Punctuation

Read the statement: "The science fair is next week." Which response correctly uses punctuation to ask a question?

• Is your project ready?

• I can't wait.

• Is your project ready.

• Tell me about your project!

Answer explanation

A question asks for information and must end with a question mark (?). Option A is the only choice that is a correctly punctuated question. Option C is phrased as a question but incorrectly uses a period. Options B and D are statements or exclamations.

To correctly use an apostrophe for possession, complete the sentence: I can't tell _____ backpack this is.

• whose

• who's

• whos'

• who

Answer explanation

'Whose' is a possessive pronoun used to ask about ownership. 'Who's' is a contraction for 'who is' or 'who has' and does not fit the sentence. 'Whos'' is not a standard English word.

Complete the sentence by correctly rewriting the phrase 'the home of the players': The team celebrated in _____ after the big win.

• the players' home

• the players home

• the player's home

• the players's home

Answer explanation

To show possession for a plural noun that ends in 's' (players), you add an apostrophe after the 's'. 'The player's home' would be correct for only one player. 'The players's home' is an incorrect formation.

Three of the following sentences use apostrophes correctly. Choose the sentence with the incorrect usage.

• It's going to be a sunny day.

• The cat cleaned it's paws carefully.

• All of the students' projects were amazing.

• They're not sure if the bus has left yet.

Answer explanation

The word 'it's' is a contraction for 'it is'. The sentence requires the possessive pronoun 'its', which shows ownership and does not have an apostrophe. The other sentences correctly use 'It's' (It is), the plural possessive 'students'', and the contraction 'They're' (They are).

A sentence is given without commas. Choose the option that correctly adds commas to separate the items in the series: 'For breakfast I had eggs toast and orange juice.'

• For breakfast I had eggs, toast, and orange juice.

• For breakfast I had, eggs, toast, and orange juice.

• For breakfast I had eggs toast, and, orange juice.

• For breakfast I had eggs, toast and, orange juice.

Answer explanation

When listing three or more items in a series, commas should be placed after each item to separate them. This assessment uses the serial (or Oxford) comma before the conjunction 'and' for clarity. The other options place commas incorrectly, either before the list or around the conjunction.

True or False: The following sentence is punctuated correctly.
For the bake sale, we made chocolate chip cookies, peanut butter bars, and lemon squares.

• True

• False

Answer explanation

The statement is true. The sentence correctly uses commas to separate the three items in the series (chocolate chip cookies, peanut butter bars, and lemon squares), including the serial comma before 'and' for clarity.

Combine the ideas into one sentence: 'Maria packed a sandwich. She packed an apple. She packed a bottle of water.' Choose the new sentence with the correct comma placement.

• Maria packed a sandwich, an apple, and a bottle of water.

• Maria packed a sandwich an apple, and a bottle of water.

• Maria packed, a sandwich, an apple, and a bottle of water.

• Maria packed a sandwich, an apple and, a bottle of water.

Answer explanation

To combine the short sentences into a list, you separate each item with a comma. Option A correctly places a comma after 'sandwich' and 'apple'. Option B is missing the first comma. Option C incorrectly places a comma after the verb 'packed'.

Choose the option that correctly punctuates the line of dialogue.

• "Let's go to the movies, suggested Maya."

• "Let's go to the movies" suggested Maya.

• "Let's go to the movies," suggested Maya.

• Let's go to the movies, suggested Maya.

Answer explanation

When a line of dialogue that is a statement is followed by a speaker tag like 'suggested Maya', a comma is placed inside the closing quotation mark. The tag is not capitalized. Option B is missing the comma, and Option A incorrectly capitalizes the tag.

In which sentence are quotation marks used to indicate the title of a short work, as opposed to direct speech?

• My favorite poem is "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost.

• "What time does the bus arrive?" he asked.

• The teacher said, "Please open your books to page 42."

• "I'm not sure I understand," Maria admitted.

Answer explanation

Quotation marks are used for the titles of shorter works like poems, short stories, and articles. Longer works, like books or movies, are typically italicized. The other options use quotation marks to show the exact words someone is speaking (a direct quote).

Which of the following sentences uses punctuation for dialogue incorrectly?

• "I'll meet you at the park", she called.

• He asked, "Are we there yet?"

• "The game starts at 7:00 p.m.," the announcer said.

• "Watch out!" yelled the coach.

Answer explanation

This sentence is incorrect because the comma separating the dialogue from the speaker tag ('she called') must be placed inside the closing quotation mark, not outside. The other options correctly place question marks, commas, and exclamation points inside the quotation marks.