Learning Objective: Check for subject-verb agreement
Sentence #1 contains an error in subject/verb agreement since “Denise Blackwell” is a singular subject and “were” is a plural verb. Sentence #2 contains no errors, so any choice that suggests sentence #1 is correct or sentence #2 is incorrect can be eliminated. Therefore, choices (A), (C), and (D) can all be eliminated.
Learning objective: Avoid common spelling errors
“Enraged” is the correctly spelled option.
Learning Objective: Select the correct pronoun
Sentence #2 uses the incorrect pronoun “me” when “I” is required. Sentence #1 is correctly written. Therefore, any answer choice suggesting that sentence #1 is incorrect or sentence #2 is correct can be eliminated. This eliminates choices (B), (C), and (D).
Learning Objective: Avoid common spelling errors
“Sensitive” is the correctly spelled option.
Learning Objective: Check for subject-verb agreement
Both sentences match singular subjects with the plural verb “were.” “Was” is the correct singular verb to use in both cases. Therefore, choice (C) is correct, and choices (A), (B), and (D) can be eliminated.
Learning Objective: Avoid double negatives
Sentence #1 contains a double negative—“did not leave no”—which is grammatically incorrect. Sentence #2 contains no errors. Therefore, choice (B) is the best answer.
Learning Objective: Avoid common spelling errors
Sentence #2 is constructed to show that the footprints belong to a six-foot man, but the sentence fails to show possession correctly. The apostrophe belongs between “man” and the letter “s.” Only sentence #1 is correct, so choice (A) is correct and the other answer choices can be eliminated.
Learning Objective: Avoid common spelling errors
Both sentence contain errors. Sentence #1 requires the regular verb “lying,” not the transitive verb “laying.” Sentence #2 requires the possessive noun “its,” not “it’s,” a contraction of “it” and “is.” Therefore any answer choice indicating that either sentence #1 or sentence #2 is correctly written can be eliminated. This eliminates choices (A), (B), and (D).
Learning Objective: Select the correct verb tense
Sentence #2 requires a verbal called a participle, which is a verb used as an adjective. Participles usually end in –ing or –ed, so “intoxicating” would be a better word to use than “intoxicates.” Sentence #1 contains no errors, so choices (B), (C), and (D) can be eliminated.
Learning Objective: Check for parallelism
The second sentence is incorrect because it contains an error in parallelism, failing to coordinate its ideas by using the same construction for all three items in the list of places where Ms. Tomlin’s items were stolen. Therefore, choices (B), (C), and (D) cannot be correct.
For the following items, please choose the line that contains the misspelled word, grammatical error, or punctuation error by choosing the line number. Only one of the lines will contain an error.
Learning Objective: Use commas correctly
Line II contains an error because it contains an unnecessary comma after the conjunction “and.” Lines I, III, and IV contain no errors.
Learning Objective: Avoid common spelling errors
There is a spelling error in Line III. "Eventuly" is incorrect; the correct spelling is "eventually."
Learning Objective: Place modifiers in the right spot
The modifying phrase "going way over the speed limit" should be placed just before or after "the bus." Its placement in Line I makes the phrase technically modify "23 people," which is incorrect.
Learning Objective: Select the correct pronoun
Line II is incorrect because it is unclear to whom the pronoun "she" is referring—is it Lucy or Aimee? If you use a pronoun, its antecedent, or word it is replacing, must be clear.