Punctuation, Capitalization, and Commonly-confused Words

Front

What is the purpose of a comma in a sentence?

Back

A comma is used to indicate a pause between parts of a sentence, separate items in a list, or clarify meaning.

Front

When should you use a comma to separate independent clauses?

Back

A comma should be used before a coordinating conjunction (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so) when connecting two independent clauses.

Front

Where should a comma be placed in the sentence: 'Before the house fell down the narrator managed to escape'?

Back

The comma should be placed before 'down': 'Before the house fell down, the narrator managed to escape.'

Front

Where should a comma be placed in the sentence: 'Although it was raining we decided to go for a walk'?

Back

The comma should be placed before 'we': 'Although it was raining, we decided to go for a walk.'

Front

Where should a comma be placed in the sentence: 'Even though the story was written long ago it remains popular with fans of horror'?

Back

The comma should be placed before 'it': 'Even though the story was written long ago, it remains popular with fans of horror.'

Front

What is capitalization?

Back

Capitalization is the writing of a word with its first letter in uppercase and the remaining letters in lowercase, used for proper nouns and the beginning of sentences.

Front

Which of the following is capitalized correctly: 'The Quick Brown Fox Jumps Over The Lazy Dog.'?

Back

Incorrect. The correct capitalization is: 'The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.'

Front

What is a commonly confused word?

Back

Commonly confused words are pairs of words that sound similar or have similar meanings but are used in different contexts, such as 'their', 'there', and 'they're'.

Front

What is the difference between 'affect' and 'effect'?

Back

'Affect' is a verb meaning to influence something, while 'effect' is a noun meaning the result of a change.

Front

When should you use 'its' vs 'it's'?

Back

'Its' is a possessive pronoun meaning belonging to it, while 'it's' is a contraction for 'it is' or 'it has'.