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English II Semester 2 Exam Review
Grammar Review
You will be asked 30 grammar related questions. These will focus on punctuation (comma, semicolon, and colon), sentence structure (agreement, tense, shift, run-ons etc…), and rhetoric (style and organization).
The following examples will help you review concepts and become familiar with the style of questions you will see on your final exam.
PUNCTUATION – COMMAS
PRACTICE
Fix the sentences that do not correctly use commas. Some sentences have no comma errors.
1. I had a sophomore slump, but I worked hard in my junior year.
2. Every senior, who is a member of the Circle Club, receives an award.
3. After school, the custodian locked us in.
4. College graduation seems a distant, but desirable, goal.
5. Make a left at the next corner but be sure to turn right at the second corner.
6. In the trunk of my car I found a spare tire, some candy wrappers, and sneakers.
7. Either clean up your room or you can’t go out.
8. Before leaving for home, I filled up with gas, but the oil was full.
9. Chad, Blaire, and Ryan attended graduation but they left the car home.
10. In senior or junior year of high school the ACT will be given to college applicants.
11. After a day at school I went to the grocery store to buy milk, bread, and cheese.
12. The girl, in the newspaper photo, just got married.
13. You can go to the game, but come home as soon as it ends.
14. The quarterback whose name is Andrew just won a scholarship to college.
15. Once I finish college, I hope to have a job as an engineer even though I don’t like math.
Look at the item that matches the number of the underlined part. Pick the best replacement for the underlined part. If the underlined part is the best, then select NO CHANGE.
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Ed who lives next door was
1
planning a trip. He asked us
to look after his dog his cat and his plants.
2
In addition, we were to water his lawn twice
3
a week. At daybreak on Saturday he left for
4
Hawaii, but we were out of town for the day.
4
His sixteen-year-old, niece fed the animals
5
that day.
1. A. NO CHANGE
B. Ed, who lives next door, was
C. Ed who lives next door, was
D. Ed who lives, next, door was
2. A. NO CHANGE
B. look after his dog his cat,
and his plants.
C. look after, his dog his cat,
and his plants.
D. look after his dog, his cat,
and his plants.
3. A. NO CHANGE
B. In addition we were to water
C. In addition we were to water.
D. In addition we were to water,
4. A. NO CHANGE
B. At daybreak on Saturday, he
left for Hawaii but
C. At daybreak on Saturday, he
left for Hawaii, but
D. At daybreak on Saturday he
left for Hawaii; but
5. A. NO CHANGE
B. His sixteen-year-old niece
fed
C. His sixteen-year-old niece,
fed
D. His, sixteen-year-old, niece,
fed
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PUNCTUATION – SEMICOLON AND COLON
Semicolons and Colons
Semicolon (;)
Use a semicolon to connect independent clauses when the independent clauses are not connected by a conjunction.
Incorrect: The students entered the room, the ACT booklets were handed out.
Correct: The students entered the room; the ACT booklets were handed out.
Incorrect: The bird soared the fish swam.
Correct: The bird soared; the fish swam.
Do not use a semicolon in these examples:
Incorrect: Henry finished studying for the ACT; but he still had to take the test.
Correct: Henry finished studying for the ACT, but he still had to take the test.
[These two clauses are connected by a conjunction.]
Incorrect: Before he went home; Henry returned the Amsco ACT book to the library.
Correct: Before he went home, Henry returned the Amsco ACT book to the library.
[“Before he went home” is an introductory clause.]
Colon (:)
Place a colon after an independent clause to introduce a list or illustration.
Incorrect: Bring these items to the ACT, an admission ticket, pencils, erasers, and a watch.
Correct: Bring these items to the ACT: an admission ticket, pencils, erasers, and a watch.
Incorrect: There is only one necessary personal trait, perseverance.
Correct: There is only one necessary personal trait: perseverance.
Do not use a colon in these examples:
Incorrect: You should bring: an admission ticket, pencils, erasers, and a watch to the ACT.
Correct: You should bring an admission ticket, pencils, erasers, and a watch to the ACT.
Incorrect: One necessary trait is: perseverance.
Correct: One necessary trait is perseverance.
PRACTICE
Correct any semicolon or colon errors.
1. Put these things in your trunk; a jack, a spare tire, a flare, and a blanket.
2. In your glove compartment put: your registration and your insurance information.
3. There is only one thing on my shopping list; milk.
4. We went to the store; and the parking lot was filled with cars.
5. We fought our way through the crowds, the store was even more crowded than the parking lot.
6. Although tomorrow is Saturday; we have to be at school for a test.
7. You only need to know one thing in life: be happy.
8. There were nearly 200 children at the park, they were all attending the outdoor puppet show.
9. Annie is my dog; she is a black Labrador.
10. Please bring to the picnic: a dessert, a vegetable, and some hot dog rolls.
Look at the item that matches the number of the underlined part. Pick the best replacement for the underlined part. If the underlined part is the best, then select NO CHANGE.
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Winnie-the-Pooh is my favorite
children’s book. I like the personalities
1
of the animals. The book is full of
great characters: Pooh, Piglet, Tigger,
2
and Eeyore. Eeyore is my favorite: he’s
3
so gloomy and depressed. However, I
3
also like the philosophy of Pooh: and the
4
energy of Tigger. The best thing about
4
the book is this: it’s still great reading
5
when you’re an adult.
1. a. NO CHANGE
b. children’s book I like the
c. children’s book, I like the
d. children’s book: I like the
2. a. NO CHANGE
b. great characters, Pooh, Piglet, Tigger,
c. great characters: Pooh Piglet, Tigger
d. great characters: Pooh, Piglet, Tigger
3. a. NO CHANGE
b. my favorite, he’s so gloomy
c. my favorite he’s so gloomy
d. my favorite; he’s so
gloomy
4. a. NO CHANGE
b. philosophy of Pooh, and the energy
c. philosophy of Pooh and the energy
d. philosophy of Pooh: and the energy
5. a. NO CHANGE
b. book is this; it’s still great
c. book is this it’s still great
d. book is this, it’s still great
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Apostrophe (‘)
An apostrophe indicates a missing letter or letters in a contraction.
INCORRECT CORRECT
wont won’t (will not)
dont don’t (do not)
isnt isn’t (is not)
lets let’s (let us)
its it’s (it is)
The spelling “its” is correct for the possessive personal pronoun.
Use an apostrophe and the letter s after a singular noun to form the possessive unless the ‘s makes pronunciation too cumbersome.
INCORRECT CORRECT
Bens father Ben’s father
Carls’ cat Carl’s cat
Louis’ cat Louis’s car
Moses’s sister Moses’ sister
Use an apostrophe after a regular plural noun to form the possessive.
INCORRECT CORRECT
animal’s rights animals’ rights
driver’s education drivers’ education
colonies’s products colonies’ products
Use an apostrophe to form the possessive of indefinite pronouns but not personal pronouns.
INCORRECT CORRECT
everyone’s shoes everyone’s shoes
anyones guess anyone’s guess
it’s history its history
her’s shoes her shoes
Practice
Correct any apostrophe errors. Some sentences may not contain errors.
1. It’s true but it’s hard to believe.
2. Her pitching style could never be confused with anothers’ pitching style.
3. Wouldn’t you like to go to a game this afternoon?
4. The women’s softball team had a great pitcher.
5. Wes’ glove ended up in the coaches’ locker room.
6. Don’t go to Mel’s store today.
7. Everyones’ tickets for the play were lost.
8. In the forest, all of the trees’ branches were covered in ice.
9. The childrens’ matinee was canceled today.
RHETORIC
Organization
Organization questions ask you about the best order or placement of sentences or paragraphs. There are two primary types of organization questions:
1. Place a new sentence in a paragraph or in a passage.
2. Reorder the sentences in a paragraph or the paragraphs in a passage.
There are no hard-and-fast rules for answering these questions. Read the passage to find which sentence, including the original sentence, makes the most sense. The one that sounds right probably is right.
The main idea should appear in the first sentence of a paragraph. The middle sentences in the paragraph should contain supporting details and explanations. The last sentence might contain a summary. The first paragraph in a passage should set the topic and tone for the entire passage, and the order of the paragraph should make common sense.
When you are asked about adding a passage, consider only the placements suggested in the answer choices. When reordering sentences or paragraphs, consider only the orders shown in the answer choices.
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[1]
[1] Cloud-watching can often tell you what type of front is moving through. [2] For example, a cold front begins with high cirrus clouds. [3] A person can remember this order of clouds with the mnemonic words CANS. [4] Once you have seen the CANS clouds move through, the front has passed and the air will probably grow colder. [5] Next come altostratus clouds, nimbostratus (low rain clouds), and finally very low stratus clouds.
[2]
[1] Some clouds are caused by convection. [2] If you’ve ever been at the beach, you may have seen puffy clouds early in the day. [3] As the day wore on, these puffy cloud may have grown into convective rain clouds. [4] Later in the afternoon there may have been a rain shower or a thunderstorm.
5. Which of the following arrangements of sentences will make Paragraph 1 most sensible?
a. NO CHANGE
b. 1,4,3,2,5
c. 1,3,2,5,4
d. 3,2,4,5,1
6. The author of Paragraph 2 is considering adding this sentence:
(These convective rain clouds are called cumulonimbus clouds.)
The sentence should be added to the paragraph after sentence
a. 1
b. 2
c. 3
d. 4
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RHETORIC (STYLE)
STYLE
Style questions are about how well the passage communicates. There are a number of different types of style questions.
1. Correct wordy or redundant sentences and replace clichés.
These questions ask you to identify clear examples of wordiness. Be particularly alert for phrases which repeat the meaning, of lengthy phrases that could be replaced by a single word. Look at these examples:
Wordy: It was an hour after sunset, at night, when the train arrived at the
station.
[The phrases “an hour after sunset” and “at night” repeat the same
meaning.]
Revised: It was an hour after sunset when the train arrived at the station.
Wordy: The train was late because of the fact that the tracks were blocked.
[The phrase “because of the fact that” can be replaced by a single word.]
Revised: The train was late because the tracks were blocked.
Correct: Venus, the second planet from the sun, may be more like Earth
than any other planet.
[The phrase “the second planet from the sun” provides extra information
and is not redundant.]
A cliché is a trite expression, usually referring to everyday events, which has been used so often that it is stale or out of date.
Some Common Clichés
beyond the shadow of a doubt needle in a haystack stubborn as a mule
dyed in the wool on a silver platter strong as an ox
easier said than done sneaking suspicion tried-and-true
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Grammar Sentence Structure Practice
Each numbered item contains a single error or no error at all. Correct each error. There may be more than one way to correct an error. Circle the number of each item that does not contain an error. Don’t guess. If you are not sure, put a question mark (?) next to the item.
1. We decided to go fishing, but it turned out that no one had a fishing pole.
2. I was just preparing to roller skate, I had to go inside to eat dinner.
3. The teams were ready the stands were full the weather was beautiful.
4. The first goal was scored on a penalty kick. As the time for the half ran out.
5. To be good enough to play professional soccer. That was one of his great desires.
6. When I was younger I had a dog named Dirk, a dog who swam across the lake.
7. I used to drive dirk to the lake who was lame.
8. While at the lake one day, it was sunny and windy.
9. The wind was blowing; who had to hold Dirk so he would not be blown overboard.
10. Where all the mouse had gone was a mystery.