My next book will be a “little” (of course!) punctuation book, which I am hoping will be out in June or so . . .
To warm up, here is a “little” punctuation quiz. Actually, I planned a punctuation quiz for a couple of weeks ago because I thought it was National Punctuation Day. I was a “little” confused; it was National Grammar Day. National Punctuation Day is in September.
Answers to this quiz will be at the end . . . after you scroll down a bit. Explanations will be provided next week.
- Is this sentence correctly punctuated? I will be late for the meeting, please save me a seat.
- This must be (James’/ James’s) book.
- Is this sentence correctly punctuated? I am here, therefore, I am not there.
- Punctuate this sentence: Did he ask, Are we there yet
- Is this sentence correct? He said, “I heard the song ‘Forget You.”’
- Is this sentence correct? Why or why not? “The Hobbit” is my favorite book.
- This book is from the (1940’s/ 1940s).
- Punctuate this sentence: Please bring two shirts, blue, black, and brown pants, and black and blue socks.
- Punctuate this sentence: She said I can’t go because I have to stay in to read Romeo and Juliet.
- Is this sentence correctly punctuated? My sister and her friends are coming to visit.
- Punctuate this sentence: Bob was usually a quiet man however he screamed upon entering the room.
- Punctuate this letter salutation: To whom it may concern
- Is this sentence correctly punctuated? It is a cold rainy day.
- Is this sentence correctly punctuated? This book which is written by William Golding is my favorite.
- Is this sentence correctly punctuated? The book that is on top of the coffee table is next on my reading list.
- Is this sentence correctly punctuated? I decided not to cook dinner and went to the movies instead.
- Punctuate this sentence: I was born on August 10 1980 in Lincoln Nebraska.
- Punctuate this sentence: The only four ingredients in this recipe are sugar vanilla eggs and flour.
- Punctuate this sentence: I did not do very well on the test however so I failed the course.
- Punctuate this sentence: Yes Elaine the party is at my house.
- Punctuate this sentence: My address is 1487 Markham Place Boston Massachusetts 01987 please send my mail there not to my old address.
- Is this sentence correctly punctuated? I want to see that movie, I heard it’s great, but I haven’t had the time.
- Is this dialog correctly punctuated?
She screamed, “I have had enough of this . . .”
“Calm down,” he interrupted.
Answers:
- I will be late for the meeting, please save me a seat. Not correct. Needs a semicolon or period instead of the comma; or you add a conjunction to the comma.
- This must be James’s book.
- I am here, therefore, I am not there. Incorrect. Comma after hereneeds to be a semicolon. (Or you could put a period after here, and initial cap therefore.)
- Did he ask, “Are we there yet?”
- He said, “I heard the song ‘Forget You.”’ Correct as is.
- “The Hobbit” is my favorite book. No. The Hobbitshould be italicized rather than in quotation marks.
- This book is from the 1940s.
- Please bring two shirts; blue, black, and brown pants; and black and blue socks. Or you could rewrite it somehow.
- She said, “I can’t go because I have to stay home to read Romeo and Juliet.”
- My sister and her friends are coming to visit. Correct as is.
- Bob was usually a quiet man; however, he screamed upon entering the room. You could also put a period after manand capitalize however.
- To whom it may concern:
- It is a cold, rainy day. No. You need a comma between coldand rainy.
- This book, which is written by William Golding, is my favorite. No. The clause beginning with whichneeds to be set off with commas.
- The book that is on top of the coffee table is next on my reading list. Correct as is.
- I decided not to cook dinner and went to the movies instead. Correct as is.
- I was born on August 10, 1980, in Lincoln, Nebraska.
- The only four ingredients in this recipe are sugar, vanilla, eggs, and flour. The comma after eggs(the Oxford comma) is optional, but I recommend using it.
- I did not do very well on the test, however, so I failed the course.
- Yes, Elaine, the party is at my house.
- My address is 1487 Markham Place, Boston, Massachusetts 01987; please send my mail there, not to my old address. You could also put a period after the zip code and initial cap please.
- I want to see that movie, I heard it’s great, but I haven’t had the time. Not correct. You can use dashes or parentheses, but not commas to set off I heard it’s great.
- Not correct. The ellipsis(…) is used for trailing off. The em dash(long dash) is used for interruption.
She screamed, “I have had enough of this—”
“Calm down,” he interrupted.