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Identify the decisive rule and the specific flaw in its nearest competitor. Complete the four written drills in the lesson before this practice set. Question numbers follow the shuffled order; Guide question labels match the lesson references.
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The drill
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Question 5
Guide question 1.05
Transfer
Botanists examined seeds recovered from several storage jars. The seeds that remained intact despite centuries of exposure to fluctuating ______ unusually thick outer coats. The team will compare these coats with those of modern varieties to investigate whether the structure helped protect the seeds.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
Why this answer
Main predicate after a relative clause | Review lesson 1.1
Correct choice: temperatures have
The main subject is seeds, and its main finite verb is have. Remained belongs to the relative clause beginning with that. The main subject includes the entire description through temperatures; no boundary separates that subject from have unusually thick outer coats. Choice B keeps the core "The seeds have ..." intact.
A: The comma separates the main subject seeds from its predicate have unusually thick outer coats. There is no separately opened supplement for it to close.
C: The period strands the long subject as a fragment and starts the following fragment without a main-clause subject.
D: The left side is a subject with a relative clause, not an independent main clause; the right side is only its predicate.
If you missed it: Temporarily cross out the relative clause, then identify the missing connection between the main subject and verb.
An archivist examined a bundle of letters tucked inside a wooden case. The letters, wrapped in layers of paper and tied together with ______ dates spanning nearly forty years. This range suggested that the case had accumulated documents gradually rather than being filled on a single occasion.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
Why this answer
Participial phrase versus complete main clause | Review lesson 1.1
Correct choice: string, bore
The main core must be "The letters bore dates." The comma after letters opens a supplement: wrapped in layers of paper and tied together with string. Choice D closes that supplement and supplies the finite main verb bore. Wrapped and tied are participles inside the description; bearing would add another nonfinite form without completing the main clause.
A: The semicolon interrupts a main clause before it has a finite predicate and fails to close the comma-delimited supplement correctly.
B: The period leaves the letters plus its participial description without a main predicate. Bore dates then begins without a subject.
C: Bearing is a participle here, not a finite main verb. The sentence would describe the letters without making a complete main-clause statement about them.
If you missed it: After removing the supplement, demand a complete remaining clause: "The letters bore dates."
A neighborhood theater tested two ways of distributing tickets. Online reservations attracted people who planned their visits in ______ walk-up sales brought in people who had not decided to attend until that evening. The theater kept both systems because they served different audiences.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
Why this answer
Coordinate two independent clauses | Review lesson 1.2
Correct choice: advance, and
The clause beginning "Online reservations attracted" is independent. So is "walk-up sales brought in people." Choice A connects those clauses with comma plus and. The who-clauses describe the people in each audience and do not change the relationship between the two main clauses.
B: The comma after and incorrectly separates the coordinating conjunction from the clause it introduces.
C: The comma alone produces a comma splice between reservations attracted and sales brought.
D: Whereas makes the clause about walk-up sales dependent. The semicolon cannot join that dependent clause as if it were independent.
If you missed it: Find the two main subject-verb pairs before attending to the relative clauses about the audiences.
To document a regional craft, a historian who had studied its origins interviewed several surviving ______ their accounts with photographs in a local archive. The interviews explained techniques that the photographs showed but could not, by themselves, fully explain.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
Why this answer
Shared predicate after an embedded clause | Review lesson 1.2
Correct choice: artisans and compared
The main subject historian governs both interviewed and compared. The relative clause who had studied its origins describes historian; its predicate had studied is inside that description. Choice C joins the two main predicates with and. The single main clause reads "a historian interviewed several surviving artisans and compared their accounts."
A: The material after the semicolon begins with compared and has no independent-clause subject.
B: The period turns Compared their accounts ... into a fragment in this descriptive passage; it is a past-tense predicate without a subject.
D: And compared their accounts ... remains a predicate sharing historian. The semicolon cannot split this predicate off as an independent clause.
If you missed it: Bracket the who-clause, then connect both main verbs to historian. A verb inside a relative clause does not replace the main predicate.
The first survey used photographs taken from the road. Several garden walls were hidden behind ______ second survey, conducted on foot, revealed their full extent. The two sets of observations therefore provided different levels of detail about the same neighborhood.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
Why this answer
Semicolon between complete main clauses | Review lesson 1.3
Correct choice: hedges; a
The left main clause is "Several garden walls were hidden behind hedges." The right main clause is "a second survey ... revealed their full extent." The phrase conducted on foot is a supplement, so removing it leaves the complete core survey revealed. Choice C joins the independent clauses with a semicolon.
A: A comma alone joins the two main clauses and creates a comma splice.
B: The clauses run together because no conjunction or boundary mark separates hedges from a second survey.
D: While makes the following clause dependent. Its subject survey and main predicate revealed do not cancel that subordination, so the semicolon is invalid.
If you missed it: Read through the supplement to find the main verb revealed; do not stop the completeness test at survey.
The specialist concluded that the pattern was deliberate because it appeared on objects made decades ______ pattern also occurred in workshops far from the original site, suggesting that the design had circulated widely. Further study will examine how craftspeople may have encountered it.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
Why this answer
Period after a clause containing dependent material | Review lesson 1.3
Correct choice: apart. The
The entire left unit is independent: "The specialist concluded that ... ." Its that-clause contains a because-clause, but those nested structures do not remove the main core specialist concluded. The next sentence has the core "The pattern also occurred." Choice A ends the first complete sentence and capitalizes the opening of the next.
B: The comma alone joins the independent main clauses specialist concluded and pattern occurred.
C: Without a boundary or conjunction, the two independent main clauses form a fused sentence.
D: Although makes the following statement about the pattern dependent. The added participial phrase suggesting that ... does not supply a main clause, so the new sentence is a fragment.
If you missed it: Trace nested clauses back to the outer subject and verb. A because-clause inside a complete main clause does not make the whole unit dependent.
A group of students designed an enclosure to protect a small microphone from wind. Because the first prototype blocked some of the sounds that the microphone was intended to ______ students enlarged the openings while retaining a shield around the device.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
Because subordinates the entire introduction, from "the first prototype" through "record." The relative clause that the microphone was intended to record describes sounds inside that dependent clause. The independent main clause begins "the students enlarged." Choice D attaches the dependent introduction to that clause with a comma.
A: The introductory because-clause is dependent, so it cannot stand on the left of an ordinary clause-joining semicolon.
B: The period makes the because-clause a fragment, even though it contains the finite verb blocked.
C: A colon cannot follow this unfinished dependent introduction.
If you missed it: Find the initial subordinating word before deciding that a clause with a finite verb is independent.
The records show that the canal remained open even when heavy snow blocked the mountain ______ could continue moving goods by water during periods when overland travel was impossible. The canal therefore gave the town an unusually reliable connection to nearby markets.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
Why this answer
Internal dependent clause versus main-clause boundary | Review lesson 1.4
Correct choice: passes; merchants
The left side has the complete main core "The records show that ... ." The even when-clause occurs inside what the records show. The right side, "merchants could continue moving goods by water ...," is also independent. Choice B supplies a semicolon between those complete main clauses. Seeing when inside the left clause is not a reason to call the whole left side dependent.
A: The comma alone joins independent main clauses records show and merchants could continue, creating a comma splice.
C: The main clauses lack a coordinating conjunction or valid boundary mark.
D: Although subordinates the following clause about merchants. It therefore cannot stand as the independent right-hand clause after this semicolon.
If you missed it: Mark the outer clause first. Subordinate clauses can be embedded inside a fully independent statement.
The restored clock kept accurate time during the workshop test. Its mechanism appeared to be functioning ______ the clock began losing several minutes a day after it was installed in the colder entrance hall. The technicians then examined how temperature affected the mechanism.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
Why this answer
Boundary before contrastive however | Review lesson 1.5
Correct choice: normally; however,
The independent clauses are "Its mechanism appeared to be functioning normally" and "the clock began losing several minutes a day ... ." Choice A places a semicolon between them and uses a comma to set off introductory however. The transition marks contrast, but the semicolon provides the actual clause boundary.
B: The comma before however is the only boundary between independent clauses, so the result is a comma splice.
C: There is no valid boundary before however. The comma after the adverb cannot separate the two complete clauses.
D: The second semicolon incorrectly treats however alone as a complete intervening clause.
If you missed it: Read the sentence once without however. The remaining independent clauses still need an appropriate boundary.
The research team expected the smallest fragments to be the oldest. The initial visual assessment seemed to support that ______ smallest fragments, however, were associated with the most recent layer of occupation. Their size therefore could not be used as a simple indicator of age.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
Why this answer
Transition inside the second clause | Review lesson 1.5
Correct choice: assumption; the
The first clause is "The initial visual assessment seemed to support that assumption." The second is "the smallest fragments ... were associated with the most recent layer of occupation." However is inserted between the second clause's subject and verb, and its paired commas already do that local job. Choice D supplies the separate semicolon needed between the two independent main clauses.
A: The comma at the main boundary creates a comma splice; the later commas around however only set off an insertion inside the second clause.
B: The two independent main clauses run together. The later however does not reach back and create a grammatical join.
C: Although makes the new sentence dependent. The internal transition however does not supply the missing main clause, so the sentence becomes a fragment.
If you missed it: Distinguish commas around an internal transition from punctuation at the boundary between main clauses.
Before cataloging the collection, the archivists agreed on three ______ date of each letter, the identity of its recipient, and the condition of the paper. Recording the same details for every item would make it easier to compare documents stored in different boxes.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
Why this answer
Colon before a specifying list | Review lesson 1.6
Correct choice: priorities: the
The left side, "Before cataloging the collection, the archivists agreed on three priorities," is a complete sentence. The three following noun phrases identify the priorities. Choice B introduces that list with a colon. The phrase on three priorities already completes agreed on, so the colon does not split a preposition from its object.
A: The list of noun phrases is not an independent clause, so an ordinary clause-joining semicolon cannot introduce it here.
C: The period leaves the list of priorities as a separate fragment without a main predicate.
D: And plus the list remains a collection of noun phrases, not a complete independent clause after the semicolon.
If you missed it: Test the entire introduction through priorities. A colon works after the completed object, not between on and its object.
A materials scientist compared samples that had been stored under several conditions. Her analysis of the surfaces that showed the greatest damage ______ thin layer of salt beneath the protective coating. That finding prompted a second experiment using salt-free water during preparation.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
Why this answer
Do not place a colon inside a verb-object unit | Review lesson 1.6
Correct choice: revealed a
The main core is "Her analysis ... revealed a thin layer of salt." The subject analysis includes a long prepositional phrase with a relative clause, but the transitive verb revealed still needs its object. Choice C keeps revealed connected to a thin layer. The fact that the sentence is about to identify a discovery does not make a colon grammatically appropriate.
A: The colon divides revealed from its direct object a thin layer of salt, so the material before the colon is an incomplete introduction in this use.
B: The semicolon divides the main verb from its object; the following noun phrase is not an independent clause.
D: The period leaves revealed without the object required by this use and turns A thin layer ... into a fragment.
If you missed it: After locating the main verb, ask what grammatical complement it still requires. An explanatory meaning cannot override a broken verb-object connection.
At first, the excavation seemed unlikely to explain how the settlement obtained water. Near the base of the hill, however, the team uncovered a narrow stone ______ channel that could have carried water from a spring. The structure had been concealed beneath several later walls.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
The left side is a complete clause: "the team uncovered a narrow stone structure." The following noun phrase identifies the structure as a channel. Its relative clause could have carried water describes channel but does not give the phrase an independent main predicate. Choice D introduces the explanation with a single em dash.
A: The phrase a channel that could have carried water from a spring is not an independent clause, so it cannot follow a clause-joining semicolon as a sentence equivalent.
B: The period leaves the identifying noun phrase as a fragment. Its that-clause is a modifier, not a main predicate.
C: And introduces a noun phrase rather than an independent clause; it does not justify the preceding semicolon.
If you missed it: Recognize a noun phrase even when it contains a relative clause with an auxiliary such as could.
The collection's oldest notebooks—the ones in which the botanist recorded observations made before the expedition reached the ______ sketches of plants that do not appear in the published account. Researchers hope to identify the plants by comparing the sketches with specimens collected along the route.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
Why this answer
Close an inserted dash pair before the main predicate | Review lesson 1.7
Correct choice: coast—contain
The first dash opens a supplement after the main subject notebooks. That supplement extends through coast. The main predicate begins contain sketches. Choice B closes the insertion with the matching dash, leaving the complete core "The collection's oldest notebooks contain sketches." A complete independent clause is not required before an opening paired dash.
A: The semicolon cannot close this dash-delimited insertion or separate the main subject notebooks from its predicate contain.
C: The period strands the main subject and its unfinished insertion without a predicate. Contain sketches then lacks a subject.
D: The colon does not close the paired insertion and appears before the main subject has received its predicate.
If you missed it: Remove everything between the two intended dashes and test the remaining sentence before judging any local verb inside the insertion.
The annotations that the editor added to passages in which the narrator describes the abandoned ______ several connections between the fictional town and the author's childhood neighborhood. Readers can use the annotations to distinguish details supported by the author's letters from similarities that may be coincidental.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
Why this answer
Nested relative clauses inside a long subject | Review lesson 1.8
Correct choice: harbor reveal
The main subject is annotations, and the main verb is reveal. The that-clause describes the annotations, and the in which-clause describes passages within that first relative clause. Neither added nor describes supplies the main predicate for annotations. Choice C preserves the core "The annotations reveal several connections" without separating the subject from its verb.
A: The comma separates the full main subject from reveal. The nested relative clauses do not require a comma to close an independently opened supplement.
B: The semicolon occurs before the main subject has a predicate; the material after it is only that predicate.
D: The period leaves the annotations plus its nested descriptions as a fragment, then starts another fragment at Reveal.
If you missed it: Label verbs by clause: editor added, narrator describes, annotations reveal. Only the third is the main-clause pair.
Although the team established that the lines on the tablets were deliberate marks rather than cracks produced as the clay ______ purpose of those marks remained uncertain. Comparing their arrangement across several tablets may help researchers determine whether the marks recorded quantities or served another function.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
Why this answer
Dependent opening with a complete embedded proposition | Review lesson 1.8
Correct choice: dried, the
The initial Although governs "the team established that ...," including the embedded clause about the lines and the as-clause about the clay. Despite its several finite verbs, the whole opening remains dependent. The independent main clause is "the purpose of those marks remained uncertain." Choice A joins the dependent introduction to that main clause with a comma.
B: The semicolon incorrectly treats the entire although-clause as independent. An embedded complete proposition does not cancel the outer subordinator.
C: The period strands the long although-clause as a fragment.
D: The colon follows a dependent introductory clause rather than a complete main statement.
If you missed it: Track the outermost subordinating word across the entire introduction. A nested that-clause does not release the larger clause from although.