Editing Practice

What change, if any, should be made to the following sentence?

The teacher said it was neccessary to study for the final exam.

• Change teacher to Teacher

• Change neccessary to necessary

• Add a comma after study

• Make no change

Answer explanation

The correct change is to change 'neccessary' to 'necessary' as it is a spelling error. The other options do not address any grammatical or spelling issues in the sentence.

What change, if any, should be made to the following sentence:

Although he studied for hours he still did not pass the final exam.

• Add a comma after hours

• Change hours to ours

• Change the period to a question mark

• Make no change

Answer explanation

A comma should be added after 'hours' to separate the dependent clause 'Although he studied for hours' from the main clause 'he still did not pass the final exam.' This improves clarity and adheres to proper punctuation rules.

What change, if any, should be made to the following sentence?

Max, my dog was laying in the sun on Saturday.

• Delete the comma after Max

• Add a comma after dog

• Change Saturday to saturday

• Make no change

Answer explanation

The sentence needs a comma after 'dog' to separate the appositive 'my dog' from the rest of the sentence. This clarifies that 'Max' is being directly addressed, making the sentence grammatically correct.

What change, if any, should be made to the following sentence?

The quarterback, John Smith, threw a 45-yard pass.

• Delete the comma after quarterback

• Delete the comma after Smith

• Change threw to through

• Make no change

Answer explanation

The sentence is correctly punctuated. The comma after 'quarterback' is necessary for clarity, and the comma after 'Smith' is also correct as it sets off the appositive. Therefore, no change is needed.

What change, if any, should be made to the following sentence?

Hermione Granger a witch at Hogwarts School, is accomplished at spells.

• Change Hermoine to hermione

• Add a comma after Granger

• Change Hogwarts School to hogwarts school

• Make no change

Answer explanation

The sentence requires a comma after 'Granger' to correctly separate the appositive phrase 'a witch at Hogwarts School' from the subject 'Hermione Granger'. This improves clarity and grammatical accuracy.

What change, if any, should be made to the following sentence?

"I can't wait until Thanksgiving," He said.

• Change Thanksgiving to thanksgiving

• Delete the comma after Thanksgiving

• Change He to he

• Make no change

Answer explanation

The correct change is to change 'He' to 'he' because it should be lowercase after a comma in dialogue. The other options do not address grammatical errors in the sentence.

What change, if any, should be made to the following sentence?

The dog hurt its paw.

• Change hurt to hurted

• Change its to it's

• Change the period to a question mark

• Make no change

Answer explanation

The sentence is correct as is. 'Hurt' is the proper past tense of 'hurt,' 'its' is the correct possessive form, and the sentence is a statement, not a question. Therefore, no changes are needed.

What change, if any, should be made to the following sentence?

It's something you will never forget.

• Change It's to Its

• Change something to some thing

• Change forget to forgot

• Make no change

Answer explanation

The sentence "It's something you will never forget" is grammatically correct. "It's" is a contraction for "it is," which fits the context. Therefore, no change is needed.

What is the best way to combine the following sentences?

He drove to the gas station. Then he drove to the store.

• He drove to the gas station then because he drove to the store.

• He drove to the gas station and he drove to the store then he drove.

• He drove to the gas station then to the store.

• Gas station he drove then the store he drove.

Answer explanation

The best way to combine the sentences is to use a simple conjunction. 'He drove to the gas station then to the store' clearly indicates the sequence of actions without unnecessary repetition or complexity.

What is the best way to combine the following sentences?

There was not enough gas in the car. The driver had to stop for gas.

• There was not enough gas in the car, so the driver stopped for gas.

• There was not enough gas in the car and the driver had to stop for gas in the car.

• Not enough gas in the car there was. Stop for gas the driver did.

• Because there was not enough gas in the car the driver had to stop for gas in the car.

Answer explanation

The correct choice, 'There was not enough gas in the car, so the driver stopped for gas,' effectively combines the two sentences using a causal relationship, making it clear why the driver had to stop.