PUNCTUATION PRACTICE TEST

A. Select the sentence thst uses commas conectly.

1. A. Jakeand F'redeat too much sleeptoo much, and exercisetoo little.
B. Jakeand Fred eat too much, sleeptoo much, and exercisetoo little.
C. Jake,and Fred eat too much, sleeptoo much, and exercisetoo little. ,

2. A. Well I'm sure,that there is an easierw4y.

B. Well, I'm sure that there is an easier,woy.
C. Well, I'm surethat there is an easierway.

3. A. On December2,1993 Dr. Ramirezandhis family moved into the old family home.
B.' On December,2,7gg3, Dr, Ramirez and,hisfamily moved into the old farnily horne.
C. On December2,1993, Dr. Ramirezandhis farnily movedinto the old family home.

4. A., The fat,lazy cat seernsto do nothing but eat and sleep.
B. The fatlazy cat seemsto do nothing but eat,and sleep.
C. The fat,lazy, cat seemsto do nothing but eat and sleep.

5. A. The office closes,I believeat 4:00 P.M. on Fridays.

B. The office closes,I believe,at 4:00 P.M. on Fridays.
C. The office closesI believe,at 4:00 P.M. on Fridays.

6. A. The car has low mileage,new tires, and rubberbumpers.

B. The car, has low mileage,new tires, and rubberbumpers.
C. The car has low milease new tires and rubberbumpers.

7. A. Actors and dancerswork under glaring, lights.

B. Actors and dancerswork under glaring lights.
C. Actors and dancers,work under glaring lights.

8. A. Amanda by the way, has beenlearningjudo,

B. Amanda, Lrythe way has beenlearningjudo.
C. Amanda, by the way, has beenlearningjudo.

B. Select the sentence thot uses apostrophes correctly.

9. A. The ladiesbook club will meeton Tuesday's.

B. The ladies' book club will meet on Tuesdays.
C. The ladie's book club will meet'onTuesday's.

10. A. Both of us make our' 7's that way.

B. Both of us make our 7's that way.
C. Both of us make our' 7s that way.

11. A. Both doctors'officeshavecopiesof poemson the wall.

B. Both doctor'sofficeshave copiesof poem'son the wall.
C. Both doctor's offices have copiesof poemson the wall.
12. A. Everybody'sduesarein.
B. Everybodys'duesarein.
C . Everybody'sdues'arein.

i3. A . The dancersenteredthe buildingandbegantheir warmups.

B. The dancersenteredthe building andbegantheir' warmups.
C . The dancer'senteredthe buildingandbegantheir warmups.

t4 . A. Its'time for the gameto begin.

B. Its time for the gameto begin.
C. It's time for the gameto begin.

15 . A. You're not the first personto forget to bring tickets.

B. Your not the first personto forget to bring tickets.
C . Your'e not the first personto forget to bring tickets.

16 . A. The mens team hasa practicethis Wednesday. ,

B. The men's team hasa practicethis Wednesday. '
C . The mens' team hasa practicethis Wednesday.

C. Select the sentence thot usesquottrtion ntarks or underlining correctlv.

17. A. Did you readthe article"HomelessJoe" in yesterday's"Daily News"?

B. Did you readthe articleHomelessJoein yesterday's"Daily News"?
C. Did you readthe alticle "HomelessJoe" in yesterday'sDaily News?

18 . A. Nobody, "the teachersaid", shouldever ignore a fire alarm.

B. "Nobody, the teacherpaid,shouldever ignore a fire alarm."
C. "Nobody," the teacher,said,"should ever ignore a fire alarm."

19. A . Lynn is going to play the song "Yesterday"by Paul McCartneyfor her piano solo.
B. Lynn is going to play the song,Yesterday,by Paul McCartneyfor her piano solo,
C . Lynn is going to play the song Yesterdayby Paul McCartney for her piano solo.

20. A. His favorite classicnovel is Moby Dick by Melville.

B. His favorite classicnovel is "Moby Dick" by "Melville."
C . His favorite classicnovel is "Moby Dick" by Melville.

2r. A. Our classis studyingJohn Keats'poem "Ode on a GrecianfJm."

B . Our classis studyingJohn Keats' poem Ode on a GrecianUrn.
C . Our classis studyingJohn Keatspoem, Ode on a GrecianUrn.

22. A. "i will enterthat contestas soonas I get home." Carla said.
B . "I will enterthat contestas soon as I get home.," Carla said,
C . " I will enterthat contestas soon as I get home," Carla said.
23. A. We boughta print of William Menitt Chase'spainting"Beach atZanvoort."
B. We boughta print of William Menitt Chase'spainting,BeachatZanvoort.
C. We boughta print of William Merritt Chase'spaintingBeachat Zanvoort.

24. A. Minh told,me that he had receivedhis grades.

B. Minh told me, "That he had receivedhis gtades,"
C. Minh told me, that he had receivedhis grades.

D. Select the sentence that uses commas, colons, and semi-colons correctly.

25. A. Munay missed work again on Monday, Tuesdayhe was fired.

B. Murray missed work again on Monday: Tuesdayhe was fired.
C., Murray missed work again on Monday; Tuesdayhe was fired.

26. A. I am making three dessertsfor the party: eclairs,strawberrytarts, and chocolatecake.

B. I am making three dessertsfor the party, eclairs,strawberrytarts, and chocolatecake.
C, ,I am rnaking three desseftsfor the parly; eclairs,strawbenytafis, and chocolatecake.

27. A. Carolinehas never,as you know; beenintelestedin sports.

B. Carolinehas never; as you know, beeninterestedin sports.
C. Carolinehas never, as you know, beeninterestedin sports.

28. A. The thlee wirurersof the contestwere Ann, Lee, and Callotta.
B. The three winners of the contestwere: Arut, Lee, and Carlotta.
C. The tluee winners of the contestwere; Ann, Lee, and Carlotta.

29. A. Ahn has always given one personcredit for her success:her father.
B. Ahn has always given one personcredit for her success;her father.
C. Ahn has always given one personcredit for her success,her father.

30. A. Leah loves math, Rachelprefersscience.

B. Leah loves math; Rachelprefersscience.
C. Leah loves math: Rachelprefersscience.

F. Select one of the following punctuation marks to go in the blank-

A. period D ,t. hyphen
B. question mark t g. dash
C. exclamationPoint

31. Mr. Samuelsonis a sell--made man'

32. Abdul asked tf the prizes had already been awarded-

33. The ants swarmedall aroundthe donut on the counter- We realizedwe should have cleanedup the
crumbsbefore going to bed.

34. The bus will be leaving at 8:00 in the morning-don't forget to bring your signedpermissionslips-
and will be retuming at 6:00 p.m.
 35. Richard, have you heard the who won last night's game_

36' I have a worn-out pair of tennis shoesin my closet that I should throw
away.
G' select the coffect punctuation markfor each situation listed. some
answers may be used more than
once.
A. period D_.Itllics (underlining) A. & C. Hyphen
B. comma(s) E. colon A. & D. Exclamation point
C. Quotation marks A. & B. Semicolon

-37 . Used to join two sentenceswhen a coordinationconjunctionis not

used.

38. Used for the title of a shortstoryor poem. ' '

,

-39. Used after words or sentencesexpressingstrongfeeling.

-40. Used to enclosethe exactwords of a speaker.

Used for the name of a newspaperor rnagazine. ' I

-4L

-42. Used for the name of a work of art.

-43. Used to separatethe parts of an addressfrom eachother and from the sentence.

_44. Used betweentwo words that actas one description.

-45. Used with a coordinatingconjunctionbetweentwo sentences.

-46. Used betweena complefesentenceand a list that follows or completbsit.

-47 . Used to separatea nounsof direct address(a personbeing spokento) from the rest of the senrence.

_48. Used after abbreviations.

-4g.Used to indicatea songtitle.

-50. Used after an introductory fragment and before the sentencethat follows it.

H. In thefollowing sentenceschoose the letter that corresponds with the underlined word
that displays
in cor.rect capita lizat io n,
A.
(51) I did my undergraduate
work sat the Universiqvof North Carolina at ChapelHill, the same
B. c. A.
universitymy Dad attended in the 1950s.(52)On arrivingat ChapelHill. I immediatelyfell in love with
B. C. A. B.
thetree-linedwalksandcolonial-st)'le buildingsof the Campus.(53)The northempartof the campusis
C.
especiallybeautifulin the Fall whentheleavesbeginto changecoiors. (54) Duringmy four yearsin
t'
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t'
A.,B.C.
North Carolina,I took a varietyof classesincludingPh]'sics,chemistry,German,and Math 101. (55) After
A. B. C.
springsemesterof my freshmanyear,I decidedto major in englishandminor in French. (56) In my spare
A. B.
time, I enjoyedattendingthe basketballgamesof the nationallyrankedNorth CarolinaTar Heelsin the
C. l
recentlyconstructedsitenamedEvent Center.
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