Grammar-Quizzes.com

Punc Diagnostic

Punctuation Diagnostic Quiz: a tool to help you identify specific points that need review

• Quiz 1: beginning – intermediate
• Quiz 2: intermediate – advanced 

Apostrophes

Apostrophes: marking contractions and possessive nouns  (Int.–Adv. ESL, Native Spkrs)

• Aux Verb Contractions – he's, he'd, he'll
• Word Contractions – goin', don't, 'til,  day 'n' night
• Common Nouns–Poss –  student's class's, classes'
• Proper Nouns–Poss – James's, Joneses'
• Other Possessives – Jack and Jill's, Jack's and Jill's
• Pronouns–Poss – no apostrophes
• Common Mistakes – it's/its, theirs/there's
• Practice 1 – complete sent.
• Practice 2 – edit sent.

Also see Possessive Nouns (practices)

My friend's computer
My boss's office
The children's room
A day's journey

My parents' computer
The Lincolns' bedroom
The Williamses' new home

Bulleted Lists

Bullet lists: punctuating items in vertical lists
  (Int.–Adv. ESL, Native Spkrs)

• Vertical Lists – current variations
• Style Manual Rules
• Intro Phrases
• Parallel Phrasing
• Capitalization
• Punctuation
• Periods
• Including "and" –
• Numbered Lists
• Practice – complete sent.

Job applicants will need to have:

• a high-school degree
• a bachelors degree
• two years of experience
• three recommendations

Capitals

Capitalization: using uppercase and lowercase letters (Beg.–Adv. ESL, Native Spkrs)

• Proper Nouns – names, titles, groups, countries, trademarked names, languages, buildings, planets, ships
• Beginning a Sentence
• First Person Pronoun – I
• Other Cases – months, days of the week, holidays
• Unusual Cases– biology, music, math and law terms, art and architecture movements
• Resources
• Common Mistakes
• Practice 1 – complete sent.
• Practice 2 – edit sent.

Also see Hyphens  – capitalization in headings

He took an Aspirin and lay down. (Trademark Bayer AG)
I took some aspirin to get rid of my headache.

Colons

Colons: explaining or illustrating (Beg.–Adv. ESL, Native Spkrs)

• Colon vs. Semicolon
• Introductory Phrases-Lists
• Time & Proportions
• References in Mail
• Capitalization w/ Colons
• Practice 1 – complete sent.
• Practice 2 – correct / incorrect.
• Practice 3 – edit

Also see Hyphens  – capitalization in headings

He always took the same taxi: a yellow cab with Internet access. 
My duties at Tzonga were as follows: planning, purchasing, organizing, and collecting.
My duties at Tzonga were, for example: planning, purchasing, organizing, and collecting.

Comma Uses

Comma Uses: separating and setting off elements in a sentence (Beg.–Adv. ESL, Native Spkrs)

• Separating Elements
• Introductory Words
• Aside comments
• Commas Splice
• Practice 1 – correct/incorrect
• Practice 2 – edit sent.

Because a flock of sheep needs protection, the shepherd guards them.

The shepherd guards the flock of sheep because they need protection.

Comma–series

Comma Series: punctuating elements in a series  (Int. ESL, Native Spkrs)

• Elements in a Series – nouns, verbs, phrases, etc.
• Comma before "and"
• Word Play
• Common Mistakes
• Practice 1 – edit sent.
• Practice 2 – complete sent.

See commas in clauses at bottom of this page.

He drinks pops and punches. (verb, noun, noun)
He drinks, pops, and punches. (verb, verb, verb)

Comma–comments

Commas, Parentheses and Dashes: inserting comments within sentences  (Int. ESL, Native Spkrs)

• Aside Comments
• Relative Emphasis
• Relevance to Central Idea
• Appositive
• Practice 1 – judge use

Jay, my adventurous friend, is kayaking to Alaska.
Jay (who is fearless) is kayaking to Alaska.
Jay — can it be true — is kayaking to Alaska.

Dashes

Dashes (Em dash): setting elements off from the rest of the sentence (Int. ESL, Native Spkrs)

• Setting off Elements
• Aside Comments
• Interruptions
• Within a Series
• Summarizing
• Explanation
• Dialogs
• Attribution
• Common Mistakes
• Resources
• Practice 1 – correct/incorrect

Edward Lee — father, actor, businessman, and mayor — is running for office again.

For example

For Example / That is to say: adding examples or clarification (Int. ESL, Native Spkrs)

• For Example
• List Examples
• Technical List e.g.
• That is
• Clarification
• Technical i.e.
• Common Mistakes
• Punctuation
• Resources
• Practice 1 – correct/incorrect

Calcium is in green leafy vegetables, for example, broccoli, kales, arugula, and spinach.

There is calcium in vegetables such as broccoli, kales, arugula, and spinach.

Cruciferous vegetables (i.e., Brassicaceae) have flowers shaped like a cross.

Hyphens

Hyphens & Capitalization in Headings:  linking words to clarify meaning (Int. ESL, Native Spkrs)

• Clarifying Meaning
• Dictionaries
• Words in Transition
• Compound Words
• Letter Collision
• Line Breaks
• Linking Modifiers
• Numbers
• Colors
• Range
• Prefixes
• Headings & Titles
• Capitalization
• Common Mistakes
• Resources
• Practice 1 – complete sent.
• Practice 2 – complete sent.

Two footstools sold for a half-million dollars at  Sothebys.

Two-foot stools sold for a half-million dollars at  Sothebys.

Nonsteroidal Anti-inflammatory Treatments

President-Elect  or -elect Barack Obama

Italics

Italics: including titles of major works, and other terms in your writing (Int. ESL, Native Spkrs)

• Major Work Titles
• Film Titles
• Paintings & Photographs
• Web & Game Titles
• Word Terms
• Foreign Words
• Science & Math
• Aircraft
• Resources
• Practice 1 – correct/incorrect
• Practice 2 – complete sent.
• Practice 3 – edit sent.

The opera Rigoletto was written by Giuseppe Verdi.

Pablo Picasso's most famous proto-Cubist works are Les Demoiselles d'Avignon (1907) and Guernica (1937)

The best known video game, Mario Bros., features two plumbers.

Leprosy was caused by Mycobacterium leprae.

Parentheses

Parent he se: adding explanations and clarification to sentences (Beg.–Int. ESL, Native Spkrs)

• Aside Comments
• Translate
• Series of Examples
• In-text Lists
• Citations
• Math & Science
• Common Mistakes
• Resources
• Practice– correct/incorrect

Parentheses (often overused) enclose explanations or clarification.

The American Kayaking Association (AKA) has a newsletter.

Periods

Periods: marking sentence ends, abbreviations and decimals (Beg.–Adv. ESL, Native Spkrs)

• Sentence Division
• Abbreviations
• Numbers
• Web Extensions
• Common Mistakes
• Resources
• Practice 1– correct/incorrect
• Practice 2– edit sent.

The UA flight will arrive at LAX on Sat., Sept. 21, at 6:00 p.m.  PST.

Quotation Marks

Quotation Marks: marking quoted speech, titles of minor works and terms (Beg.–Int. ESL, Native Spkrs)

• Quoting Speech
• Quoting Questions
• Ellipsis
• [sic]
• Blockquote
• Minor Works
• Unusual Terms
• Common Mistakes
• Resources
• Practice 1 – correct/incorrect
• Practice 2 – complete sent.
• Practice 3 – edit sent.

He said, "Time is money."
"What does that mean?" he asked.
Don't you agree "Time is money"?

Jim Dale performs eleven different  voices for characters in "Lord Voldemort's Request" in the audiobook recording of  Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

Semicolons

Semicolons: punctuating joined phrases (Beg.–Int. ESL, Native Spkrs)

• In Word Lists
• Between Clauses
• Before Conjunctive Adv.
• In Example Clauses
• Semicolon v. Colon
• Common Mistakes
• Resources
• Practice 1 – complete sent.
• Practice 2 – edit sent.

The sandwich choices include tomato, bacon and lettuce; cheese, ham and lettuce; peanut butter and jelly.

He didn't want help; he didn't ask for it.  (nor)

We needed to have a security report; otherwise, we wouldn't go.

The inner city has small narrow streets; for example, two cars cannot pass on a street in the old town.
 

So phrases

"So" Phrases: expressing purpose, cause-effect, or result (Int.– Adv. ESL, Native Spkr.)

• So that/so…that
• Because/So
• Punctuation
• so…could
• So expressions
• Practice 1 – complete sent.
• Practice 2 – complete sent.
• Practice 3 – complete sent.

The baby reached up so that he could get some candy.

He has to pull down on the lever in order to get some candy to come out.

The baby got nothing, so he cried.

FANBOYS

FANBOYS: joining independent clauses with coordinating conjunctions (Beg. – Adv. ESL, Native Spkr.)

• FANBOYS — for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so
• Conjunction types
• Common Mistakes
• Punctuation
• Beginning a sentence — and, but
• Practice 1 – complete sent.
• Practice 2 – edit sent.

She danced and waved a fan.  (conjunction)

She danced, and he played the flute.  (coordinating conjunction)

Because / Though

Because/Though: expected and unexpected outcomes   (Int. – Adv. ESL, Native Spkr.)

• Because/Though
• Transition words
• Adverbial prepositions
• Clause/Noun Phrase
• Punctuation
• Common Mistakes
• Practice 1 – complete sent.
• Practice 2 – complete sent.
• Practice 3 – complete sent.

He wore his winter pants because it was snowing.
Schools were closed because of the snow.
It was snowing.  For this reason, the schools were closed.

He was biking in his shorts though it was snowing.
The schools were open in spite of the cold temperature.
It was snowing.  Nevertheless, the schools were open.

When / While

When/While: joining clauses with same-time activity (Int. ESL, Native Spkr.)

• Same-time Events — when, while
• Punctuation
• Common Mistake
• Practice – complete sent.

When you called, he picked up his cell phone.
While he was talking on the phone, the baby slept.

indeed-even

Indeed / Even: emphasizing unexpected or extraordinary details

• indeed
• in fact  (details data)
• even   (unexpected)

Located in Adverb Summary

His work is indeed more amazing than before
His work is in fact more amazing than before
His work is even more amazing than before

Pres-Future Real

Real Conditionals - Present & Future: cause-effect facts and predictions

• If  . . . then
• hypothetical future – will
• hypothetical present

Located in Conditionals

If there are no bees, flowers will not be pollinated. (future)

That / Which

That / Which: identifying "which noun" with a modifying clause

• commas – if clause identifies the noun it modifies
• no commas – if clause adds extra information to the noun it modifies

Located in Adjective Clauses

The water that I drank last night contained sodium.

The Evian water, which I drank last night, contained sodium.

Some or All

Some or All: using restrictive and nonrestrictive clauses

• commas -–   refers to all (non-restrictive)
• no commas – refers to a few or some -  specific (restrictive)  

Located in Adjective Clauses

The bioscientist who creates green energy will make a profit.

The bioscientist, who creates green energy, will make a profit.

Which-clause

Which Clauses: modifying an entire clause

• that  refers to a noun or noun phrase
• which  can refer to a noun, phrase or clause (uses a comma)

Located in Adjective Clauses

He deleted the picture that upset me. (The picture upset me.)

He deleted the picture, which upset me. (The action upset me.)

Subject / Predicate

Subject—Predicate: identifying basic elements in a sentence

Clauses

Clauses: recognizing complete versus incomplete sentences

Complete Thought

Complete Thought: including a topic and controlling idea

Run-on Sentences

Run-on Sentences: punctuating simple and complex sentences