Mechanics, Usage, & Grammar Review (Famous First Lines)

Far out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the western spiral arm of the galaxy lies a small, unguarded yellow sun. (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy)

Choose the comma rule.

• use a comma plus a coordinating conjunction (FANBOYS) to join two closely related sentences

• use a comma to separate three or more items in a series

• use a comma between two describing words (adjectives/adverbs) describing the same word (noun/verb)

• use a comma after an introductory word/phrase

I'm pretty much screwed. (The Martian)

Choose the apostrophe rule.

• contraction--place apostrophe where letters have been omitted to combine words

• possessive--add 's to singular noun to show ownership

• possessive--add ' after s to regular plural noun to show ownership

• possessive pronoun--DO NOT use apostrophe with possessive pronouns

It was a pleasure to burn. (Fahrenheit 451)

Choose the end punctuation rule.

• use an exclamation point at the end of an exclamatory sentence

• use a question mark at the end of an interrogative sentence

• use a period at the end of a declarative sentence

• use a semicolon to join two closely related sentences.

It was a bright, cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen. (1984)

Choose the comma rule.

• use a comma plus a coordinating conjunction (FANBOYS) to combine two closely related sentences

• use a comma to separate two describing words that are describing the same word

• use a comma after an introductory word/phrase

• use a comma to set off non-essential information

All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way. (Anna Karenina)

Choose the semicolon rule.

• use a semicolon to separate three or more items in a series when the items contain commas

• use a semicolon plus a connecting word plus a comma to join two closely related sentences

• use a semicolon to join two closely related sentences

All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way. (Anna Karenina)

What is the meaning of its as it is used in this sentence?

• it is (it appears in the sentence as a contraction)

• something belonging to it

In my younger and more vulnerable years, my father gave me some advice that I've been turning over in my head ever since. "Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone," he said "just remember that all the people in this world haven't had the advantages that you have had." (The Great Gatsby)

How are quotation marks functioning in this sentence?

• used around a direct quote

• used around dialog

In my younger and more vulnerable years, my father gave me some advice that I've been turning over in my head ever since. "Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone," he said "just remember that all the people in this world haven't had the advantages that you have had." (The Great Gatsby)

Choose the comma rule.

• use a comma between quote/dialog and sentence

• use a comma around non-essential information

• use commas to separate three or more items in a series

• use a comma plus a coordinating conjunction (FANBOYS) to combine two closely related sentences

I was born twice: first, as a baby girl on a remarkably smogless Detroit day in January of 1960; and then again, as a teenage boy, in an emergency room near Petoskey, Michigan, in August 1974. (Middlesex)

Which rule best explains the use of the colon in the sentence?

• to introduce a list (must follow a complete sentence)

• to introduce an explanation (must follow a complete sentence)

The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there. (The Go-Between)

Choose the semicolon rule that matches its use in this sentence.

• to separate items in a series when the items in the series contain commas

• to join two closely related sentences

• plus a joining word (however, therefore, furthermore), to join two closely related sentences