Key Concepts Grammar Unit 1
SENTENCE BASICS/SENTENCE PROBLEMS/SENTENCE VARIETY
STUDY GUIDE
25 multiple choice questions, similar to our review games and pre-assessment
Study Strategy: Review the key concepts below. Identify concepts about which you feel less clear. Review the worksheets for that concept. Check the links on my homework page to get extra practice in areas on which you feel less sure.
1. What is a sentence?
- subject, verb, complete thought
- identify subjects, sentences with more than one subject (compound subjects)
- identify verbs, sentences with more than one verb (compound verbs)
- recognizing linking/helping verbs like is, am, are, was, were, be, been, have, has, had, do, does, did, could, would, should, can, will, may, might must
- “you understood”
2. Run-ons
- Identify run-on
- define run-ons
- What are the three ways to fix a run-on sentence?
- correctly punctuate and fix a run-on sentence using one of the three strategies
- read a student passage and identify/fix run-ons in that passage
3. Punctuating Sentences that begin with an introductory element (review of sentence openers like what you wrote for Scary Story)
- which one shows correct use of comma
- writing sentences with an introductory element
4. Passage analysis
- read a passage of student writing and identify run-ons and introductory elements
5. Semicolon
- Identify two major jobs of a semicolon
- Use a semicolon to punctuate/fix run-ons
NAME: ______
PRACTICE TEST
SENTENCE BASICS/SENTENCE PROBLEMS/SENTENCE VARIETY
SENTENCE BASICS
1. In order for a group of words to be considered a sentence, that group of words must have the following:
A. a verb, a subject, and a comma
B. a subject, a verb, and a complete thought
C. a subject, a verb, a predicate, and a noun
D. at least three parts of speech, a period, and a comma
2. What is the subject(s) in the following sentence?
Hairy Beast glanced at the cruel note and began to sob.
A. note
B. sob
C. Hairy Beast
D. glanced
3. What is the verb(s) in the following sentence?
Bertha slithered silently over to Hairy’s house.
A. over
B. slithered
C. Bertha
D. silently
4. What is the verb(s) in the following sentence?
He tore the letter into bits, pounded his chest, and sobbed uncontrollably.
A. tore
B. bits, into, uncontrollably
C. tore, pounded, sobbed
D. He
5. What is the subject(s) in the following sentence?
Before opening the door, Hairy tried to pull himself together.
- door
- Hairy
- Himself, Hairy, door
- tried
6. What is the subject in the following sentence?
He talked to Bertha for several hours.
A. He
B. talked
C. Bertha
D. hours
7. What is the subject in the following sentence?
Hey, look over here!
A. There is no subject
B. Hey
C. look
D. You understood
8. What is the verb in the following sentence?
Bertha was a kind, thoughtful serpent.
A. thoughtful
B. kind
C. was
D. Bertha
SENTENCE PROBLEMS: FRAGMENTS AND RUN-ONS
9. A run-on sentence is defined as:
A. a really long sentence
B. two or more sentences put together in a way that is not grammatically correct
C. a sentence that rambles on and on and on
D. a sentence with track shoes
10. All of the following are ways to correct a run on sentence except:
A. divide the run-on into two separate sentences with a period
B. divide the sentences with a comma and a conjunction
C. divide the sentences with a comma
D. divide the sentences with a semicolon
11. Which of the following correctly fixes the run-on sentence below?
Virginia City was a famous mining town it is in Nevada.
A. Virginia City was a famous mining town, it is in Nevada.
B. Virginia City was a famous mining town; it is in Nevada.
C. Virginia City was a famous mining town and it is in Nevada.
D. Virginia City was a famous mining town it is in Nevada.
FORMING COMPOUND SENTENCES WITH COMMA + CONJUNCTION
12. Which of the following is a list of coordinating conjunctions?
A. a, an, as, the
B. he, she, him, her
C. for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so
D. for, as, neither, but, on, yet, soon
13. Which answer choice correctly combines these two sentences to make one compound sentence?
I had my tonsils removed. I could not eat for four days.
A. I had my tonsils removed or I could not eat for four days.
B. I could not eat for four days; after my tonsils were removed.
C. I had my tonsils removed, and I could not eat for four days.
D. My tonsils were removed: I could not eat for four days.
FORMING COMPOUND SENTENCES WITH A SEMICOLON
14. How can the error in this sentence be fixed?
I hated the noise in my house: although, when it was too quiet, I got nervous.
A. Change the colon after the word "house" to a semicolon.
B. Change the comma after the word "although" to a semicolon.
C. Remove the word "too."
D. Remove the word "when."
15. Which of the following sentences is punctuated correctly?
A. I would never be accepted to an Ivy League college, then again, stranger things have happened.
B. I would never be accepted to; an Ivy League college; then again, stranger things have happened.
C. I would never be accepted to an Ivy League college; then again, stranger things have happened.
D. I would never be accepted to an Ivy League college: then again, stranger things have happened.
FORMING SENTENCES WITH AN INTRODUCTORY ELEMENT
16. Where should the comma go in the following sentence?
When I go to bed late I have trouble waking up in the morning.
A. after the word When
B. after the word go
C. after the word late
D. after the word trouble
17. Which of the following sentences is written correctly?
A. Finally after all that, waiting we were invited inside.
B. After cooking, the women asked their husbands to wash the dishes.
C. While eating, dinner we discussed our day at school.
D. So Midori, guessed the right answer which was found on page thirty.
18. Which sentence has the comma in the correct place?
A. Yes, Fernando is going to the Halloween party.
B. Yes Fernando is going to the Halloween, party.
C. Yes Fernando, is going to the Halloween party.
D. Yes Fernando is going, to the Halloween party.
19. Does the following sentence need a comma?
Before you try to juggle knives you should first learn how to juggle oranges.
A. Yes
B. No
20. Does the following sentence need a comma?
Look after the dog until I come home.
A. Yes
B. No
DIRECTIONS: Please read the following passage and answer the questions that follow.
1. What would you do if you were alone with a baby in a dark house during the worst thunderstorm of the year?
2.Everything was calm when I arrived for my first baby-sitting job the Losoya’s baby, Anna, was playing in the living room with a clutter of toys all around her. 3.Although nervous, I was proud the Losoyas trusted me with her, and I was determined to prove worthy of that trust.
4. Soon after the Losoyas left, I fed Anna. 5. Settled her down for the night. 6.As I tucked the blankets around her I touched her soft cheek and listened to her low gurgling.
7. Shortly after eight o’clock, I heard the sharp crack of nearby thunder.
21. Which of the numbered sentences contains a RUN-ON SENTENCE?
A. 1
B. 2
C. 3
D. 4
22. Which of the numbered sentences has an error because it is missing a comma to separate an introductory element (word or phrase) from the rest of the sentence?
A. 4
B. 5
C. 6
D. 7
23. Which of the numbered sentences shows the correct use of a comma to separate an introductory element (word or phrase) from the rest of the sentence?
A. 1
B. 2
C. 3