Revise each sentence below so that the nouns to which the pronouns refer are obvious. 1. He told his brother that his bicycle had been stolen. 2. I left my coat in the car, but now I can’t find it. 3. If you’ve ever wanted to go there, now is the perfect time to travel … Read more
In each pair of sentences below, choose the version that correctly indicates through word and punctuation choice whether an explanatory phrase is restrictive or nonrestrictive. 1. a) Smith is a spokesman for the US Army’s 800th Military Police Brigade that operates prisons in Iraq. b) Smith is a spokesman for the US Army’s 800th Military … Read more
From each of the following pairs of sentences, select the correctly punctuated version. 1. a) I went to the meeting, however John was not there. b) I went to the meeting; however, John was not there. 2. a) If you are ready to go, then meet me at the corner in five minutes. b) If … Read more
In the following sentences, choose the version that correctly reflects the stated intent of the ellipsis. 1. To indicate a pause: a) And the award goes to. . .John Smith. b) And the award goes to . . . John Smith. 2. To indicate that one or more words at the end of a quoted … Read more
Revise each of the following sentences so that the name of the thing, not the thing itself, is defined. 1. He coined the term “the Silk Road,” a network of Eurasian roads and trade routes. 2. Polygyny translates to “having many wives.” 3. We were introduced to the precocious child Prof, short for “Professor.” 4. … Read more
Pick the version that correctly reflects the state of the fact or proposition. 1. a) It was common knowledge that things fall down when you drop them. b) It was common knowledge that things fell down when you dropped them. 2. a) He posited that the universe consisted of a space-time continuum. b) He posited … Read more
Improve these sentences by restructuring them to be more direct and by removing extraneous words. 1. Mary and John had fostered relationships with government and park officials and were allowed to submit a counterproposal. 2. The incident was tragic all around and should not have played out as it did. 3. These are annual events … Read more
Revise these sentences so that the idiomatic expressions are rendered correctly. 1. He said he’d touch bases with me tomorrow. 2. I remember how I used to wile away the hours during summer vacation. 3. She awaited the news with baited breath. 4. We found ourselves in dire straights. 5. The gophers are wrecking havoc … Read more
The following sentences deliberately lack internal punctuation whether such punctuation is correct or not. Insert punctuation as necessary to correct them. 1. Her reply was as follows “We have no comment in response to the allegations.” 2. She said that the management “has no comment in response to the allegations.” 3. She said “We have … Read more
Identify in each sentence below whether, according to The Chicago Manual of Style and most other style guides, the word with a prefix should have a hyphen connecting the prefix to the base word or whether the prefix should be directly attached to the base word. 1. a) The anti-immigration group solicited signatures for their … Read more
A phrasal adjective is a set of two or more words that, as a unit, modifies a noun. Phrasal adjectives are often hyphenated to signal the combination of two words to describe the noun that follows, but occasionally a phrase is familiar enough that it does not warrant a hyphen, or it is treated as … Read more
In each of the following sentences, commas are missing or are misplaced, misrepresenting exactly which word or phrase is parenthetical to the sentence. Revise the sentences as necessary to clarify the parenthesis. 1. One of the team’s all-time greats, John Smith took over after Robert Jones was injured. 2. There were a bunch of policies, … Read more