Writing and Punctuation / Improving your punctuation / Punctuation Quiz(2)

P unctuation Quiz

Decide if these sentences use punctuation correctly.

1. Adriana’s car broke down last week, but the mechanics’ couldn’t fix it.

2. I can’t stand my sisters’ boyfriend.

3. Childrens’ education is at stake.

4. The dog appeared. It’s tail was wagging furiously!

5. I went to the police station, it was closed.

6. In 2007 an investigation reported that there were several problems regarding the accommodation. However the most serious issue concerned the air conditioning.

7. Koalas which are cute are in danger of extinction.

8. The Titans, which is the name of the Gold Coast rugby team, have been very successful this season.

9. Many people are worried about shark attacks in the sea; however, the chances of this happening are extremely remote.

10. According to Smith (2008), there are three main reasons to explain the low scores; lack of preparation, lack of sleep and nerves.

11. The case involved Richard Thomas, the father; Nigel Thomas, the son; and Margaret Thomas, Nigel’s wife.

12. Brown (2007 p.16) states, ‘Punctuation is a key element of writing’.

13. Punctuation Quiz - Answers

Decide if these sentences use punctuation correctly.

1. Adriana’s car broke down last week, but the mechanics¹ couldn’t fix it.

2. I can’t stand my sister’s² boyfriend.

3. Children’s³ education is at stake.

4. The dog appeared. Its⁴ tail was wagging furiously!

5. I went to the police station, but⁵ it was closed.

. It was closed.

6. In 2007,⁶ an investigation reported that there were several problems regarding the accommodation. However,⁷ the most serious issue concerned the air conditioning.

7. Koalas,⁸ which are cute, are in danger of extinction.

8. The Titans⁹, which is the name of the Gold Coast rugby team, have been very successful this season.

9. Many people are worried about shark attacks in the sea;¹⁰ however, the chances of this happening are extremely remote.

10. According to Smith (2008), there are three main reasons to explain the low scores:¹¹ lack of preparation, lack of sleep and nerves.

11. The case involved Richard Thomas, the father;¹² Nigel Thomas, the son; and Margaret Thomas, Nigel’s wife.

12. Brown (2007 p.16) states, “¹³Punctuation is a key element of writing”.

1 No apostrophe needed, as ‘mechanics’ is not possessive

2 Apostrophe in the wrong place. This sentence means that you have your sisters all share the same boyfriend.

3 Apostrophe in the wrong place. Apostrophe goes before irregular plurals (children’s, women’s, people’s etc)

4 No apostrophe needed. It’s means ‘it is’ or ‘it has’

5 This is called a ‘Run on Sentence’ or a ‘Comma Splice’. These are 2 independent clauses. Full stop needed, or a conjunction (e.g. but). See also sentence 9.

6 Comma needed as this is an adverbial expression.

7 Comma needed as this is an adverbial expression.

8 Comma needed as this is extra information about koalas. This sentence means only cute koalas are in danger of extinction.

9 Correct. The comma shows that we are giving extra information about The Titans. The second comma shows the end of the extra information.

10 Correct. A semi colon can be used with a conjunction between 2 independent clauses.

11 Incorrect. Use a colon (:) to give a list

12 Correct. The semi colon separates the different people involved

13 Incorrect. Use speech marks to quote somebody (“…..”)