2022: Grammar A3

Why are commas not required before and after "Jordan Lopez" in the following sentence?

The politician Jordan Lopez gave the commencement address.

• The name is necessary to understand which politician the writer is referring to.

• The name does not initiate or end a dependent clause.

• Because names are proper nouns, they should not be offset by commas in the middle of a sentence.

Which of the following sentences is punctuated correctly?

• The dean asked Wayne Schiess the legal-writing teacher, to edit the manuscript.

• The dean asked Wayne Schiess the legal-writing teacher to edit the manuscript.

• The dean asked Wayne Schiess, the legal-writing teacher, to edit the manuscript.

• The dean asked Wayne Schiess, the legal-writing teacher to edit the manuscript.

What is a restrictive appositive?

• A restrictive appositive adds necessary information to the sentence. (It cannot be deleted without changing the meaning of the sentence.)

• A restrictive appositive adds extra or unnecessary information to the sentence. (It can be deleted without changing the meaning of the sentence.)

The punctuation has been removed from the following sentence. Indicate whether the underlined appositive is restrictive or nonrestrictive:

Our friend Thomas is a huge Mets fan.

• Restrictive

• Nonrestrictive

Which of the following options is written correctly?

• Raymond wore his one collared shirt to the job interview, which was unfortunately stained with yellow mustard.

• Raymond, unfortunately stained with yellow mustard, wore his one collared shirt to the job interview.

• Unfortunately stained with yellow mustard, Raymond wore his one collared shirt to the job interview.

• Raymond wore his one collared shirt, which was unfortunately stained with yellow mustard, to the job interview.

If given the option to choose one of the three lunches listed below, which option would Mr. Thornley most likely choose?

• A corn dog with a honey and powdered sugar glaze

• Street tacos with hot sauce and pico de gallo

• A tender steak, cooked to medium rare

Which of the following options is written correctly?

• The man spun around and began walking back to his car, with a frustrated groan, to retrieve his wallet.

• With a frustrated groan, the man spun around and began walking back to his car to retrieve his wallet.

• The man spun around and began walking back to his car to retrieve his wallet with a frustrated groan.

Which of the following options most accurately describes the following sentence:

The kind mother handed out bologna sandwiches to all the kids in Ziploc bags.

• The sentence contains a misplaced modifier.

• The sentence contains a dangling modifier.

• The modifier in the sentence is written correctly.

What is a modifier?

• A part of speech (in addition to nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs) that refers to transitional words

• Extra or unnecessary information in a sentence that should be offset with commas or dashes

• Adjectives, adverbs, adjectival phrases, or adverbial phrases that further describe or modify a noun or verb in a sentence

Which of the following options is the least wordy and/or redundant?

• My first class today begins at 3:00 PM this afternoon.

• My first class today begins at 3:00 PM in the afternoon.

• My first class today is this afternoon, and it begins at 3:00 PM.

• My first class today begins at 3:00 PM.