreement b. Verb tense

Question 53

See if you can locate and correct the ten sentence-skills mistakes in the following passage. The mistakes are listed in the box below. As you locate each mistake, write the number of the word group containing that mistake. Use the spaces provided. Then (on separate paper) correct the mistakes.
2 fragments _______ _________
2 run-ons _______ _________
1 mistake in pronoun point of view ________
1 apostrophe mistake ________
1 missing comma between two complete thoughts ________
1 missing quotation mark _______
1 missing comma between items in a series _______
1 misspelled word _________
My Ideal Date
1 Here are the ingredients for my ideal date, first of all, I would want to look as stunning as possible. 2 I would be dressed in a black velvet jumpsuit. 3 That would fit me like a layer of paint. 4 My accessories would include a pair of red satin spike heels a diamond hair clip, and a full-length black mink coat. 5 My boyfriend, Tony, would wear a sharply tailored black tuxedo, a white silk shirt, and a red bow tie. 6 The tux would emphasize Tony's broad shoulders and narrow waist, and you would see his chest muscles under the smooth shirt fabric. 7 Tony would pull up to my house in a long, shiney limousine, then the driver would take us to the most exclusive and glittery nightclub in Manhattan. 8 All eyes would be on us as we entered and photographers would rush up to take our picture for People magazine. 9 As we danced on the lighted floor of the club, everyone would step aside to watch us perform our moves. 10 After several bottles of champagne, Tony and I would head to the observation deck of the Empire State Building. 11 As we gazed out over the light's of the city, Tony would hand me a small velvet box containing a fifty- carat ruby engagement ring. 12 And ask me to marry him. 13 I would thank Tony for a lovely evening and tell him gently, "Tony, I don't plan to marry until I'm thirty.

Question 54

Underline the -ing fragment in each of the items that follow. Then make it a sentence by rewriting it, using the method described in parentheses.
EXAMPLE
A thunderstorm was brewing. A sudden breeze shot through the windows.
Driving the stuffiness out of the room.
(Add the fragment to the preceding sentence.)
A sudden breeze shot through the windows, driving the stuffiness out of the room.
(In the example, a comma is used to set off "driving the stuffiness out of the room," which is extra material placed at the end of the sentence.)
1. Sweating under his heavy load. Brian staggered up the stairs to his apartment. He felt as though his legs were crumbling beneath him.
(Add the fragment to the sentence that comes after it.)
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
2. He works 10 hours a day. Then going to class for 2½ hours. It is no wonder he writes fragments.
(Connect the fragment by adding the subject he and changing going to the proper form of the verb, goes. )
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
3. Charlotte loved the classic movie Gone with the Wind, but Clyde hated it. His chief objection being that it lasted four hours.
(Correct the fragment by changing being to the proper verb form, was.)
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________

Question 55

There are two run-ons in each passage. Correct them by using the following methods.
• Period and capital letter
• Comma and one of these joining words: and, but, or so
• One of these dependent words: although, because, or when
1. The dog raced into the house it was happy to be among people. Its owner bent down to pet it he drew back in disgust. The dog had rolled in something with a horrible smell.
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
2. Small feet were admired in ancient China, some female infants had their feet tightly bound. The feet then grew into a tiny, deformed shape. The women could barely walk their feet were crippled for life.
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
3. Kanye insisted on dressing himself for nursery school. It was a cold winter day, he put on shorts and a tank top. He also put on cowboy boots over his bare feet. He liked his image in the mirror his mother made him change.
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
4. A stimulating scent such as peppermint can help people concentrate better. The idea has practical applications, studies have shown that students do better on tests when peppermint is in the air. Maybe scented air could improve students' performance, it might help office workers be more alert, too.
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________

Question 56

Underline the correct verb in parentheses.
1. Lettuce in most of the stores in our area now (costs, cost) almost three dollars a head.
2. Nobody in the class of fifty students (understands, understand) how to solve the equation on the blackboard.
3. The packages in the shopping bag (was, were) a wonderful mystery to the children.
4. My exercise class of five students (meets, meet) every Thursday afternoon.
5. Anyone who (steals, steal) my purse won't find much inside it.
6. Business contacts and financial backing (is, are) all that I need to establish my career as an interior designer.
7. Each of those breakfast cereals (contains, contain) a high proportion of sugar.
8. The serious look in that young girl's eyes (worries, worry) me.
9. All the cars on my block (has, have) to be moved one day a month for street cleaning.
10. Some people (know, knows) more about their favorite TV characters than they do about the members of their own family.

Question 57

Underline the misplaced word or words in each sentence. Write M for misplaced modifier or C for correct in front of each sentence.
1. ______ Rita found it difficult to mount the horse wearing tight jeans.
2. ______ Rita, wearing tight jeans, found it difficult to mount the horse.
3. ______ I noticed a crack in the window walking into the delicatessen.
4. ______ Walking into the delicatessen, I noticed a crack in the window.
5. ______ The biology teacher told us there would be a pop quiz with an evil grin.
6. ______ With an evil grin, the biology teacher told us there would be a pop quiz.
7. ______ I almost caught a hundred lightning bugs.
8. ______ I caught almost a hundred lightning bugs.
9. ______ In a secondhand store, Willie found a television set that had been stolen from me last month.
10. _______ Willie found a television set in a secondhand store that had been stolen from me last month.
11. ______ Willie found, in a secondhand store, a television set that had been stolen from me last month.
12. ______ In his shrillest voice, the reporter yelled a question at the departing mayor.
13. _______ The reporter yelled a question at the departing mayor in his shrillest voice.
14. _______ The president was quoted on the NBC Evening News as saying that the war was about to end.
15. ________ The president was quoted as saying that the war was about to end on the NBC Evening News.

Question 58

Add 's to each of the following words to make them the possessors or owners of something. Then write sentences using the words. Your sentences can be serious or playful. One is done for you.
1 parakeet parakeet's The parakeet's cage needs cleaning.
___________________________________________
2. instructor ___________ ___________________________________________
___________________________________________
3. Lola ____________ ___________________________________________
___________________________________________
4. store ___________ ___________________________________________
___________________________________________
5. mother ___________ ___________________________________________
___________________________________________

Question 59

Place colons where needed.
1. Foods that are high in cholesterol include the following eggs, butter, milk, cheese, shrimp, and red meats.
2. All the signs of the flu were present hot and cold spells, heavy drainage from the
sinuses, a bad cough, and an ache through the entire body.
3. In his book Illiterate America, Jonathan Kozol has written "Twenty-five million American adults cannot read the poison warnings on a can of pesticide, a letter from their child's teacher, or the front page of a daily paper. An additional 35 million read only at a

Question 60

Homonyms
The commonly confused words on the following pages have the same sounds but different meanings and spellings; such words are known as homonyms. Complete the activity for each set of homonyms, and check off and study the words that give you trouble. You may want to work in groups of two or three.
all ready completely prepared
already previously; before
We were all ready to start the play, but the audience was still being seated.
I have already called the police.
Fill in the blanks: I am ____________ for the economics examination because
I have __________ studied the chapter three times.
brake stop; the stopping device in a vehicle
break come apart
His car bumper has a sticker reading, "I brake for animals."
"I am going to break up with Bill if he keeps seeing other women," said Rita.
Fill in the blanks: When my car's emergency ___________ slipped, the car rolled back and demolished my neighbor's rose garden, causing a ____________ in our good relations with each other.
coarse rough
course part of a meal; a school subject; direction; certainly (as in of course ).
By the time the waitress served the customers the second course of the meal, she was aware of their coarse eating habits.
Fill in the blanks: Ted felt that the health instructor's humor was too ___________ for his taste and was glad when he finished the _________.
hear perceive with the ear
here in this place
"The salespeople act as though they don't see or hear me, even though I've been standing here for fifteen minutes," the woman complained.
Fill in the blanks: "Did you __________ about the distinguished visitor who just came into town and is staying _________ at this very hotel "
hole an empty spot
whole entire
"I can't believe I ate the whole pizza," moaned Ralph. "I think it's going to make a hole in my stomach lining."
Fill in the blanks: The ________ time I was at the party I tried to conceal the ________ I had in my pants.
its belonging to it
it's shortened form of it is or it has
The car blew its transmission (the transmission belonging to it, the car).
It's (it has) been raining all week and it's (it is) raining now.
Fill in the blanks: __________ hot and unsanitary in the restaurant kitchen I work in, and I don't think the restaurant deserves ___________ good reputation.
knew past form of know
new not old
"I had new wallpaper put up," said Sarah.
"I knew there was some reason the place looked better," said Bill.
Fill in the blanks: Lola __________ that getting her hair cut would give her face a ________ look.
know to understand
no a negative
"I don't know why my dog Fang likes to attack certain people," said Martha. "There's no one thing the people have in common."
Fill in the blanks: I __________ of _________ way to tell whether that politician is honest or not.
pair set of two
pear fruit
"What a great pair of legs Tony has," said Lola to Vonnie. Tony didn't hear her, for he was feeling very sick after munching on a green pear.
Fill in the blanks: In his lunch box was a _________ of _________ s.
passed went by; succeeded in; handed to
past time before the present; beyond, as in "We worked past closing time."
Someone passed him a wine bottle; it was the way he chose to forget his unhappy past.
Fill in the blanks: I walked __________ the instructor's office but was afraid to ask her whether or not I had __________ the test.
peace calm
piece part
Nations often risk world peace by fighting over a piece of land.
Fill in the blanks: Martha did not have any ___________ until she gave her dog a ___________ of meat loaf.
plain simple
plane aircraft
The movie star dressed in plain clothes and with no makeup so she would not stand out on the plane.
Fill in the blanks: The game-show contestant opened the small box wrapped in ________ brown paper and found inside the keys to his own jet ___________.
principal main; a person in charge of a school
principle law, standard, or rule
Pete's high school principal had one principal problem: Pete. This was because there were only two principles in Pete's life: rest and relaxation.
Fill in the blanks: The _________ reason she dropped out of school was that she believed in the ___________ of complete freedom of choice.
TIP It might help to remember that the e in principle is also in rule -the meaning of principle.
right correct; opposite of left
write put words on paper
If you have the right course card, I'll write your name on the class roster.
Fill in the blanks: Eddie thinks I'm weird because I ___________ with both my _________ and my left hand.
than used in comparisons
then at that time
When we were kids, my friend Elaine had prettier clothes than I did. I really envied her then.
Fill in the blanks: Marge thought she was better ___________ the rest of us, but _________ she got the lowest grade on the history test.
TIP It might help to remember that then (with an e ) is also a time signal.
their belonging to them
there at that place; neutral word used with verbs like is, are, was, were, have, and had
they're shortened form of they are
Two people own that van over there (at that place). They're (they are) going to move out of their apartment (the apartment belonging to them) and into the van, in order to save money.
Fill in the blanks: ____________ not going to invite us to ___________ table because _________ is no room for us to sit down.
threw past form of throw
through from one side to the other; finished
The fans threw so much litter onto the field that the teams could not go through with the game.
Fill in the blanks: When Mr. Jefferson was __________ screaming about the violence on television, he ___________ the newspaper at his dog.
to verb part, as in to smile; toward, as in "I'm going to heaven"
too overly, as in "The pizza was too hot"; also, as in "The coffee was hot, too."
two the number 2
Tony drove to the park to be alone with Lola. (The first to means "toward"; the second to is a verb part that goes with be.)
Tony's shirt is too tight, too. (The first too means "overly"; the second too means "also.")
You need two hands (2 hands) to handle a Whopper.
Fill in the blanks: ___________ times tonight, you have been ___________ ready __________ make assumptions without asking questions first.
wear to have on
where in what place
Fred wanted to wear his light pants on the hot day, but he didn't know where he had put them.
Fill in the blanks: Exactly __________ on my leg should I ____________ this elastic bandage
weather atmospheric conditions
whether if it happens that; in case; if
Some people go on vacations whether or not the weather is good.
Fill in the blanks: I always ask Bill __________ or not we're going to have a storm, for his bad knee can feel rainy ___________ approaching.
whose belonging to whom
who's shortened form of who is and who has
Who's the instructor whose students are complaining
Fill in the blanks: __________ the guy ________ car I saw you in
your belonging to you
you're shortened form of you are
You're (meaning "you are") not going to the fair unless your brother (the brother belonging to you) goes with you.
Fill in the blanks: __________ going to have to put aside individual differences and play together for the sake of ___________ team.

Question 61

Capital Letters and Punctuation
Each of the following sentences contains an error in capitalization or punctuation. Refer to the box below and write, in the space provided, the letter identifying the error. Then correct the error.
a. missing capital letter
b. missing apostrophe
c. missing quotation marks
d. missing comma
1. __________ Maggie's night class has been canceled so she's decided to go to the movies with friends.
2. __________ "One of the striking differences between a cat and a lie, wrote Mark Twain, "is that a cat has only nine lives."
3. __________ My uncles checks are printed to look like Monopoly money.
4. __________ Did you know someone is turning the old school on ninth Street into a restaurant named Home Economics
5. __________ My parents always ask me where Im going and when I'll be home.
6. __________ She doesn't talk about it much, but my aunt has been a member of alcoholics Anonymous for ten years.
7. __________ The sweating straining horses neared the finish line.
8. __________ Whenever he gave us the keys to the car, my father would say, Watch out for the other guy."
9. ________ If you're going to stay up late be sure to turn down the heat before going to bed.
10. ________ I decided to have a glass of apple juice rather than order a pepsi.

Question 62

This test will help you measure your improvement in important sentence skills. Certain parts of the following word groups are underlined. Write X in the answer space if you think a mistake appears at the underlined part. Write C in the answer space if you think the underlined part is correct.
The headings ("Fragments," "Run-Ons," and so on) will give you clues to the mistakes to look for.
Fragments
__________ 1. After a careless driver hit my motorcycle, I decided to buy a car. At least I would have more protection against other careless drivers.
__________ 2. I was never a good student in high school. Because I spent all my time socializing with my group of friends. Good grades were not something that my group really valued.
__________ 3. The young couple in the supermarket were not a pleasant sight. Arguing with each other. People pretended not to notice them.
__________ 4. Using a magnifying glass, the little girls burned holes in the dry leaf. They then set some tissue paper on fire.
__________ 5. My brother and I seldom have fights about what to watch on television. Except with baseball games. I get bored watching baseball.
__________ 6. My roommate and I ate, talked, danced, and sang at a party the other night. Also, we played cards until 3 A.M. As a result, we both slept until noon the next day.
Run-Ons
__________ 7. She decided to quit her high-pressure job, she didn't want to develop heart trouble.
__________ 8. His car's wheels were not balanced properly, for the car began to shake when he drove over forty miles an hour.
__________ 9. I got through the interview without breaking out in a sweat, I also managed to keep my voice under control.
__________ 10. The craze for convenience in our country has gone too far. There are drive-in banks, restaurants, and even churches.
__________ 11. My most valued possession is my stoneware cooker, I can make entire meals in it at a low cost.
__________ 12. The shopping carts outside the supermarket seemed welded together, Rita could not separate one from another.
Standard English Verbs
__________ 13. I am going to borrow my father's car if he agree.
__________ 14. For recreation he sets up hundreds of dominoes, and then he knocks them over.
__________ 15. He stopped taking a nap after lunch because he then had trouble sleeping at night.
__________ 16. There was no bread for sandwiches, so he decided to drive to the store.
Irregular Verbs
__________ 17. I learned that Dennis had began to see someone else while he was still going out with me.
__________ 18. That woman has never ran for political office before.
__________ 19. I knowed the answer to the question, but I was too nervous to think of it when the instructor called on me.
__________ 20. They had ate the gallon of natural vanilla ice cream in just one night.
Subject-Verb Agreement
__________ 21. Her watchband have to be fixed.
__________ 22. There is two minutes left in the football game.
__________ 23. He believes films that feature violence is a disgrace to our society.
__________ 24. The plastic slipcovers that she bought have begun to crack.
Consistent Verb Tense
__________ 25. Myra wanted to watch the late movie, but she was so tired she falls asleep before it started.
__________ 26. When the mailman arrived, I hoped the latest issue of People magazine would be in his bag.
__________ 27. Juan ran down the hall without looking and trips over the toy truck lying on the floor.
__________ 28. Debbie enjoys riding her bike in the newly built park, which features a special path for bikers and runners.
Pronoun Agreement, Reference, and Point of View
__________ 29. At the Saturday afternoon movie we went to, children were making so much noise that you could not relax.
__________ 30. We did not return to the amusement park, for we had to pay too much for the rides and meals.
__________ 31. Drivers should check the oil level in their cars every three months.
__________ 32. At the hospital, I saw mothers with tears in their eyes wandering down the hall, hoping that her child's operation was a success.
__________ 33. Sharon's mother was overjoyed when Sharon became pregnant.
__________ 34. You must observe all the rules of the game, even if you do not always agree with it.
Pronoun Types
__________ 35. Nancy and her often go to dance clubs.
__________ 36. No one in the class is better at computer programming than he.
Adjectives and Adverbs
__________ 37. The little girl spoke so quiet I could hardly hear her.
__________ 38. Lola looks more better than Gina in a leather coat.
Misplaced Modifi ers
__________ 39. I saw sharks scuba-diving.
__________ 40. With a mile-wide grin , Betty turned in her winning raffle ticket.
__________ 41. I bought a beautiful shirt in a local store with long sleeves and French cuffs.
__________ 42. I first spotted the turtle playing tag on the back lawn.
Dangling Modifiers
__________ 43. When seven years old , Jeff's father taught him to play ball.
__________ 44. Running across the field , I caught the baseball.
__________ 45. Turning on the ignition , the car backfired.
__________ 46. Looking at my watch , a taxi nearly ran me over.
Faulty Parallelism
__________ 47. Much of my boyhood was devoted to getting into rock fights, crossing railway trestles, and the hunt for rats in drainage tunnels.
__________ 48. I put my books in a locker, changed into my gym clothes, and hurried to the yoga class.
__________ 49. Ruth begins every day with warm-up exercises, a half-hour run, and taking a hot shower.
__________ 50. In the evening I plan to write a paper, to watch a movie , and to read two chapters in my biology text.
Capital Letters
__________ 51. When the can of drano didn't unclog the sink, Hal called a plumber.
__________ 52. I asked Cindy, "what time will you be leaving "
__________ 53. I have to get an allergy shot once a Week.
__________ 54. Mother ordered a raincoat from the catalog on Monday , and it arrived four days later.
Apostrophe
__________ 55. I asked the clerk if the store had Stevie Wonders latest CD.
__________ 56. He's failing the course because he doesn't have any confidence in his ability to do the work.
__________ 57. Clyde was incensed at the dentist who charged him ninety dollars to fix his son's tooth.
__________ 58. I cant believe that she's not coming to the party.
Quotation Marks
__________ 59. "Don't forget to water the grass, my sister said.
__________ 60. Martha said to Fred at bedtime, "Why is it that men's pajamas always have such baggy bottoms " "You look like a circus clown in that flannel outfit."
__________ 61. The red sign on the door read, "Warning -open only in case of an emergency."
__________ 62. "I can't stand that commercial," said Sue. "Do you mind if I turn off the television "
Comma
__________ 63. Hard-luck Sam needs a loan, a good-paying job, and someone to show an interest in him.
__________ 64. Even though I was tired I agreed to go shopping with my parents.
__________ 65. Power, not love or money, is what most politicians want.
__________ 66. The heel on one of Lola's shoes came off, so she spent the day walking barefoot.
__________ 67. "Thank goodness I'm almost done" I said aloud with every stroke of the broom.
__________ 68. I hated to ask Anita who is a very stingy person to lend me the money.
Commonly Confused Words
__________ 69. To succeed in the job, you must learn how to control your temper.
__________ 70. Fortunately, I was not driving very fast when my car lost it's brakes.
__________ 71. Put your packages on the table over their.
__________ 72. There are too many steps in the math formula for me to understand it.
__________ 73. The counseling center can advise you on how to prepare for an interview.
__________ 74. Who's Honda Civic is that in front of the house
Effective Word Use
__________ 75. The teacher called to discuss Ron's social maladjustment difficulties.
__________ 76. I thought the course would be a piece of cake , but a ten-page paper was required.
__________ 77. When my last class ended, I felt as free as a bird.
__________ 78. Spike gave away his television owing to the fact that it distracted him from studying.

Question 63

Underline the -ing or to fragment or fragments in each item. Then rewrite each item, using one of the methods of correction described on pages 419-420.
1. A mysterious package arrived on my porch yesterday. Bearing no return address. I half expected to find a bomb inside.
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
2. Jack bundled up and went outside on the bitterly cold day. To saw wood for his fireplace. He returned half frozen with only two logs.
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
3. Looking tired and drawn. The little girl's parents sat in the waiting room. The operation would be over in a few minutes.
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
4. Sighing with resignation. Jill set aside her credit card bill. She decided simply to not worry about the bill. It being the holiday season.
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
5. Typing furiously. Luis attempted to finish his paper before class. However, he didn't leave time for proofreading. The result being a paper riddled with errors.
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________

Question 64

All but one of the ten sentences that follow need - s or -es verb endings. Cross out the nonstandard verb forms and write the standard forms in the spaces provided. Mark the one sentence that needs no change with a C for correct.
EXAMPLE
Wants Dana always want the teacher's attention.
_________ 1. That newspaper print nothing but bad news.
__________ 2. Don't eat a fish that smell funny.
__________ 3. Claire plan to enter the contest.
__________ 4. Whole-wheat bread taste better to me than rye bread.
__________ 5. Bob work as a security guard at the mall.
__________ 6. The sick baby scream whenever her mother puts her down.
__________ 7. You make me angry sometimes.
__________ 8. Troy run faster than anybody else on the track team.
__________ 9. She live in a rough section of town.
__________ 10. Martha like mystery novels better than romances.

Question 65

Each of the following passages contains two mistakes in subject-verb agreement. Find these two mistakes and cross them out. Then write the correct form of each verb in the space provided.
1. Few people recalls seeing baby pigeons. The reason is simple. Baby pigeons in the nest eats a huge amount of food each day. Upon leaving the nest, they are close to the size of their parents.
a. __________
b. __________
2. Everything in the mall stores are on sale today. Customers from all over are crowding the aisles. There is terrific bargains in many departments.
a. _________
b. _________
3. All the neighbors meets once a year for a block party. Everyone talks and dances far into the night. Huge bowls of delicious food sits on picnic tables. Afterward, everyone goes home and sleeps all day.
a. __________
b. __________
4. The members of the swimming team paces nervously beside the pool. Finally, an official blows a whistle. Into the pool dive a swimmer with thick, tan arms. He paddles quickly through the water.
a. _________
b. _________
5. When Lin Soo comes home from school each day, her work is just beginning. The members of her family all works in their small restaurant. Nobody rest until the last customer is served. Only then do Lin Soo and her brother start their homework.
a. __________
b. __________

Question 66

Write D for dangling or C for correct in the blank next to each sentence. Remember that the opening words are a dangling modifier if they have no nearby logical subject to modify.
1. _____ Advertising on Craigslist, Ian's car was quickly sold.
2. _____ By advertising on Craigslist, Ian quickly sold his car.
3. _____ After painting the downstairs, the house needed airing to clear out the fumes.
4. _____ After we painted the downstairs, the house needed airing to clear out the fumes.
5. _____ Frustrated by piles of homework, Wanda was tempted to watch television.
6. _____ Frustrated by piles of homework, Wanda's temptation was to watch television.
7. _____ After I waited patiently in the bank line, the teller told me I had filled out the wrong form.
8. _____ After waiting patiently in the bank line, the teller told me I had filled out the wrong form.
9. _____ When dieting, desserts are especially tempting.
10. _____ When dieting, I find desserts especially tempting.
11. _____ Looking through the telescope, I saw a brightly lit object come into view.
12. _____ As I was looking through the telescope, a brightly lit object came into view.
13. _____ Looking through the telescope, a brightly lit object came into my view.
14. _____ Tossed carelessly over the arm of a chair, Teresa saw her new raincoat slide onto the floor.
15. _____ Teresa saw her new raincoat, which had been tossed carelessly over the arm of a chair, slide onto the floor.

Question 67

In the space provided under each sentence, add the one apostrophe needed and explain why the other word or words ending in -s are simple plurals.
EXAMPLE
Karens tomato plants are almost six feet tall.
Karens: Karen's, meaning "belonging to Karen"
plants: plural meaning "more than one plant"
1. The restaurants reputation brought hungry diners from miles around.
restaurants: ___________________________________________
diners: ___________________________________________
2. Phils job-slaughtering pigs-was enough to make him a vegetarian.
Phils: ___________________________________________
pigs: ___________________________________________
3. As Tinas skill at studying increased, her grades improved.
Tinas: ___________________________________________
grades: ___________________________________________
4. When I walked into my doctors office, there were six people waiting who also had appointments.
doctors: ___________________________________________
appointments: ___________________________________________
5. I bought two magazines and a copy of Stephen Kings latest novel at the bookstore. magazines:
Kings: ___________________________________________
6. After six weeks without rain, the nearby streams started drying up, and the lakes water level fell sharply.
weeks: ___________________________________________
streams: ___________________________________________
lakes: ___________________________________________
7. Rebeccas hooded red cloak makes her look like a fairy-tale character, but her heavy black boots spoil the effect.
Rebeccas: ___________________________________________
boots: ___________________________________________
8. When the brakes failed on Eriks truck, he narrowly avoided hitting several parked cars and two trees.
brakes: ___________________________________________
Eriks: ___________________________________________
cars: ___________________________________________
trees: ___________________________________________
9. My familys favorite breakfast is bacon, eggs, and home-fried potatoes.
familys:___________________________________________
eggs: ___________________________________________
potatoes: ___________________________________________
10. My parents like Floridas winters, but they prefer to spend their summers back home in Maine.
Floridas: ___________________________________________
winters: ___________________________________________
summers: ___________________________________________

Question 68

Working in pairs, place semicolons where needed.
1. The specials at the restaurant today are eggplant Parmesan, for $16.95 black million people represent more than one-third of the entire adult population."beans and rice, for $9.95 and chicken potpie, for $11.95.
2. The top of the hill offered an awesome view of the military cemetery thousands of headstones were arranged in perfect rows.
3. Lola's favorite old movies are To Catch a Thief, starring Cary Grant and Grace Kelly Animal Crackers, a Marx Brothers comedy and The Wizard of Oz, with Judy Garland.

Question 69

Other Words Frequently Confused
Following is a list of other words that people frequently confuse. Working in groups of two or three, complete the activities for each set of words, and check off and study the words that give you trouble.
a, an Both a and an are used before other words to mean, approximately, "one."
Generally you should use an before words starting with a vowel ( a, e, i, o, u ):
an ache an experiment an elephant an idiot an ox
Generally you should use a before words starting with a consonant (all other letters):
a Coke a brain a cheat a television a gambler
Fill in the blanks: The women had __________ argument over ____________ former boyfriend.
accept ( k s pt ) receive; agree to
except ( k s pt ) exclude; but
"I would accept your loan," said Bill to the bartender, " except that I'm not ready to pay 25 percent interest."
Fill in the blanks: ___________ for the fact that she can't ___________ any criticism, Lori is a good friend.
advice ( d v s ) noun meaning "an opinion"
advise ( d v z ) verb meaning "to counsel, to give advice"
I advise you to take the advice of your friends and stop working so hard.
Fill in the blanks: I _______ you to listen carefully to any __________ you get from your boss.
affect (uh f kt ) verb meaning "to influence"
effect (i f kt ) verb meaning "to bring about something"; noun meaning "result"
The full effects of marijuana and alcohol on the body are only partly known; however, both drugs clearly affect the brain in various ways.
Fill in the blanks: The new tax laws go into _________ next month, and they are going to ___________ your income tax deductions.
among implies three or more
between implies only two
We had to choose from among fifty shades of paint but between only two fabrics.
Fill in the blanks: The layoff notices distributed ____________ the unhappy workers gave them a choice _________ working for another month at full pay and leaving immediately with two weeks' pay.
beside along the side of
besides in addition to
I was lucky I wasn't standing beside the car when it was hit.
Besides being unattractive, these uniforms are impractical.
Fill in the blanks: _________ the alarm system hooked up to the door, our neighbors keep a gun ___________ their beds.
desert (d z rt) stretch of dry land; (d z rt ) to abandon one's post or duty
dessert (d z rt ) last part of a meal
Sweltering in the desert, I was tormented by the thought of an icy dessert.
Fill in the blanks: After their meal, they carried their ____________ into the living room so that they would not miss the start of the old _______________ movie about Lawrence of Arabia.
fewer used with things that can be counted
less refers to amount, value, or degree
There were fewer than seven people in all my classes today.
I seem to feel less tired when I exercise regularly.
Fill in the blanks: With ____________ people able to stay home with children,
today's families spend __________ time together than in the past.
not fastened; not tight-fitting
misplace; fail to win
Phil's belt is so loose that he always looks ready to lose his pants.
Fill in the blanks: At least once a week our neighbors __________ their dog; it's because they let him run __________.
quiet (kw t) peaceful
quite (kw t) entirely; really; rather
After a busy day, the children are now quiet, and their parents are quite tired.
Fill in the blanks: The ___________ halls of the church become ___________ lively during square-dance evenings.
though (th ) despite the fact that
thought (thôt) past form of think
Even though she worked, she thought she would have time to go to school.
Fill in the blanks: Yoshiko ____________ she would like the job, but even ___________ the pay was good, she hated the traveling involved.

Question 70

Capital Letters and Punctuation
Each of the following sentences contains an error in capitalization or punctuation. Refer to the box below and write, in the space provided, the letter identifying the error. Then correct the error.
a. missing capital letter
b. missing apostrophe
c. missing quotation marks
d. missing comma
1. ________ Even though I hadn't saved the receipt I was able to return the blender to Sears.
2. ________ "The diners food is always reliable," said Stan. "It's consistently bad."
3. ________ Some people are surprised to hear that manhattan is an island.
4. ________ "To love oneself, said Oscar Wilde, "is the beginning of a lifelong romance."
5. ________ The airplane was delayed for more than three hours and the passengers were getting impatient.
6. ________ Leslie said to the woman behind her in the theater, "will you stop talking, please "
7. ________ Walters arthritis is as good a predictor of the weather as the TV weather report.
8. ________ "Before you can reach your goals," says my grandfather, you have to believe you can reach them."
9. ________ There is little evidence that king Arthur, the legendary hero, really existed.
10. ________ My grandfather learned to cook when he was an Army cook during World war II.

Question 71

Underline the fragment in each of the items below. Then make it a sentence by rewriting it, using the method described in parentheses.
EXAMPLE
I am always short of pocket money. Especially for everyday items like maga zines and sodas. Luckily my friends often have change.
(Add the fragment to the preceding sentence.)
I am always short of pocket money, especially for everyday items like magazines and sodas.
1. There are many little things wrong with this apartment. For example, defective lights and leaking faucets. The landlord is not good about making repairs. (Correct the fragment by adding the subject and verb it has. )
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
2. I could feel Bill's anger building. Like a land mine ready to explode. I was silent because I didn't want to be the one to set it off.
(Add the fragment to the preceding sentence.)
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
3. We went on vacation without several essential items. Among other things, our cell phones and rain jackets.
(Correct the fragment by adding the subject and verb we forgot. )
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________

Question 72

Work with a partner to rewrite the short passage below, adding present - s or -es verb endings wherever needed.
Terri wor k in a big office downtown. Her cubicle si t right next to another worker's. This worker driv e Terri crazy. He mak e more noise than you can imagine. Every day he brin g a bag of raw carrots to work. The crunching noise fil l the air. After he ea t the carrots, he che w gum. He po p it so loud it soun d l ike gunfire.
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________

Question 73

Write the appropriate pronoun ( their, they, them, it ) in the blank space in each of the following sentences.
EXAMPLE
I lifted the pot of hot potatoes carefully, but it slipped out of my hand.
1. People should try to go into a new situation with _______ minds open, not with opinions already firmly formed.
2. Fred never misses his daily workout; he believes _________ keeps him healthy.
3. Sometimes, in marriage, partners expect too much from _________ mates.
4. For some students, college is often their first experience with an unsupervised learning situation, and ________ are not always ready to accept the responsibility.
5. Our new neighbors moved in three months ago, but I have yet to meet ________.

Question 74

Identify the mistakes in format in the following lines from a student theme. Explain the corrections in the spaces provided. One correction is provided as an example.
"an unpleasant dining companion"
My little brother is often an unpleasant dining companion. Last night was typical. For one thing, his appearance was disgusting. His shoes were not tied, and his shirt was unbuttoned and hanging out of his pants, which he had forgotten to zip up. Traces of his afternoon snack of grape juice and chocolate cookies were
1 Hyphenate only between syllables.
2. ___________________________________
3. ___________________________________
4. ___________________________________
5. ___________________________________
6. ___________________________________

Question 75

In each sentence, cross out the one plural word that needs an apostrophe. Then write the word correctly, with the apostrophe, in the space provided.
EXAMPLE
soldiers' All the soldiers rifles were cleaned for inspection.
1. My parents car was stolen last night.
_____________
2. The transit workers strike has just ended.
___________
3. Two of our neighbors homes are up for sale.
____________
4. The door to the ladies room is locked.
___________
5. When students gripes about the cafeteria were ignored, many started to bring their own lunches.
_____________

Question 76

Place dashes where needed.
1. Riding my bike, I get plenty of exercise especially when dogs chase me.
2. I'm advising you in fact, I'm telling you not to bother me again.
3. The package finally arrived badly damaged.

Question 77

Underline the correct word in the parentheses. Don't try to guess. If necessary, look back at the explanations of the words.
1. Please take my (advice, advise) and (where, wear) something warm and practical, rather (than, then) something fashionable and flimsy.
2. Glen felt that if he could (loose, lose) twenty pounds, the (affect, effect) on his social life might be dramatic.
3. (Their, There, They're) going to show seven horror films at (their, there, they're) Halloween festival; I hope you'll be (their, there, they're).
4. (Your, You're) going to have to do (a, an) better job on (your, you're) final exam if you expect to pass the (coarse, course).
5. Those (to, too, two) issues are (to, too, two) hot for any politician (to, too, two) handle.
6. Even (though, thought) the (brakes, breaks) on my car were worn, I did not have (quiet, quite) enough money to get them replaced (right, write) away.
7. (Accept, Except) for the fact that my neighbor receives most of his mail in (plain, plane) brown wrappers, he is (know, no) stranger (than, then) anyone else in this rooming house.
8. Because the Randalls are so neat and fussy, (its, it's) hard (to, too, two) feel comfortable when (your, you're) in (their, there, they're) house.
9. (Whose, Who's) the culprit who left the paint can on the table The paint has ruined a (knew, new) tablecloth, and (its, it's) soaked (threw, through) the linen and (affected, effected) the varnish.
10. I would have been angry at the car that (passed, past) me at ninety miles an hour on the highway, (accept, except) that I (knew, new) it would not get (passed, past) the speed trap (to, too, two) miles down the road.

Question 78

Word Use
Each of the following sentences contains a mistake identified in the left-hand margin. Underline the mistake and then correct it in the space provided.
1. Slang
Because Nicole has a lot of pull at work, she always has first choice of vacation time.
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2. Wordiness
Truthfully, I've been wishing that the final could be postponed to a much later date sometime next week.
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3. Cliché
Kate hoped her friends would be green with envy when they saw her new boyfriend.
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4. Pretentious language
Harold utilizes old coffee cans to water his houseplants.
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5. Adverb error
The sled started slow and then picked up speed as the icy hill became steeper.
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6. Error in comparison
When the weather is dry, my sinus condition feels more better. 8 comparison
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7. Confused word
If you neglect your friends, their likely to become former friends. word
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8. Confused word
She's the neighbor who's dog is courting my dog. word
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9. Confused word
If you don't put cans, jars, and newspapers on the curb for recycling, the word township won't pick up you're garbage.
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10. Confused word
"Its the most economical car you can buy," the announcer said. word
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Question 79

Underline the added-detail fragment in each item. Then rewrite that part of the item needed to correct the fragment. Use one of the three methods of correction described above.
1. It's always hard for me to get up for work. Especially on Monday after a holiday weekend. However, I always wake up early on free days.
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2. Tony has enormous endurance. For example, the ability to run five miles in the morning and then play basketball all afternoon.
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3. A counselor gives you a chance to talk about your problems. With your family or the boss at work. You learn how to cope better with life.
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4. Fred and Martha do much of their gift shopping online. Especially at Amazon.com.
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5. One of my greatest joys in life is eating desserts. Such as cherry cheesecake and vanilla cream puffs. Almond fudge cake makes me want to dance.
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Question 80

All but one of the ten sentences that follow need -d or -ed verb endings. Cross out the nonstandard verb forms and write the standard forms in the spaces provided.
Mark the one sentence that needs no change with a C.
EXAMPLE
failed Yesterday I fail a chemistry quiz.
__________ 1. Lily carefully color her lips with red lipstick.
__________ 2. The Vietnamese student struggle with the new language.
__________ 3. The sick little boy start to whimper again.
__________ 4. The tired mother turned on the TV for him.
__________ 5. I miss quite a few days of class early in the semester.
__________ 6. The weather forecaster promise blue skies, but rain began early this morning.
__________ 7. Sam attempt to put out the candle flame with his finger.
__________ 8. However, he end up burning himself.
__________ 9. On the bus, Yolanda listen to music on her iPod.
__________ 10. As the photographer was about to take a picture of the smiling baby, a sudden noise frighten the child and made her cry.