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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 2.05
Transfer
To compare the two sets of observations, the researchers relied ______ timestamps recorded automatically by the instruments rather than on the times entered by hand in the field notebooks. Several handwritten entries had been rounded to the nearest hour.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
Why this answer
Keep a preposition with its object | Review lesson 2.1
Correct choice: on the
The verb phrase relied on introduces the object the timestamps recorded automatically by theinstruments. Choice C preserves the connection between the preposition on and its object. The comparison with on the times entered by hand confirms that these are coordinated prepositional phrases, not an explanation introduced after a complete clause.
A: The colon separates on from its object. The words before it, the researchers relied on, are incomplete because the preposition has no object.
B: The semicolon strands on before its object; neither side is an independent clause. It also has no role separating items in a complex list here.
D: The comma splits the preposition-object unit on the timestamps. No complete supplementary phrase appears between the preposition and its object.
If you missed it: Check whether the word immediately before a punctuation mark still needs a grammatical completion.
The archaeologist suggested that the repeated marks on the jars might identify the workshops where the jars were made. To evaluate that possibility, the team examined ______ marks occurred more often on jars from one clay source than on jars from the other sources.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
Why this answer
Recognize an object containing an embedded clause | Review lesson 2.1
Correct choice: whether the
Whether the marks occurred more often... is the complete embedded interrogative clause functioning as the object of examined. Choice A allows whether to introduce its clause without interruption. The full main clause is the team examined whether...; the marks are the subject inside the embedded clause, not a new main subject requiring a boundary.
B: The comma splits the clause introducer whether from the subject of its own clause. There is no supplement between whether and the marks.
C: The colon follows the team examined whether, an unfinished construction. It cannot introduce the rest of the object clause after severing its introducing word.
D: The semicolon separates whether from the clause it introduces. The material before it is incomplete and cannot serve as an independent clause.
If you missed it: Identify the complete object of the main verb, including any clause that forms that object.
The gallery displays one scale model of the planned library. The model, which shows the location of every window and ______ visitors understand how daylight would reach the central reading room. A nearby diagram gives the dimensions of the proposed building.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
Why this answer
Close a supplementary relative clause | Review lesson 2.2
Correct choice: door, helps
The supplementary relative clause begins at the printed comma before which and ends with door. The verb helps belongs to the main subject The model. Choice D supplies the closing comma and produces the complete core The model helps visitors understand.... The earlier sentence identifies the one model under discussion.
A: The semicolon does not close the comma-marked relative clause and leaves helps visitorsunderstand... without a separate subject.
B: The supplementary relative clause has an opening comma but no closing boundary before the main verb helps. The two verbs do not form one uninterrupted predicate.
C: The colon cannot replace the closing comma or separate the main subject from its verb. The words before it do not complete the main clause.
If you missed it: Find both the relative clause's verb and the main clause's verb; use their different jobs to locate the closing boundary.
The storage room held both repaired and damaged frames. Frames ______ cracks that extended through the outer layer were placed on a separate shelf for further examination. The remaining frames were returned to the display rooms after a final inspection.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
Why this answer
Keep an identifying relative clause connected to its noun | Review lesson 2.2
Correct choice: that had
The identifying relative clause that had cracks that extended through the outer layer selects the frames needing further examination. Choice B keeps its introducer that connected to the finite verb had. A second relative clause, that extended..., modifies cracks. The main predicate is were placed...; the nested clauses remain inside the subject phrase.
A: The comma separates the relative pronoun that, which acts as the relative clause's subject, from its verb had. It does not enclose supplementary material.
C: The semicolon falls inside the relative clause between its subject and verb. The words before it do not form an independent clause.
D: The colon follows the incomplete phrase Frames that. It cannot introduce the predicate of the relative clause after splitting that clause.
If you missed it: Label nested relative clauses one at a time, then return to the main predicate.
The festival commissioned artist Sora Lin to design a temporary installation for the entrance hall. Lin, a sculptor known for building intricate structures from recycled ______ a series of suspended rings that moved slightly as visitors passed beneath them.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
Why this answer
Close a supplementary occupational description | Review lesson 2.3
Correct choice: paper, designed
A sculptor known for building intricate structures from recycled paper is a supplementary appositive renaming Lin. Its opening comma is already printed. Choice B closes it after paper, leaving Lin designeda series of suspended rings... as the main clause. The prepositional phrase from recycled paper belongs within the appositive, so the closing comma follows its full object.
A: The appositive starts with a comma but lacks its closing comma before designed. The main verb is therefore not correctly separated from the supplementary noun phrase.
C: The semicolon cannot close this comma-marked appositive and leaves a subjectless predicate after it.
D: The colon separates the main subject Lin from the main verb designed, with no completed independent clause before the colon.
If you missed it: Locate the end of the entire renaming phrase, including any modifiers attached to it.
The archive invited several specialists to examine a newly acquired manuscript. Among them was historian ______ whose earlier work had traced the movement of printing equipment between small coastal towns. Her analysis focused on the manuscript's unusually consistent spacing.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
Why this answer
Distinguish an identifying name from a supplement around it | Review lesson 2.3
Correct choice: Maya Rao,
The noun phrase historian Maya Rao identifies one specialist. The name's first and last parts stay together. Choice D places the comma after the complete name, where the supplementary relative clause whose earlier work... begins. That clause continues to the sentence's period. The construction Among them was historian Maya Rao is a complete main clause with its subject after the verb.
A: The semicolon splits the personal name Maya Rao. The words after it begin with a surname and a dependent relative clause, not an independent clause.
B: The comma inside Maya Rao incorrectly separates the two parts of the identifying name. Rao is not a supplementary renaming phrase.
C: The colon interrupts the name after Maya; the surname and dependent relative clause do not form an explanatory construction that licenses that split.
If you missed it: Treat the complete identifying name as one unit before examining any description that follows it.
The organizers designed a portable display for use in classrooms without projection equipment. The display (a set of illustrated panels mounted on lightweight ______ into a single case and could be assembled in less than ten minutes. Teachers tested it in three different rooms.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
Why this answer
Match a parenthetical boundary | Review lesson 2.4
Correct choice: frames) folded
The opening parenthesis before a set encloses a supplementary appositive describing the display. Choice A closes it after frames, then resumes the main clause: The display folded into a single case.... The finite verb folded belongs to The display, not to a new sentence beginning at the blank.
B: The comma cannot close the opening parenthesis. The parenthetical supplement remains unmatched before the main verb.
C: An em dash does not close a parenthesis. Mixing the two marks leaves the required closing parenthesis absent.
D: The semicolon leaves the parenthesis unclosed and places the subjectless predicate folded into asingle case... after a clause-level boundary.
If you missed it: When a parenthesis is already open, locate its matching close before evaluating other possible punctuation.
The adjustment to the telescope—a slight rotation of the assembly holding the secondary ______ the image to remain centered while the main support moved. The technicians repeated the adjustment several times to confirm that it worked at different angles.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
Why this answer
Avoid punctuation left behind after a supplement | Review lesson 2.4
Correct choice: mirror—allowed
The main clause is The adjustment to the telescope allowed the image to remain centered.... The dash-marked appositive describes that adjustment. Choice C closes the appositive and connects the subject directly to allowed. The long noun phrase the assembly holding the secondary mirror is inside the appositive; its length does not justify an extra comma after the closing dash.
A: The em dash correctly closes the supplement, but the extra comma then separates the complete subject from allowed. Removing the supplement exposes The adjustment to the telescope, allowed....
B: The comma does not match the supplied opening em dash, so the supplementary appositive lacks the required closing dash.
D: The semicolon fails to close the dash-marked appositive and strands the predicate allowed theimage... without its own subject.
If you missed it: Remove the complete supplement and make sure no unjustified punctuation remains in the underlying clause.
While the first group of volunteers was recording the dimensions of the objects stored in the ______ the second group photographed the handwritten labels attached to the shelves. The two sets of records were later combined into a searchable catalog.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
Why this answer
Join a long introductory dependent clause to its main clause | Review lesson 2.5
Correct choice: basement,
The opening While introduces a dependent clause with the subject the first group of volunteers and the verb phrase was recording. That clause ends after basement. Choice D uses a comma before the independent clause the second group photographed.... The two clauses describe simultaneous actions by two different groups.
A: The first clause is dependent because it begins with While. A semicolon cannot join it to the second clause as though both were independent.
B: The period strands the entire introductory while clause as a fragment; the following lowercase the is also incompatible with the new sentence boundary.
C: The colon follows a dependent clause rather than the independent clause required before an ordinary explanatory colon.
If you missed it: Identify the introductory clause's subordinating word, then find where its complete predicate ends.
After comparing the textures of the woven samples with those of the fragments recovered from the northern ______ concluded that the two groups of textiles had probably been made with different tools. The report described the matching procedure in detail so that other researchers could repeat it.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
Why this answer
Keep the object inside an introductory phrase | Review lesson 2.5
Correct choice: site, the conservators
After comparing... begins an introductory phrase whose full object and modifiers continue through thenorthern site. Choice A ends that complete phrase with a comma and begins the main clause with its logical subject, the conservators. The finite main verb is concluded. Although the introduction contains many nouns, it has no finite predicate that would let it stand alone.
B: The material before the semicolon is an introductory phrase, not an independent clause. Comparing alone is not a finite verb in this construction.
C: The colon follows the nonfinite introductory phrase. That phrase is not the independent clause needed before a colon in this construction.
D: The period turns the long introductory phrase into a fragment. Capitalizing The repairs only the next sentence's capitalization, not the missing main clause for the introduction.
If you missed it: Length does not make an introductory phrase independent; locate a finite main verb before allowing a sentence-level boundary.
To prepare the collection for an online catalog, the assistants measured each object, photographed it from several angles, and ______ brief description of its visible markings. They used the same background and lighting arrangement for every photograph.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
Why this answer
Do not split a verb phrase inside a series | Review lesson 2.6
Correct choice: wrote a
The sentence coordinates three verb phrases: measured each object, photographed it from severalangles, and wrote a brief description.... Choice C preserves the third item's internal verb-object connection. The comma before and marks a boundary between whole list items; it does not permit a second mark inside the last item.
A: The comma separates wrote from its direct object a brief description. No supplementary phrase intervenes.
B: The colon follows a verb awaiting its direct object. It divides the third coordinated predicate rather than introducing a list after a complete clause.
D: The semicolon strands the object phrase a brief description... after a strong boundary. That phrase is neither an independent clause nor another parallel verb-phrase item.
If you missed it: Mark the beginning and end of each whole series item before judging punctuation within an item.
Four specialists had helped plan the exhibition, but three of them attended its opening. Ana Vela, a conservator; Noor Bell, a lighting designer; and ______ answered questions from visitors throughout the afternoon. Each speaker focused on a different stage of the exhibition's preparation.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
Why this answer
Read semicolon-separated items as one grammatical subject | Review lesson 2.6
Correct choice: Jules Tan, a historian,
The subject is a complex series of three people, with a supplementary role after each name. The semicolons separate those person-and-role items. In the final item, the printed choice must close the appositive a historian before the main verb answered. Choice B does that with a comma. Without the supplementary roles and their internal-list punctuation, the simple core is Ana Vela, Noor Bell, and JulesTan answered questions....
A: The semicolon after historian would separate the complete subject list from its main predicate. Answered questions... is not another list item or an independent clause.
C: The colon after historian separates the complete subject list from the main verb answered. No independent clause has been completed before that colon.
D: The supplementary appositive a historian lacks its opening comma after Jules Tan, even though its closing comma appears before answered. The role is not a grammatically integrated continuation of the personal name.
If you missed it: Distinguish punctuation inside the last list item from punctuation between the complete subject and its verb.
The first prototype produced images with sharply defined edges but uneven brightness. The revised prototype could, ______ capture a more uniform image without requiring a longer exposure. The designers attributed the improvement to a change in the placement of the light source.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
Why this answer
Close a transition within a predicate | Review lesson 2.7
Correct choice: however,
The auxiliary could and the main verb capture form the finite verb phrase could capture. The transition however interrupts that verb phrase, and the printed comma opens the interruption. Choice A supplies its closing comma. Removing the transition yields The revised prototype could capture a more uniformimage....
B: The semicolon splits the auxiliary could from the main verb capture. The clause before it is unfinished, and the material after it has no independent subject.
C: The colon breaks the same auxiliary-main-verb connection and follows an incomplete clause. It also cannot close the comma-marked interruption.
D: This choice omits the closing comma for the internally inserted transition. The printed opening comma leaves however only partly enclosed.
If you missed it: A supplement may interrupt a verb phrase, but the auxiliary and main verb must reconnect when it is removed.
The oldest surviving map depicts a narrow channel through the marsh. Later maps show an unbroken stretch of ______ the survey notes describe a shallow waterway that may simply have been omitted from those maps. The researchers therefore consulted both kinds of record.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
Why this answer
Separate an interclause transition from an internal interruption | Review lesson 2.7
Correct choice: land; however,
Later maps show an unbroken stretch of land is one independent clause. The survey notes describe a shallow waterway... is another. Choice D places a semicolon between them and sets off however with a comma at the start of the second clause. Unlike an internal transition, however here follows a completed first predicate and precedes a new subject and predicate.
A: The comma joins two independent clauses without a coordinating conjunction. However is a conjunctive adverb and does not repair that comma splice.
B: With no punctuation after land, the two independent clauses run together. The comma after however does not provide the missing boundary before it.
C: The first semicolon properly ends an independent clause, but the second strands however between two semicolons as though the transition were an independent clause. A comma should set off the transition at the beginning of the second clause.
If you missed it: Identify both main clauses, then check the boundary before however and the comma after it.
The laboratory's new schedule, developed after consultations with technicians from three departments (including the department responsible for overnight ______ each instrument a regular maintenance period. The earlier schedule had left maintenance to be arranged whenever an instrument happened to be unused.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
Why this answer
Follow a supplement containing an internal parenthesis | Review lesson 2.8
Correct choice: testing), assigned
The main subject is The laboratory's new schedule, and the main verb is assigned. The comma after schedule opens the participial supplement developed after consultations.... Inside that supplement, a parenthesis opens before including. Choice B first closes the parenthesis and then closes the larger comma-marked supplement. Removing both layers leaves The laboratory's new schedule assigned eachinstrument a regular maintenance period.
A: The parenthesis closes, but the larger supplement still lacks its closing comma before the main verb assigned. The two different layers need their own boundaries.
C: The semicolon does not close the comma-marked supplement and separates the main subject from its predicate. Assigned each instrument... has no separate subject.
D: The colon appears before the main clause has reached its main verb, so the material before it is not an independent clause. It also fails to close the supplement correctly.
If you missed it: Match the inner pair first, then close the outer supplement before resuming the main clause.
The records that the curators selected for the exhibition (a group that included letters, receipts, and sketches from the same ten-year ______ how the workshop's production methods changed as new equipment became available. Other records remained in storage for future study.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
Why this answer
Keep a subject with a nested identifying clause intact | Review lesson 2.8
Correct choice: period) revealed
The main subject is The records that the curators selected for the exhibition. The relative clause identifies the selected records. A separate parenthetical appositive then describes that group. Choice C closes the parenthesis and resumes the main clause directly with revealed. The commas in letters,receipts, and sketches belong to a list inside the parenthesis, so they do not create boundaries in the main clause.
A: The parenthesis closes correctly, but the extra comma then separates the entire subject from the main verb revealed. No outer comma-marked supplement was opened.
B: The colon separates the subject from its predicate. The finite verbs inside the relative clause and parenthesis do not complete the main clause before that colon.
D: The semicolon puts a subjectless main predicate after it. The subject phrase before it is not an independent clause despite the embedded verbs selected and included.
If you missed it: Do not count embedded finite verbs as completion of the main clause; locate the verb that belongs to the main subject.