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Select the underlined word or phrase that needs to be changed to make the sentence correct. Some sentences contain no error at all.
Although he initially refused to go to the cinema, James finally saw the movie, that his friends had recommended. No error
Commas, gramatically speaking, should never be used before or after the word "that." The correct sentence would have: "James finally saw the movie that his friends . . ."
"Had recommended" could be changed to "recommended", for the sake of simplicity, but the comma error is more flagrant.
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Select the underlined word or phrase that needs to be changed to make the sentence correct. Some sentences contain no error at all.
The student body cheered loudly and celebrated wildly, when summer vacation arrived once again. No error
The comma used between "wildly" and "when" is extraneous and creates a grammatical error in this sentence. No comma is needed to separate the subordinate clause "when summer vacation arrived once again" from the independent clause "The student body cheered loudly and celebrated wildly." Note that if the order of these clauses were reversed and the sentence began with the subordinate clause, a comma would be needed after "again": "When summer vacation arrived once again, the student body cheered loudly and celebrated wildly"; however, since the subordinate clause follows the independent clause in the sentence as it is given, no comma is needed.
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Select the underlined word or phrase that needs to be changed to make the sentence correct. Some sentences contain no error at all.
Joey will reluctantly eat broccoli and spinach but his favorite green vegetables are peas and green beans. No error
The sentence consists of two independent clauses ("Joey will reluctantly eat broccoli and spinach" and "his favorite green vegetables are peas and green beans") joined by a coordinating conjunction, "but." (Other coordinating conjunctions can include "and," "or," "nor," "yet," "so," and "for.") When two independent clauses are joined by a coordinating conjunction, a comma is required after the first clause immediately before the conjunction. The corrected sentence would read, "Joey will reluctantly eat broccoli and spinach, but his favorite green vegetables are peas and green beans."
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Jane wanted to go parasailing over vacation but then, a fierce storm rolled in and flooded the harbor. No error
The placement of the comma in this sentence between "then" and "a" is incorrect. The comma should instead appear between "vacation" and "but" in order to correctly connect the compound sentence's two independent clauses using a comma followed by a conjunction.
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Select the underlined word or phrase that needs to be changed to make the sentence correct. Some sentences contain no error at all.
While I would love to go to the beach with you I have to study instead. No error
“While I would love to go to the beach with you” is a dependent clause, which means that if it is removed from the sentence, the rest of the sentence (“I have to study instead”) will still be a complete sentence. Because commas are always used to separate a dependent clause from an independent clause when the dependent clause precedes the independent clause, a comma must appear between “with you” and “I have.”
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Wherever they go, they can’t seem to find a vacation spot, that suits their needs. No error
“Wherever they go” is a dependent clause, so it must be separated from the rest of the sentence by a comma. However, commas generally don’t appear before or after the word “that,” so no comma is necessary there. (Specifically, commas are not generally needed to separate dependent clauses from independent clauses when the dependent clause follows the independent clause.)
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Select the underlined word or phrase that needs to be changed to make the sentence correct. Some sentences contain no error at all.
Being a strong math student Chris didn’t understand his classmates’ confusion with prime numbers, logarithms, or exponents. No error
“Being a strong student” is a modifier that describes “Chris,” so a comma is needed to separate the two. The three items in the list are properly punctuated with commas, and since "classmates" is plural, the correct possessive is "classmates’."
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Here’s the situation: your dog isn’t properly trained to be around children, adults or other animals. No error
Because “Here’s the situation” is an independent clause introducing another independent clause, a colon is the correct punctuation mark to use to separate them. A comma is required after “adults,” though, since it’s an item in a list.
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Select the underlined word or phrase that needs to be changed to make the sentence correct. Some sentences contain no error at all.
The crowd jumped out of their seats and cheered loudly, when the home team scored the game-winning shot at the buzzer. No error.
The comma between "loudly" and "when" is unnecessary, creating and punctuation error in the sentence.
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Select the underlined word or phrase that needs to be changed to make the sentence correct. Some sentences contain no error at all.
Although Danny was not the best swimmer his friends always said he threw the best pool parties. No error.
The sentence requires a comma after "swimmer" in order to correctly join its dependent and independent clauses ("Although Danny was not the best swimmer" and "his friends always said he threw the best pool parties").
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Select the underlined word or phrase that needs to be changed to make the sentence correct. Some sentences contain no error at all.
While I don't agree with your opinion about how life on Earth began I do respect your right to believe it. No error.
The sentence consists of two separate clauses ("While I don't agree with your opinion about how life on Earth began" and "I do respect your right to believe it"); therefore, the sentence requires a comma after "began" to properly separate the clauses.
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Although she studied diligently for her chemistry final exam, there was still fear and doubt in Amy's mind as she walked into the room. No error
There is no error in this sentence. "Although" is a subordinate conjunction correctly linking an independent clause to a dependent one, "diligently" is an adverb correctly modifying a verb (studied), and "as she walked" correctly indicates an action that occurs simultaneously (to her fear and doubt).
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Select the underlined word or words that needs to be changed to make the sentence correct. Some sentences may contain no error at all.
“Above all you must remember to conjugate the verbs correctly on tomorrow’s test,” the French teacher said. No error
Here, “Above all” is an introductory phrase and a dependent clause, so it must be followed by a comma. The direct speech is correctly punctuated in the original sentence.
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Select the underlined word or words that needs to be changed to make the sentence correct. Some sentences may contain no error at all.
Our friend, before calling the police, ensured that everyone at the scene of the accident was calm and unhurt. No error
Here, “before calling the police” is an interrupting or parenthetical (dependent) clause and can be removed from the sentence without making a sentence fragment. For this reason, it has to be set apart by commas. No comma is needed before the conjunction (“and”), since it is not breaking up two independent clauses. The sentence is correct as written.
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The marketing team spent all month designing an advertising campaign, but in the end, the company chose a different and poorly conceived approach that the boss’s son had created on a whim. No error
Since “the marketing team spent all month coming up with an advertising campaign” and “the company chose a different and poorly conceived approach that the boss’s son had created on a whim” are independent clauses (i.e., complete sentences on their own), a comma must be used before the conjunction (“but”) that joins these two independent clauses. “In the end” is a parenthetical or dependent clause, so it must be separated from the rest of the sentence with commas on both sides (before “but” and before “end”).
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Select the underlined word or words that needs to be changed to make the sentence correct. Some sentences may contain no error at all.
Harry Houdini who was born in Budapest, Austria-Hungary, was famous for his death-defying stunts and his unbelievable escape acts. No error
Here, “Budapest, Austria-Hungary,” is a dependent clause that modifies or describes Houdini, so a comma is needed both before and after the clause. Because dependent clauses contain non-essential information (they can be removed and still leave a complete sentence), they must always be separated from the rest of the sentence by commas. Remember, too, that commas are always used between the name of a city and the name of its state or country, as in “Budapest, Austria-Hungary.”
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The racehorse, whose owners were disinterested socialites was beloved by jockeys and trainers alike for its sweet temper. No error
In this sentence, “whose owners were disinterested socialites” is a dependent clause describing the racehorse. As with all dependent clauses, this one can be removed and still leave a grammatically complete sentence, so it must be set apart with commas on both sides.
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While it would be great if the Argentinian team won the championship I would be happy to see any South American team win. No error
“While it would be great if the Argentinian team won the championship” is a dependent clause, which means that it can be removed from the sentence and still leave a grammatically complete and logical sentence. Because commas are always used to separate a dependent clause from an independent clause, a comma must be placed between “championship” and “I would.”
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Select the underlined word or words that needs to be changed to make the sentence correct. Some sentences may contain no error at all.
No matter what I do, I can’t seem to convince the board of directors that achieving the designer’s vision will be impossible, when considering economies of scale. No error
“No matter what I do” is a dependent clause, so it must be separated from the rest of the sentence by a comma; however, “when considering economies of scale” is not a dependent clause in this case, so it shouldn’t be preceded by a comma. It is instead part of the preceding independent clause, and it can’t be removed from the sentence without losing some of the main idea.
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Select the underlined word or words that needs to be changed to make the sentence correct. Some sentences may contain no error at all.
Being a weak speller I was not able to score well when it came time to write the inspirational essay; we were given no resources to check our spelling or grammar before we handed in the assignment. No error
“Being a weak speller” is a modifier that describes the narrator of the sentence, and it is a dependent clause. A comma is needed after “speller.” The semicolon is used correctly to separate two independent clauses without a conjunction here.
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