Grammar & Mechanics Quiz
Subject-Verb, Pronoun-Antecedent
Agreement
Circle the correct answers
1. A computer and a modem (was/were) missing.
2. She was the only one of the programmers who (was/were) at the meeting.
3. The manager, as well as the members of the committee, (is/are) planning to demand more pay.
4. Removing fonts (increase/increases) one's available RAM.
5. Neither the cheerleaders nor the yell leader (has/have) any enthusiasm today.
6. Neither of the men (like/likes) the idea.
7. The horrors of a class with Dr. Hirst (make/makes) it a memorable experience.
Pronoun Case
Circle the correct answers
8. This is a problem for (us/we) Americans.
9. The letter began, "To (whoever/ whomever) it may concern."
10. They gave Chester and (I/me) the raspberry.
11. This is the man (who/whom) I told you about.
12. You should see (who/whom) is at the door.
13. He has respect for (whoever/whomever) is in charge.
14. (Who/Whom) does he think he is?
Verb Forms
Circle the correct answers
15. He (sat/set) the boy on the chair a moment ago.
16. He had been (laying/lying) there for an indeterminate length of time.
17. They (lay/laid) on the floor for hours, recounting their woes.
18. It's crucial that he (be/is) here for the meeting.
19. If it (was/were) possible, I'd marry you.
20. They felt it important that he (make/makes) the team.
Word Usage
Circle the correct answers
21. The (effect/affect) of the movie was tremendous.
22. It (effected/affected) him tremendously.
23. But he turned it to good (effect/affect).
24. It's hard to gain (acceptance/exceptance) around here.
25. Safety is the (principle, principal) factor in our decisions.
Sentence Sense
At the left of each sentence, write one of the following four designations:
FRAG (sentence fragment), CS (comma splice), RUN-ON (run-on or fused sentence,
hungry for punctuation), or OK (correct).
26. After the game he went home but he found the apartment empty so he ate a can of worms.
27. She was ever watchful and alert and full of ambition.
28. Hers was no small accomplishment; but a huge one.
29. I want to buy that new Power PC at the store, it is absolutely the most gorgeous machine I have ever seen.
30. He had done the most important thing already, he had bribed his teacher as richly as possible.
31. He could not make up his mind; he could not, for that matter, make up an excuse.
Mechanics
Correct all mechanical errors (punctuation,
capitalization, underlining/italics, etc.). A sentence may contain no errors
or many errors. Check carefully.
32. The long sought for solution had arrived: get Don Jones, M.D, and Joan Dunn, Ph.D, to do it!
33. The Oak tree we saw At Hornwort high school had a sign nailed to it which read, "Go West, young man".
34. Its only a delusion, I can't see why "The Scarlet Letter" is any better than a Detective novel.
35. We saw the film "whistling in the Rain", at the High School last Spring.
36. "But why," she asked, "Did the queen of England want to meet a 'Yuppie'?"
38. The two boy's playthings were scattered everywhere: what a mess they had made!
39. I read a newspaper article entitled "A New Life for deadbeats."
40. Her never to be forgotten smile had one "quaint message:" "Knoxville, TN; love it or leave it".
41. "did she say, 'How are you'"?
42. You can't get rid of a "good man"; so why even try?
43. I like Latin and Math, but I loathe speech 205.
44. The President, the Queen, and the Pope joined the republican party during world war II.
45. "I bought a sony radio," said Joe, "But it was'nt 'made in japan'."
46. She wanted to stay with sheriff Snort, however, that proved impossible.
47. He boarded the good ship "northumberland" and began reading a little poem entitled "Disasters at sea".
48. A true renaissance man, he finished his sculpture and proceeded to write an ode in its honor.
49. In her haste however, she stepped on the cat, Missy and alerted the entire household.
50. After a while they asked Mr. Greenpants the gardner whether he knew anything about guns, cars, boats or other mechanical contraptions.