English Expert Q&A

In each set below, select the letter of the sentence in which all of the apostrophes are used correctly. In which sentence are apostrophes used correctly?

A) During the summer of '09, my friend's spent a week at my aunt's house in Alaska.
B) During the summer of '09, my friends' spent a week at my aunts house in Alaska.
C) During the summer of '09, my friends spent a week at my aunt's house in Alaska.

Select the letter of the correct answer for each of the following questions. Select the number of the topic sentence in the paragraph below.
(1) Within 20 minutes of quitting smoking, an ex-smoker's blood pressure and pulse rate return to normal. (2) Within eight hours, oxygen levels in the blood increase, and carbon monoxide levels decrease. (3) Forty-eight hours after quitting, the ex-smoker's senses of smell and taste return to normal. (4) By three months after quitting, the ex-smoker's circulation will have improved, and his or her lung function will have increased by as much as 30 percent. (5) A year after quitting, the ex-smoker's risk for heart disease is slashed by half. (6) The risk for lung cancer is cut in half within five years of quitting. (7) It's clear that the longer an ex-smoker goes without cigarettes, the healthier he or she becomes.

A) Sentence 1
B) Sentence 2
C) Sentence 7

Select the letter of the sentence that is correctly punctuated with commas. Which sentence is correctly punctuated?

A) Aanya put, lettuce onions walnuts olives and cheese, in the salad.
B) Aanya put lettuce, onions, walnuts, olives, and cheese in the salad.
C) Aanya put lettuce, onions, walnuts, olives, and cheese, in the salad.

Select the letter of the correct preposition to insert in each of the following sentences. Victoria was so fond ____ the film that she purchased the DVD.

A) after
B) of
C) on

The paragraph below is developed by a specific mode or pattern. Read the paragraph; then answer the question(s) .
(1) Reality television shows are inspiring viewers to explore and adopt new hobbies. (2) For example, the fashion design show Project Runway has sparked new interest in sewing. (3) Enrollment in sewing classes and sales of sewing machines have both increased significantly since the show began in 2004. (4) Another example is the Dancing with the Stars shows, which feature celebrities performing routines with ballroom dance professionals. (5) This series has led to a resurgence of interest in dances like the tango, the waltz, and the cha cha, with dance studios all over America reporting a spike in enrollment since this show started in 2005. (6) Reality TV shows like Antiques Roadshow, American Pickers, and Pawn Stars have spawned new interest in antiques and collectibles.
Select the type of development the writer of this paragraph has used.

A) illustration
B) narration
C) description
D) process
E) definition
F) persuasion
G) classification
H) cause/effect

Select the answer that correctly adds the suffix to each word below. judge + ment

A) judgement
B) judgment

The following sentences form a paragraph. Select the correct preposition for each blank.
Unsung Innovators
David Buick (1855-1929) originally made his fortune in a Detroit plumbing business but soon became interested ____ the rising demand for the "horseless carriage."

A) in
B) on

Select the letter of the list of words that should be capitalized. On november 19, 1863, abraham lincoln delivered the gettysburg address, a simple, 270-word speech that honors those who died in that civil war battle.

A) Abraham, Lincoln, Gettysburg
B) November, Abraham, Lincoln, Gettysburg, Address, Civil, War
C) November, Abraham, Lincoln, Gettysburg, Address, Civil, War, Battle

The following sentences form a paragraph. Select the correct preposition for each blank.
Unsung Innovators
Buick's last job was as a clerk ____ a vocational school; Durant went bankrupt and died penniless.

A) in
B) on

Choose the sentence in which all the commas are used correctly. Select the letter of the correct answer. Which sentences uses all commas correctly?

A) Your plan for an AIDS Awareness Day by the way, is the best I have ever seen.
B) Your plan for an AIDS Awareness Day, by the way is the best I have ever seen.
C) Your plan for an AIDS Awareness Day, by the way, is the best I have ever seen.

Check the following paragraph(s) for unity. Select the number of the sentence that does not belong in the paragraph. Identify the sentence that does not belong.
(1) Some very odd things have been sold on eBay, the online auction site. (2) One man recently sold his forehead for advertising space. (3) The winning bid was $37,000. (4) When pop singer Justin Bieber cut off his long, famous hair, the locks sold for over $40,668, and several sellers have offered buyers a chance to own singer Britney Spears's used chewing gum. (5) A cheese sandwich said to bear an image of the Virgin Mary went for $28,000. (6) A cinnamon bun that supposedly looked like Mother Teresa was stolen from a coffeehouse in Nashville, Tennessee. (7) One eBay shopper paid $4,550 for a vampire-killing kit, and another bought a serial killer's fingernails for $9.99. (8) "The meaning of life" sold for a mere $3.26, and another buyer got "Nothing! Absolutely Nothing!" for $1.03.

A) Sentence 4
B) Sentence 6
C) Sentence 7

The following sentences form a paragraph. Select the correct word for each blank. Then a snow tank ____ dirty shavings.

A) collect's
B) collects

Each of the following sentences tells what you are trying to persuade someone to do. Beneath each sentence are four reasons that attempt to convince the reader that he or she should take this particular course of action. Select the reason that seems irrelevant, illogical, or untrue. If you wanted to persuade someone to buy and use a couple of reusable cloth bags for transporting groceries home from the store, you could say that

A) the Kline Corporation, a manufacturer of cloth bags, says that cloth bags are better than paper or plastic bags.
B) cloth bags reduce the trash and pollution created by discarded paper and plastic bags.
C) cloth bags are easy to use.
D) cloth bags are sturdier and won't break as easily as paper and plastic bags will.

The following sentences form a paragraph. For each item, select the underlined part that contains an error. Most of us would say that we live stressful lives but you might not be aware that we are probably experiencing several kinds of stress at once.

A) lives but
B) probably
C) several kinds

Read the paragraph below and answer the questions that follow.
(1) Some seemingly harmless substances can interfere with the way medicines work inside the body. (2) Take grapefruit juice, for example. (3) It disrupts the action of enzymes that break down drugs in the small intestine before they are absorbed into the bloodstream. (4) Therefore, taking a medication with grapefruit juice may cause the drug to enter the blood in dangerously high concentrations. (5) If this happens, not only is the drug less effective, but serious side effects can result. (6) Many common medications, including antidepressants, antihistamines, and cholesterol drugs, are negatively affected by grapefruit juice.
Select the transitional expression in the paragraph that introduces an illustration:

A) of course
B) for example
C) therefore
D) anyway

Each general statement below is followed by several examples. Select the letter of the example that does not clearly illustrate the generalization. The United States offers many unusual tourist attractions for those who venture off the beaten path.

A) Visitors to Mitchell, South Dakota, can stop at the Mitchell Corn Palace, a castle covered with murals made of corn, grass, and grain.
B) One of the most popular tourist stops in the country is the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C.
C) Hard-core Elvis fans can visit the Elvis Museum in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, to see Elvis's razor, hair dryer, and nasal spray applicator.
D) On Route 115 in Colorado, drivers can gawk at the World's Largest Hercules Beetle, a giant bug made of plaster.

In each of the following plans, one detail has nothing to do with the topic sentence; it is merely a bit of irrelevant information. Select the irrelevant detail. In my mind's eye is the plan for the perfect workout room.

A) complete Nautilus home gym in center
B) elliptical machine near the door
C) on shelf above the elliptical machine, a color TV
D) exercise helps me think more clearly
E) hot tub with view of woods through one-way glass
F) a treadmill next to the elliptical machine

Select the part of the sentence that contains a grammar or punctuation error. According to recent studies, over 7 million americans eat a meatless diet, and more than 22 million adults limit their consumption of animal products.

A) studies,
B) americans
C) diet, and

The following sentences form an essay. Proofread them for consistency, parallelism, and concise language. Select the letter of the error in each sentence. Doctors don't completely understand yet, but they think that high blood pressure puts a strain on blood vessels, causing them to tear and developing weak areas where plaque can gain an easy foothold.

A) consistency
B) parallelism
C) concise language

The following sentences form a paragraph. Proofread them for errors in spelling and look-alikes/sound-alikes. Select the letter of the correct list of misspelled words. A Turk or a Arab, on the other hand, just mentally "tunes out" if their is to much noise or to many people around.

A) a, their
B) their, to
C) a, their, to