EN102Name:

Dr. Howe

Grammar and Style Test

Please read and follow all instructions!

A) Pronoun/Antecedent Agreement. One of the following three sentences uses correct pronoun/antecedent agreement. Note “correct” beside the correct sentence, and correct the pronoun/antecedent disagreement in the other two.

  1. The applicant should be bilingual if they want to qualify for this position.
  2. David lent his motorcycle to someone who allowed his friend to use it.
  3. A typical cubicle resembles an office, but their walls don't reach the ceiling.

B) Ambiguous Pronoun Referent. Both of the following sentences contain ambiguous pronoun referents. Correct each by rewriting the sentences. One of the two sentences is ambiguous as a result of an expletive construction.

  1. In the report it points out that lifting the ban on Compound 1080 would prove detrimental, possibly even fatal, to the bald eagle.
  2. There are twenty-five students who have already expressed a desire to attend the program next summer.

C) Circle the expletive construction in section B above.

D) Run-ons and Fragments. Correct each fragment or run-on below by repunctuating and/or combining—do not drop important information. Be sure that your sentences are complete. Write your sentences in the space provided.

  1. If a woman from the desert tribe showed anger toward her husband, she was whipped in front of the whole village. And shunned by the rest of the women.
  1. The view was not what the travel agent had described, where were the rolling hills and the shimmering rivers?
  2. The city had one public swimming pool, it stayed packed with children all summer long.
  3. Although my spoken Spanish is not very good. I can read the language with ease.
  4. I shot the sheriff however I did not shoot the deputy.
  5. Ray was fluent in American Sign Language he could sign as easily as he could speak.

E) Circle the two comma splices above.

F) Wordiness. The following sentences are wordy. Revise each to eliminate wordiness, being careful not to change the sense of the sentence or eliminate necessary components.

  1. For all intents and purposes, American industrial productivity generally depends on certain factors that are really more psychological in kind than of any given technological aspect.
  2. She has the ability to influence the outcome.
  3. We should choose the system that is most efficient and accurate.
  4. There was a big explosion that shook the windows.
  5. Your figures were checked by the research department.
  6. The duty of a clerk is to check all incoming mail and to record it.
  7. The function of this department is the collection of accounts.
  8. The microscope revealed a group of organisms that were round in shape and peculiar in nature.

G) Circle the instance of passive voice above, and indicate its presence with a “PV.”

H) Circle the four instances of expletive constructions in section F, and indicate their presence with an “EX.”

I) Sentence Variety and Complexity. Combine each sentence group into one concise sentence. Do not use semicolons. Be sure to maintain all the important information!

  1. Sometimes Ben went running with Karen. She was a good athlete. She was on the track team at school.
  2. She enjoys sleeping late. She also enjoys lingering over breakfast. She reads the New York Times while eating breakfast.
  3. David Kyvig argues that nutritional improvements in the 1920s led to important changes in American culture. David Kyvig argues this in Daily Life in the United States.