WorksheetsPre Grammar Test Language Arts 7 (GYSA) Fall 2019
Total questions: 50
Worksheet time: 25mins
Which of the following uses punctuation and capitalization correctly because of the rule in parentheses?
What are the first few words of the Star Spangled Banner? (Song titles are italicized)
What are the first few words of "the Star Spangled Banner" (We don't capitalize "the" because it's a little word)
What are the first few words of "The Star Spangled Banner"?(Songs titles are in quotation marks.)
Jack and Jill enjoyed reading Treasure Island because Robert louis Stevenson is an excellent writer.
Is this sentence punctuated and capitalized correctly?
Yes
No
Which of these correctly uses a comma after a subordinate clause?
After Mr. Reed graduated from college, he entered the Peace Corps.
After Mr. Reed graduated from college he entered, the Peace Corps.
After Mr. Reed graduated, from college he entered the Peace Corps.
True or false?
For, and, nor, but, or, yet, so are often called the "FANBOYS." They are coordinating conjunctions, and they are used to create compound sentences. Both halves of compound sentences could be complete sentences, and both halves of the compound sentence are equally important to meaning.
True
False
An umbrella was found in the hallway; and it was mine.
Is it correctly punctuated--yes or no?
Yes, this is a compound sentence with 2 independent clauses so they should be combined by using a semicolon. (They are closely connected by topic)
No, this is a compound sentence with 2 independent clauses, but since it uses a coordinating conjunction (one of the "FANBOYS"), you should put a comma before the conjunction, not a semicolon.
Interrogative pronouns are "Who, Whom, Which, What, Whose."
Which of these interrogative pronouns would you use if you wanted to ask the question that might lead to the answer below.
Jimbo ate the last Hostess Twinkie.
Who ate the last Hostess Twinkie?
What ate the last Hostess Twinkie?
Whom ate the last Hostess Twinkie?
Relative pronouns are the words "who," "that," and "which")
IDENTIFY THE SUBORDINATE CLAUSE THAT BEGINS WITH A RELATIVE PRONOUN IN THE SENTENCE BELOW.
I am the woman who can fix what is wrong with America.
the woman who can fix what is wrong with America.
what is wrong with America.
who can fix what is wrong with America.
IDENTIFY THE APPOSITIVE PHRASE IN THE FOLLOWING SENTENCE. (Appositives are phrases that rename a noun in other terms)
The Supreme Court, one of the co-equal branches of government, is responsible for deciding the fate of millions of Americans with every case they hear.
The Supreme Court
one of the co-equal branches of government
of millions of American women of child-bearing age
IDENTIFY THE LIST OF PLURAL PRONOUNS FROM AMONG THE THREE LISTS BELOW:
we, us, our, you, your, yours, they, them, their, theirs
he, him, his, she, her, they, them, their, theirs
I, me, my,mine, he, him, his, she, it, its
Which of the following includes a prepositional phrase that you might add to the sentence below to make it more specific.
The dog ran away from his master.
The dog ran away from his master, reared back, and jumped the fence.
The dog ran away from his master after his master called him a "bad dog."
The dog, a Great Dane, ran away from his master.
When you use a prepositional phrase or subordinate clause at the beginning of a sentence, you need to end that phrase with a comma.
True
False
SUBJECT/VERB AGREEMENT
The members of our football team (has/have) been lifting weights after school.
HINT: Identify the subject of the sentence before deciding on the verb that agrees--singular or plural.
members, so the verb is "have"
team, so the verb is "has"
Singular subjects joined by "or" or "nor" take a singular verb. Which of the following sentences is correct?
Either Lisa or her sister study Latin in school.
Either Lisa or her sister studies Latin in school.
Lewis and Clark (was/were) famous American explorers.
was
were
Pasta or rice (is/are) part of Greta's daily diet.
is
are
On scheduled evenings, the students and Ms. Soyer (gaze/gazes) at stars through a telescope.
gaze
gazes
Heavy winds and rain (has/have) damaged the building.
has
have
The trees and the stream (look/looks) peaceful in the morning sunlight.
look
looks
Grace or Lulu (is/are) going to the water fountain for more water.
is
are
One of the cats always (scratches/scratch) the furniture.
scratches
scratch
Together, both of Jack's cousins (visits, visit) Nicaragua in the fall.
visits
visit
All, any, more, most, none, and some are called indefinite pronouns.
When you have an indefinite pronoun, it may be either singular or plural, depending on how it is used in the sentence. Which of the following sentences is correct?
All of the oranges has been eaten.
All of the oranges have been eaten.
Like all verbs, verb contractions should also agree with their subjects. Is the following sentence correct?
Why don't you ask for directions to their house? (The verb "don't" agrees with the subject "you.")
It is correct.
It is incorrect.
Read the following passage and identify the sentence fragment.
The end of the year is a time for joy. We will soon be free to sleep in until 3 p.m. if we like. Our dogs and cats will have their playmates back. Some parents will have a built-in babysitter every day. As they can save money on daycare. Sadly, babysitting teenagers do not get to sleep in until 3 p.m. Baby brother may wake up and need changing at 7:15 a.m., just after Mom has left for work. Dogs and cats should be trained to change diapers.
Our dogs and cats will have their playmates back.
As they can save money on daycare.
Baby brother may wake up and need changing at 7:15 a.m., just after Mom has left for work.
SUBJECT/VERB AGREEMENT
All of the jurors (want/wants) to come to a unanimous decision.
want
wants
The cinnamon and the utensils (belong/belongs) in the pantry.
belong
belongs
SUBJECT/VERB AGREEMENT
The first baseman and the catcher (has/have) made many errors.
has
have
Abena, as well as her sisters, (is/are) an excellent student.
Please choose a sentence below that is correct grammatically and expresses what this sentence is trying to express.
Abena is an excellent student, but her sisters are not excellent students.
Abena, as well as her sisters, is an excellent student.
Abena and her sister are all excellent young ladies.
RUN ON SENTENCE IDENTIFICATION
Please read the passage below. It is a run-on sentence. Which of the choices below comes closest to expressing the same thoughts more eloquently.
We are tired of taking tests, and we want to take a break and hang out with our friends in our classrooms, until it is finally time for summer to begin, so we can be sociable and maybe we can get jobs too.
We are tired and hang out with our friends in the classroom. We want to hang out until we get jobs this summer.
We take tests, hang out with our friends in our classrooms, and we have all gotten summer jobs.
We are sociable, so we naturally want to take a break from testing and hang out with our friends in our classrooms. When summer begins, we can still be sociable, but we may get summer jobs as well.
PARALLELISM
Choose the sentence below that uses a list that is parallel in structure.
Old-timey candlemakers have many skills: they raise bees, collecting the wax, and dipping the candles, inserting wicks, then hanging them up to dry.
Old-timey candlemakers have many skills: raising bees, collecting the wax, dipping the candles, inserting wicks, then hanging them up to dry.
Old-timey candlemakers have many skills: raising bees, collecting the wax, dipping the candles, they insert wicks, then hang them up to dry.
FREQUENTLY MISSPELLED WORDS
Choose the correct pair of words below.
(They're, their, there) sure (there, they're, their) test scores will reflect the fact that they really care about writing well, so they can succeed at the ECA next year.
Their, their
There, they're
They're, their
FREQUENTLY MISSPELLED WORDS
Choose the correct pair of words below the sentence.
(Your/You're) not allowed to have (your/your'e) own opinion at the dinner table; (your/you're) treated like a prisoner in (your/you're) own home!
Your/ your/ you're/ you''re
You're/ your/ your/ you're
You're/ your/ you're/ your
CORRECT OR NOT CORRECT?
Whose dirty sock is this?
Correct
Not Correct
CORRECT OR INCORRECT?
Who's the owner of this dirty sock?
Correct
Incorrect
COMMA OR NO COMMA?
Sherlock Holmes and his trusty sidekick Watson solved crimes.
COMMA
NO COMMA
COMMAS or NO COMMAS? Which of the following is correct?
Sherlock Holmes accompanied by his trusty sidekick Watson solved many grisly crimes.
Sherlock Holmes, accompanied by his trusty sidekick Watson, solved many grisly crimes.
The one with the commas
The one with no commas
"Its" or "It's"
Ooh, gross. The dog is licking its behind!
Ooh, gross. The dog is licking it's behind!
its
it's
I cannot (bare/bear) the fact that I will never see my pet (bare/bear) again!
bare, bare
bare, bear
bear, bear
Is the following a complete sentence or a sentence fragment?
After all the headmaster had done for his ungrateful, unruly students.
Complete Sentence
Sentence Fragment
Is the following a complete sentence or a sentence fragment?
After all, the headmaster had done a lot for his ungrateful, unruly students.
Complete Sentence
Sentence Fragment
FUN WITH FANBOYS
Which of the following sentences uses the best choice for a coordinating conjunction?
I have a true love of nature, and I am afraid to go camping.
I have a true love of nature, so I am afraid to go camping.
I have a true love of nature, yet I am afraid to go camping.
True or false: "Because" is a coordinating conjunction, so you need a comma after the word "test" in the following example:
I am going to ace this test, because I studied a lot.
True
False
Is the following a run on sentence or a complete sentence?
We have all the time in the world to fall in love, get rich, and raise kids so I think it is insane that some people feel they have to rush into marriage at the age of twenty one so they can raise a family and buy a big house and feel superior to all the people around them and then they will end up being unhappy and dying alone anyways.
Run on sentence
Complete sentence
Is the following a run on sentence or a complete sentence?
Although this sentence is long, it adheres to all the rules of grammar; therefore, it perfectly illustrates the fact that mixing up long and short sentences is a good way to make one's writing more interesting.
Run On Sentence
Complete Sentence
The black Sharpie or the crayons (is, are) the right thing to use on the poster for the upcoming protest.
is
are
The crayons or the black Sharpie (is, are) the right thing to use on the poster for the upcoming protest.
is
are
Frequently misspelled words:
Blue and orange are (complimentary/complementary) colors.
complimentary
complementary
Does this sentence follow rules of parallelism?
Before I go on vacation, I have to pack, find a pet sitter, book hotel accommodations, and cover my shifts at work.
Yes
No
You were doing something in the past, and it was interrupted by another action.
Which of these is the correct use of verb tenses for that situation?
I was polishing my nails when the phone rang.
I am polishing my nails while the phone rings.
I was polish my nails and the phone is ringing.
Capitalization. Which of the following is capitalized correctly.
My favorite months are March, April, and May because Spring is a beautiful time of the year.
My favorite months are march, april and may because Spring is a beautiful time of the Year.
My favorite months are March, April, and May because spring is a beautiful time of the year.
