Question 1

The following sentence is punctuated correctly. Nina went to the movies; Daniel stayed home.

Accepted Answer

The sentence has two independent clauses separated by a semicolon, which is the correct punctuation for such a structure.

Question 2

The following sentence is punctuated correctly. Fred is a beagle with brown and white markings, and Copper is a yellow Labrador retriever.

Accepted Answer

The sentence has a comma separating the two independent clauses, and the names of the dogs are capitalized.

Question 3

The following sentence is punctuated correctly. After the demonstration, the teacher reviewed the techniques; and after a question period, the students completed an independent practice on what they had learned.

Accepted Answer

The sentence has two independent clauses, each with a subject and a verb, separated by a semicolon. The semicolon is used correctly to show a stronger connection between the two clauses than a period would indicate.

Question 4

The following sentence is punctuated correctly. Fall break is the first week in October; spring break is the third week in March.

Accepted Answer

The sentence is correctly punctuated with a semicolon separating the two independent clauses.

Question 5

The following sentence is punctuated correctly. The leadership team toured exemplary schools in Athens, Georgia, Charlotte, North Carolina, and Seattle, Washington.

Accepted Answer

The sentence lacks proper punctuation to separate the cities and states; it should include semicolons to correctly list the locations: "The leadership team toured exemplary schools in Athens, Georgia; Charlotte, North Carolina; and Seattle, Washington."

Question 6

The following sentence is punctuated correctly. The newly elected officers are as follows: Joe Smith, President; Jill Swiss, Vice President; and Jason Gillis, Secretary/Treasurer.

Accepted Answer

The sentence correctly uses a colon to introduce a list of newly elected officers and uses semicolons to separate their titles.

Question 7

The following sentence is punctuated correctly. Sites on the World Heritage List are chosen for outstanding universal value, consequently, the United Nations gives expert advice and sometimes money to help preserve them.

Accepted Answer

The sentence incorrectly uses a comma before "consequently" instead of a semicolon or period to separate two independent clauses.

Question 8

The following sentence is punctuated correctly. Olivia drives to work; and Jacob takes the bus.

Accepted Answer

The semicolon in the middle of the sentence should be replaced with a comma, as the two clauses are not independent. The corrected sentence would be: "Olivia drives to work, and Jacob takes the bus."

Question 9

The following sentence is punctuated correctly. During the presidential debate, viewers voiced their opinions of candidates' debate points by clicking thumbs up or thumbs down on a social media app; after the debate, the overall results were shared by news commentators.

Accepted Answer

The sentence is punctuated correctly with a semicolon separating the independent clauses and commas surrounding the interrupter phrase "by clicking thumbs up or thumbs down on a social media app" in the first clause.

Question 10

The following sentence is punctuated correctly. The new video game is in the store, however, we cannot sell it before the release date.

Accepted Answer

The sentence incorrectly uses a comma before "however" instead of a semicolon or period to separate two independent clauses. It should be: "The new video game is in the store; however, we cannot sell it before the release date."

Deck 8: Semicolons