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Apostrophes Exercise 1

This handout accompanies Exercise 1 of Grammar Bytes! Get the answers by doing the interactive version of the exercise at this address: http://chompchomp.com/exercises.htm

Directions: Choose the correct evaluation of each underlined word.

1. Annoying music escaped from Kinyas ear buds.

A. Kinyas contains a correct apostrophe. B. No apostrophe is needed.

2. Buy your own pens! You cannot borrow ours.

A. Ours does not need an apostrophe. B. Ours should have an apostrophe between the r and s: ours. C. Ours should have an apostrophe after the s: ours.

3. Ask Henry for help. His brain possesss all kinds of strange trivia.

A. Possesss contains a correct apostrophe. B. You must spell the word like this: possesses.

4. The alarm clocks buzz startled Shane awake.

A. Clocks does not need an apostrophe. B. Clocks should have an apostrophe between the k and s: clocks.

5. While the bee buzzes among the blooms, a patient mantis waits to strike.

A. Buzzes does not need an apostrophe. B. You must spell the word with an apostrophe: buzzs. C. You must spell the word with an apostrophe: buzzes.

6. The Larsens decided not to shutter their windows even though they were taking vacation at the height of hurricane season.

A. Larsens contains a correct apostrophe. B. The apostrophe should come after the s: Larsens. C. Larsens should not have an apostrophe.

7. Betty Ann could not resist petting the adorable poodle puppies.

A. Puppies contains a correct apostrophe. B. No apostrophe is needed. C. Puppies should have the apostrophe after the s: puppies.
http://chompchomp.com/exercises.htm

8. Our stomachs might burst! We shouldnt have eaten so many fried cheese sticks.

A. Shouldnt contains a correct apostrophe. B. The apostrophe must come between the d and n, where the space was omitted: shouldnt.

9. Phillip banged his knees on the metal bar beneath the desk.

A. Knees contains a correct apostrophe. B. Knees should have the apostrophe before the s: knees. C. Theres no apostrophe in knees.

10. Kimberlys agile fingers typed the password too quickly for Pedro to catch.

A. Kimberlys contains a correct apostrophe. B. The apostrophe should come after the s: Kimberlys.

11. We wouldnt try one of your oatmeal raisin cookies for cash. Weave seen your dirty kitchen!

A. Weave is a correct contraction. B. You must spell the word like this: weve.

12. We spent more time on our science fair project than Karen and Denny did, but everyone is ignoring our work to view theirs instead!

A. Theirs contains a correct apostrophe. B. Theirs should have the apostrophe after the s: theirs. C. Theirs should not have an apostrophe.

13. The pools leaf covered surface did not invite Brandi to swim.

A. Pools does not need an apostrophe. B. Pools should have an apostrophe between the l and s: pools. C. Pools should have an apostrophe after the s: pools.

14. In the morning, my dog Skeeter loves to sleep in the sunlight that pools on the living room floor.

A. Pools contains a correct apostrophe. B. You dont put an apostrophe in pools. C. Pools should have the apostrophe after the s: pools.

15. Deloress leg jiggled while Professor Caldero explained the plagiarism penalties for the research essay.

A. Deloress contains a correct apostrophe. B. You must spell the word like this: Deloreses.

16. Our mouths were so full of delicious brownies that we could not speak.

A. Brownies contains a correct apostrophe. B. Brownies should have the apostrophe after the s: brownies. C. Brownies should not have an apostrophe.

17. Anthony trys to enjoy his tropical fish, but the aquarium glass is filthy with algae.

A. Trys contains a correct apostrophe. B. You must spell the word like this: tries. C. You must spell the word without an apostrophe: tries.

18. Marcus harasses his little sister Maggie by pulling her long braids.

A. Harasses does not need an apostrophe. B. You must spell the word with an apostrophe: harasses.

19. Maggie looked up in time to swat Marcuses hand from her face.

A. Marcuses correctly shows possession. B. You must punctuate the word like this: Marcuss.

20. Eva cant believe her bad luck! First, her professor gave a pop quiz in chemistry, and now a water main break means the bathrooms are inoperable!

A. Means does not need an apostrophe. B. Means should have an apostrophe between the n and s: means. C. Means should have an apostrophe after the s: means.

1997 - 2013 by Robin L. Simmons All Rights Reserved.

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Directions: Choose the option that corrects an error in the underlined portions. If no error exists, choose No change is necessary.

1. To avoid muddy dog prints on Moms clean floor, we left the puppys in the backyard. A B C A. prints B. Moms C. puppies D. No change is necessary.

2. Strands of hair whipped Jessicas face as the cold wind blew through the bare trees. A B C A. Strands B. Jessicas C. trees D. No change is necessary.

3. Even on the belts last hole, the baggy jeans keep sliding off Rogers hips, making the poor A B C boy waddle like a penguin. A. belts B. jeans C. Rogers D. No change is necessary.

4. Even after four cups of coffee, Melissa couldnt muster the energy to finish the journal A B assignments for Professor Koopmans class. C A. cups B. couldnt C. Koopmans D. No change is necessary.

5. The lawn mowers roar woke Stephen from a sound sleep. He cursed his neighbors A B

dedication to yard maintenance and dove under the blankets. C A. mowers B. neighbors C. blankets D. No change is necessary.

6. The bed beckoned with its soft pillows and warm blankets, but Tommy still had 25 A problems to solve for Mr. Takashimas algebra class. B C

A. its B. problems C. Takashimas D. No change is necessary.

7. Jeannette hated my Halloween costume, but she loves zombies, so shell like yours. A B C A. zombies B. sheill C. yours D. No change is necessary.

8. Lissette cant believe her roommates bad manners; Alex has once again left the bathroom A B

sink full of shaving cream and whiskers. C A. cant B. roommates C. whiskers D. No change is necessary.

9. Esthers eyeglasses are cloudy with fingerprints, but her brother Niles keeps his lenses A B C pristine. A. Esthers B. Niles C. lenses D. No change is necessary.

10. Mrs. Majeed frowned as she glanced at the blue teams answers. We certainly hope she A smile's when she sees ours. B C A. teams B. smiles C. ours D. No change is necessary.

11. Every morning, Clarissa straightens her curls with a flat iron and reapplys metallic pink A B polish to her fingernails. C A. curls B. reapplies C. fingernails D. No change is necessary.

12. Looking for signs of wear to disqualify the issue as mint, Sheldon inspected the comic A books corners and spine. B C A. signs B. books C. corners D. No change is necessary.

13. Antoines fingers are never still; if this young man isnt drumming out a song on the desk, A B then hes snapping a rubber band or twirling pens. C A. Antoines B. isnt C. his D. No change is necessary.

14. Lines of worry creased Samuels forehead as he scanned the quiz items. A B C A. Lines B. Samuels C. items D. No change is necessary.

15. The contents of Christinas purse include tangled necklaces, an uncapped lip balm, and her A B roommates missing watch. C A. Christinas B. necklaces C. roommates D. No change is necessary.

16. Nicks collection of hats includes a ball cap shaped like a plate of tacos. A B C

A. Nicks B. hats C. tacos D. No change is necessary.

17. We couldnt see well from our seats, so when Byron and his friends left to buy popcorn, we A B stole theirs. C A. couldnt B. friends C. theirs D. No change is necessary.

18. Bens bad attitude gets him in trouble in class. We need to convince Ben to uncross his A B arms and smile on occasion. C A. Benss B. gets C. arms D. No change is necessary.

19. As James was writing his concluding paragraph, his pencil point broke. Rummaging in his A B book bag for another writing instrument, he hoped that his great last lines wouldnt escape. C A. James B. pencils C. lines D. No change is necessary.

20. Gloria covered her ears with her hands and focused on the quiz questions; she tried to A B ignore the techno music escaping from Chandlers ear buds. C A. ears B. questions C. Chandlers D. No change is necessary.


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Directions: Choose the option that corrects an error in the underlined portions. If no error exists, choose No change is necessary.

1. Outside, the sun makes Boriss red hair glow with copper tones. A B C

A. makes B. Borises C. tones D. No change is necessary.

2. Louies moustache has long waxed whiskers that curl down like walrus tusks. A B C

A. Louies B. whiskers C. tusks D. No change is necessary.

3. Nick slammed the oven door shut when he discovered Moms burning pies inside. A B C

A. ovens B. Moms C. pies D. No change is necessary.

4. Rebecca borrowed Elijahs baseball cap since she would have no chance of catching A fly balls with the sun right in her eyes. B C A. Elijahs B. fly balls C. eyes D. No change is necessary.

5. We notice that Phyllis always washs her hands, so if we try an hors doeuvre, we want A B one of hers. C A. always B. washes C. hers D. No change is necessary.

6. Missing apostrophes, overabundant commas, and abused semicolons make Deons A B C essay a mess.

A. apostrophes B. semicolons C. Deons D. No change is necessary.

7. Sam and Sara always have extra supplies, so if you forgot to bring a pencil, ask to borrow A B one of theirs. C

A. always B. supplys C. theirs D. No change is necessary.

8. Waves crashed on the beach, and clouds darkened the sky. The days rough conditions A B C convinced us to stay out of the water. A. Waves B. clouds C. days D. No change is necessary.

9. No matter what tool Kyle tried, he couldnt remove the rusty screws from the door frame. A B C A. couldnt B. screws C. doors D. No change is necessary.

10. Elephants are Jeremys favorite animal. He cringes every time he hears that poachers A B C have slaughtered another herd. A. Jeremys B. cringes C. poachers D. No change is necessary.

11. Zebras grazed in the zoos paddocks while tigers paced in concrete and iron cages. A B C A. zoos B. tigers C. cages D. No change is necessary.

12. Pedro never puts much effort into his cookies, but we slaved for hours on ours, so you A B C should definitely try one! A. cookies B. hours C. ours D. No change is necessary.

13. I decided to borrow Elizabeths scarf because the colors matched my outfit, and she A B wouldnt notice it was missing until hours after I left. C A. Elizabeths B. colors C. wouldnt D. No change is necessary.

14. Melodys rendition of I Will Always Love You hurt our ears, but you have a nice singing A voice, so were hoping to enjoy yours. B C A. ears B. were C. yours D. No change is necessary.

15. Ben stared at Jennifers reflection in the plate glass library window. He admired the many A curls that cascaded down her back and the pink poodle earrings dangling from her lobes. B C A. Jennifers B. curls C. earrings D. No change is necessary.

16. After Alex skinned both of his knees, he propped his unicycle against the garage wall and A B no longer rides it.

C

A. knees B. garages C. rides D. No change is necessary.

17. Frances tried my chocolate-broccoli muffins and made a face. Maybe hell like yours better A B C since you use fresh broccoli.

A. muffins B. hell C. yours D. No change is necessary.

18. In the hot classroom, Warrens glasss kept slipping down his sweaty nose. A B C A. Warrens B. glasses C. hes D. No change is necessary.

19. Hannahs hackles rose at Jermaines criticism of her essay. Never mess with Hannah if she A B hasnt had her coffee yet. C A. Hannahs B. Jermaines C. hasnt D. No change is necessary.

20. We will try the cupcakes because they are Taras, not yours. Unlike you, Tara doesnt A B C sneeze into the mixing bowl! A. Taras B. yours C. doesnt D. No change is necessary.


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Directions: Use an apostrophe or apostrophe + s to simplify the long phrase in bold. Write your new version in the box above the phrase.

1. The calculator that belongs to Jeffrey has keys sticky with peanut butter.

2. The sudden change of the stoplight made Shane slam on his breaks.

3. The bad table manners of Pedro include chewing and talking simultaneously. No wonder

Maria wont agree to a date!

4. Curling outside the nostrils, the nose hair of Adam repulses Laurie, who sits across the

table.

5. The money that Elvis hides in the cookie jar is greasy with butter.

6. The stiff bristles on the brush do not apply paint smoothly.

7. A hungry crow snatched the half-eaten hot dog that Todd abandoned on the picnic

table.

8. The cell phone that Marco uses is shiny with potato chip grease.

9. The barrettes that Luciana wears in her hair are antiques from her great-grandmother.

10. At work, the sullen attitude that Harriet demonstrates inspires customers to take their

money elsewhere.

11. With their long necks, the giraffes have defoliated the top branches of the trees.

12. The clumsiness that plagues Anastasia makes wearing 4-inch heels impossible.

13. The dirtiness of the public restroom inspired Beatrice to wait until she got home to go.

14. The lack of grammatical control that Nicholas demonstrates translates into low

grades on essays.

15. Look at all of those teeth marks! That must be a pencil that belongs to Tobias.

16. All night, we listened to the loud party that the neighbors threw.

17. The annoyance that Erika experiences every time that Leonard burps at the dining room

table will soon mean he has to eat dinner on the sofa.

18. The perseverance that Isabelle showed in calculus has paid off with an A in the class.

19. The crusty surfaces of the dishes indicate that Ramsey hasnt cleaned the kitchen in

days.

20. The insistent meowing of the cats tells Selena that its time to feed her seven felines.


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Directions: Use an apostrophe or apostrophe + s to simplify the long phrase in bold. Write your new version in the box above the phrase.

1. The hot pink high tops that Montgomery wore drew everyones attention.

2. Try the cookies that Phyllis baked. They are the best ones!

3. You need to clean the yard tools that you borrowed from Mr. Dickson. Hes very picky

about his possessions.

4. The messy notebook that Marc brings to class contains detailed notes from Dr.

Graysons tedious lectures.

5. The satisfaction that Kevin gets with a C means a GPA without scholarship potential.

6. Annistacia owns a big, powerful pit bull that intimidates everyone who meets him.

7. The vegetable garden that Gladys is always fertilizing has tomatoes the size of

softballs!

8. Read the essay that Curtis wrote. Its so funny that youll snort your coffee!

9. The teacher for that class assigns twice as many essays as our teacher does.

10. Look at the grease stains! This paper must be homework from Francis. That boy is always

eating cafeteria French fries!

11. We didnt want to destroy the nests the birds had built, so we waited until winter to cut

down the old oak tree.

12. The novels that Bliss never dusts fill the shelves of her many bookcases.

13. The wild plaid shirt that Carlos was wearing made Sara dizzy.

14. When we bought the used car from an old woman, we didnt expect to find rap music in

the CD drive.

15. Hurry up and finish! You dont want to experience the anger of our boss.

16. The cats that the neighbors adopted leave a trail of paw prints all over the hoods of our

cars.

17. You must pay back the money that Dad lent you if you want to avoid all the weekend

chores that he will assign.

18. Every morning at 3 a.m., the sprinkler system that the Weavers have waters the yard

illegally.

19. We shrieked with delight at the old photos in the high school yearbook that Mom found.

20. The impressive music collection that Warren has amassed is mostly illegal

downloads from the Internet.


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Comma Splices and Fused Sentences Exercise 1


Directions: Determine whether the items below are comma splices or fused sentences.

1. Julie is a real hypochondriac when her stomach hurts, she is certain that she has a bleeding ulcer, and if she has a backache, she believes that she has cancer of the spine.

A. comma splice B. fused sentence

2. My cat Buster loves to nap on warm appliances when he sleeps on top of the television, his tail swipes the screen like a windshield wiper.


3. During English class, Anthony kept flirting with RaShaunda because his behavior was keeping Shenicka from understanding the lecture, Shenicka whacked him over the head with her heavy dictionary.


4. In preparation for the quiz, La'Mia studied comma splices and fused sentences until she thought her brain would burst, finally, she put away her notes, convinced that she would remember the rules even on her death bed.


5. At the back of the classroom, Nina sat with her arms crossed, glaring at her teacher, Mr. Beane, her body language indicated that English was her least favorite subject.


6. When Matt shaved his head, his mother worried that he had joined a cult the real reason for the bald head, however, was that Matt could get more attention and sympathy from girls who thought he was sick with a dread disease.


7. Mike loves to play computer games, especially Tomb Raider, he imagines that all of the villains are his problems, and he gets great satisfaction blasting them to bits.


8. Cindy's mumbling often gets her in trouble just the other day, in fact, her stylist misunderstood Cindy's instructions and dyed her hair blue after Cindy asked him to trim the ends.


9. Clyde knew that he should be saving money for next semester's tuition he spent every paycheck, however, on gold jewelry and expensive dinners for his greedy girlfriend Gloria.


10. At the campus coffee cart, Gini makes the best drinks her sweet cream latte, a blend of vanilla ice cream and espresso, will put on the pounds, but its cool, smooth taste is worth a trip to the gym.


11. Josie, Don's Cairn terrier, will bark at anything that moves, squirrels, wind blown leaves, passing cars, and her own shadow will start her yapping.


12. Because his glasses were so thick, Quincy refused to get contacts, he worried that equally thick contact lenses would make him look like a bug-eyed space alien.


13. Madison believed that the best job in the universe would be to work as a crew member on the star ship Enterprise since this job existed only on television, Madison settled for clerking at a neighborhood comic book store that sold Star Trek memorabilia.


14. Michelle is terrified of spiders, so when she found one in the bathroom, she panicked, refusing to shower for three days to use the restroom, she drove to her neighborhood gas station.


15. When Jim threw his back out while helping his wife Nancy move the sofa, he feared the treatment the doctor would recommend, a week's worth of bed rest during the nicest week in April would certainly wreck Jim's golf plans.


16. Sima was so sleepy after her marathon studying session for calculus that she ordered a triple espresso before going to class once the caffeine kicked in, Sima knew that she wouldn't doze off on Dr. Ribley.


17. Rachel painstakingly ironed her linen shirt all the while, she was thinking how pointless this chore was since linen begins to wrinkle the moment after the last button is fastened.


18. Jeremiah likes to put peanut butter on his pancakes instead of syrup, the smell is appealing, but I wouldn't want to eat anything so sticky that early in the morning.


19. Clarence couldn't believe that the hardware store was selling garden rakes for only $1.99 each when he brought home twenty of them, his wife Marie just shook her head and squeezed them into a garage stuffed full of her husband's other "good buys."


20. Orange juice, toast, and cereal might be a healthy breakfast, but Ricardo always hits the snooze button on his alarm too many times all he can grab is a stale pastry and soda.



Name Date


This handout accompanies Exercise 2 of Grammar Bytes! Get the answers by doing the interactive version of the exercise at this address: http://chompchomp.com/exercises.htm Directions: Each sentence below contains three underlined parts, one of which is either a comma splice or fused sentence. You need to find and fix the problem.

1. Hoping to relax after a busy week at work and school, Cheryl smoothed on some sunscreen,

settled onto her pool raft, and opened her new Stephen King novel, then her neighbor

cranked up the lawnmower, ruining the quiet.

2. Derek wanted a ferocious pit bull terrier to scare off burglars, but his apartment complex did

not allow dogs as a result, Derek had to settle for naming his goldfish Mr. Jaws and

installing additional door locks.

3. Sylvia carefully ironed her one good suit to wear to the bank interview the next day all the

while, Buster, her hairy white cat, waited for her to lay the dark gray skirt on the bed so that

he would have a warm spot to nap.

4. Chet decided to get a huge Chinese dragon tattooed across his shoulder blades once the

stabbing needle pierced his skin, however, Chet quickly changed his mind, opting to pierce

an ear instead.

5. Struggling to capture the nude model on paper, Sima whined that she didn't have the right

pencil at the same time, she realized that this complaint was the same as saying that she

couldn't sink a basketball because she didn't have expensive athletic shoes.

6. Hunched over the keyboard for hours, Charlie used two fingers to hunt and peck out the

2,000-word research paper when lightning caused his computer to crash, Charlie wept

more tears than the thunderclouds spilled rain.

7. After listening for weeks to her boyfriend Steve bragging about his mother's chili, Amy

anticipated the first delicious spoonful, the hair floating among the beef and beans,

however, killed her appetite.

8. When Javier was supposed to be in trigonometry, he was instead flirting with pretty girls in

the cafeteria needless to say, he was inadequately prepared to make the 98 that he needed

on the final exam to pass the course.

9. Julina knew that she would never again agree to go out to dinner with James, he expected

her to buy her own meal, tip the waitress, and chip in for gas.

10. At a garage sale, Clarence bought four gallons of exterior latex for only ten dollars then,

when his neighbors saw the nuclear pink, they collected 120 dollars to buy four gallons of

primer and four gallons of forest green paint.

11. When Millie overheard Coach Jones complain that women didn't belong on a basketball

court, she became so angry that she picked up a tennis racket and whacked him over the

head, the assault and battery charge, in Millie's opinion, was worth it.

12. Given 1,000 dollars as a graduation gift, Kris wavered between putting the money toward a

new computer or going to Germany to visit his sister, finally Fruleins and beer won out

over modems and megabytes.

13. When Simone and her husband discovered sixteen jars full of insects in their daughter's

room, they decided to get Maria a dog, tolerating one four-legged animal seemed better

than having fifty six-legged pets in the house.

14. Syed finally decided to clean out his disorganized book bag, old US Government handouts,

math notes from Intermediate Algebra, leaky ballpoint pens, and a smashed banana littered

the inside.

15. With sharp scissors, Thinh tried to even her client's hair, but the woman kept twisting in her

seat to yell at her two small children who were terrorizing the salon, Thinh finally decided

that crooked ends were better than poking out a client's eye.

16. Everyone always invites Marc to the movies, his jeans are so oversized that he can sneak in

two two-liter bottles of soda, which he straps to his thighs, saving his friends from the

outrageous drink prices at the theater.

17. When Minori left Japan to study in the United States, she thought that she would miss her

mother's delicious home cooking, however, after her first taste of a bacon cheeseburger,

she didn't care if she ever returned to Japan.

18. The computer began to wail like an ambulance, startling poor Robert, who only wanted to

retrieve his paper, unfortunately, a virus had immobilized the hard drive.

19. Jenny noticed a greasy snail-like trail that snaked from the kitchen counter, onto the floor, and

then over to the hallway, June, Jenny's cat, had stolen another stick of butter and tried to

drag it to the laundry room.

20. After a successful interview at a bookstore, Julio patiently waited by the phone, hoping to

hear that he had gotten a summer job, every call, though, was a twelve-year-old boy calling

for Rosita, Julio's younger sister.


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Co


This handout accompanies Exercise 3 of Grammar Bytes! Get the answers by doing the interactive version of the exercise at this address: http://chompchomp.com/exercises.htm Directions: Each sentence below contains three underlined parts, one of which is either a comma splice or fused sentence. You need to find and fix the problem.

1. If Chris hopes to survive in his 8 a.m. English class, he needs to discover caffeine even

when he has a test, his head hits the desk by 8:05, and snores soon escape his mouth.

2. Although you might not believe it, Antonio actually benefits from his chicken scratch

handwriting because no one can read it, Antonio doesn't have to worry about using the

right word or the correct spelling.

3. If you offer Valerie a piece of watermelon, she will refuse it, the slices look like the wicked

smile of a circus clown who once scared her as a child during a trip to the big top.

4. During the summer when a variety of fruit is in season, Melville always avoids the fresh

peaches, the fuzzy skin brushing against his lips makes Melville think that he's eating a

small rodent.

5. Jean always nibbles around the pit of a cherry, just as if she were eating a peach, because

she is vain about her smile, she doesn't want to chip a tooth on the hard center.

6. Because Simon thinks that he has big, ugly toes, he insists on wearing socks everywhere

that he goes at the beach, in the shower, or around the house, you will find Simon with

socks on his feet.

7. Sick with the flu, Howard craved a big hot bowl of his grandmother's chicken soup, but in

the refrigerator, Howard had only a jar of olives and a carton of milk, cream of olive soup,

Howard decided, would only worsen how he felt.

8. To gain attention, Christie has pierced each of her ears eight times on breezy days, people

hear the tinkling sounds of Christie's unique wind chimes as the jewelry blows in the wind.

9. Since he was sound asleep on the library sofa, William was oblivious to his twenty-eight

algebra classmates, who were sweating, sighing, and wracking their brains as they tried to

ace their final exam, poor William was quietly earning a zero.

10. Sparkling with jewelry conned from ex-boyfriends, Sylvia keeps an eye out for new victims

with fat wallets, she still needs a pair of diamond earrings to complement a necklace that

she managed to coerce Ricardo into buying.

11. As her teachers had recommended, Madison tried to study in the library but discovered

that the good music, unlimited soda, and big tables at the campus caf made a great place to

do homework during fall semester, Madison must have eaten 150 pizza slices while she

slogged through Fundamentals of Biology.

12. Davina, a good friend in my biology class, has more interest in what is under a guy's skin

than what's under his clothes, for this reason, she is pursuing a degree in radiography.

13. Jackie always made it a point to sit in the front row because she liked to focus on the lecture

and take good notes, the excessive spitting of her Latin professor, however, drove her to

the back of the room.

14. Latoya tried to concentrate on Dr. Lemon's dull art history lecture, but the darkened

classroom and endless slide show soon had her dozing in her seat, Latoya knew that

Beverly would poke her with a pencil if Dr. Lemon bothered to glance their way.

15. Todd is an amazing cook, he can look into a nearly empty refrigerator and put together an

interesting dinner; yesterday, for example, he made a sliced pickle and mayonnaise

sandwich, using an old blueberry muffin as bread.

16. Watching the Home Shopping Network late one evening, Clarence saw handheld televisions

advertised for only $49.99, so he bought ten of them, in his lifetime, Clarence was certain

that he would need them all.

17. When Robert is riding his Honda motorcycle, he drives recklessly, weaving dangerously

through rush hour traffic, Robert doesn't care that he might leave a kneecap or chunk of thigh

speared on a car bumper.

18. During the fall semester, parking on campus is very difficult, students circle the lots like

vultures, waiting for an empty space, and most students soon realize that taking a 7 a.m.

class, despite the effort it takes to get up that early, at least cures their parking woes.

19. Jacques, a self-taught computer whiz, always hates going to his Introduction to

Microcomputers class the reason is that both his textbook and professor are at least a year

behind when they discuss software or internal components.

20. Belinda hates her psychology class, although her professor is an interesting lecturer, the

auditorium is right next to the copy center, and the whump, whump, whump of the machines

always makes Belinda drowsy.


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This handout accompanies Exercise 4 of Grammar Bytes! Get the answers by doing the interactive version of the exercise at this address: http://chompchomp.com/exercises.htm Directions: Choose the correct way to fix the underlined problem in each sentence. 1. Lorna did not last long in Mr. Wolcott's busy office, her long fingernails made accurate typing

impossible, and her abrasive manner scared away too many potential clients.

A. office her B. office, because her C. office. Her

2. Bo was craving a cold slice of watermelon, but he had money only for hotdogs and buns, Bo was pretty sure that sticking the huge fruit under his shirt and pretending that he was pregnant wouldn't fool the cashiers.

A. buns Bo B. buns. Bo C. buns, but Bo

3. Fighting the urge to crawl under her desk, Adriana looked at the clock, there was still a half hour left of class, more than enough time to do her poorly prepared, ten-minute speech.

A. clock there B. clock; there C. clock, so there

4. My cat Buster is always tipping over the garbage can then he searches through the trash for milk jug caps, which he bats around the floor, the cat version of playing ice hockey.

A. can, then B. can, but then C. can, and then

5. Susan ducked down when she saw Mr. Hayden, her English teacher, walk into Titos Taco Palace, unfortunately, a burrito wasn't big enough to hide behind, so poor Susan had to explain why she had missed his class again.

A. Palace unfortunately B. Palace; Unfortunately C. Palace. Unfortunately

6. Mark searched the nearly empty refrigerator for a midnight snack his only choices were curdled milk, stale pizza, and grape jelly, any combination of which he couldn't stomach.

A. snack, his B. snack, but his C. snack, so his

7. Sherian refuses to let her kids have a puppy, she is convinced that dogs are just big germs and refuses to follow one around with a sponge and bottle of bleach.

A. puppy she B. puppy, but she C. puppy, for she

8. Running through the parking lot, Aisha hoped to get to her car before the rain began when she found the doors locked and saw her keys lying on the front seat, she knew that she was in for a soaking.

A. began, when B. began; When C. began. When

9. Bored with the lecture on comma splices and fused sentences, Jayson started poking Kim with the sharp tip of his pencil finally she whirled around and slugged him in the mouth.

A. pencil, finally she B. pencil, as a result she C. pencil; finally, she

10. Sighing heavily, Melody tried to summon the energy to get to her next class her heavy book bag and the long walk, however, seemed impossible challenges.

A. class, her B. class; her C. class but her

11. Alphonso does not care as much about comfort as he does about style he will wear, for example, a long sleeve shirt and a leather jacket in the middle of a Florida summer if they are the perfect complement to his new pair of khakis.

A. style, he B. style, but he C. style; he

12. Tajuana is a very conscientious student when she makes a B, she is so upset that she lies awake at night, staring at the ceiling and worrying about the effect this "bad" grade will have on her GPA.

A. student, when B. student. When C. student, therefore when

13. Wally did not want to do anything to ruin his new pair of athletic shoes, he always stayed on the sidewalks, sidestepped puddles, and made several trips a day to the bathroom to dust the sneakers with toilet paper.

A. shoes he B. shoes, but he C. shoes, so he

14. Poor Paola listened to her stomach rumbling loudly, she would have to wait twenty more minutes before she could dash to the cafeteria for a quick donut and soda.

A. loudly she B. loudly; she C. loudly, so she

15. For two weeks, Todd refused to go to his accounting class because Professor Gastineau would not allow students to wear hats in class, under no circumstance would Todd allow anyone to see the butcher job his stylist had done to his hair.

A. class under B. class, and under C. class, therefore under

16. Tracy always knows the right answer in English class but is too shy to volunteer whenever Miss Simmons asks a question, Tracy's hand feels as if it weighs 1,000 pounds.

A. volunteer, whenever B. volunteer, therefore whenever C. volunteer; whenever

17. Slouched in his seat, Michael tried to pay attention to the grammar lecture the only problem was that NBA statistics and images of pretty women in tight miniskirts were more interesting than subordinate clauses and participle phrases.

A. lecture, the B. lecture, however the C. lecture. The

18. Nathalia likes to get good grades but hates when her friends call her a nerd, sometimes Nathalia will claim that she got a 77 on a test when, in reality, she earned a 97.

A. nerd sometimes B. nerd, so sometimes C. nerd, but sometimes

19. Neil's day revolves around sugar, he anticipates the pastry he will choose for breakfast, the candy bar he will eat for lunch, and the ice cream he will have as dinner.

A. sugar he B. sugar, for he C. sugar, but he

20. Carla has difficulties getting to her 8 a.m. English class on time, she always watches too many late night movies and then hits the snooze button on her alarm once too often.

A. time she B. time, because she C. time, for she


Name Date


This handout accompanies Exercise 5 of Grammar Bytes! Get the answers by doing the interactive version of the exercise at this address: http://chompchomp.com/exercises.htm Directions: Choose the correct way to fix the underlined problem in each sentence. 1. Gustavo can tolerate any lecture, no matter how boring the instructor is, in his mind, Gustavo

imagines that he is on board the starship Enterprise, blasting Romulans from his post on the bridge.

A. is in B. is; In C. is; in

2. Sylvia shivered in her silk shirt, the difference in temperature between the hot road and the cold library was extreme.

A. shirt the B. shirt, for the C. shirt, because the

3. Many road signs warned Tommy of the construction work ahead, he didn't realize that his lane was closed, though, until he mowed down a traffic barricade with the front of his car.

A. ahead he B. ahead but he C. ahead. He

4. The grip of the pantyhose, the stranglehold of the scarf, and the bite of the tight shoes made Rachel want the interview to end, she longed for a cotton T-shirt and jeans.

A. end she B. end; however, she C. end. She

5. Ryan is highly allergic to cats, he requires at least twenty god-bless-yous every time he visits Mariko and her seven Siamese.

A. cats he B. cats, so he C. cats, as a result, he

6. Mrs. Britton was grading papers at her desk, her students were slaving over their in-class compositions, sighing heavily and flipping through their dictionaries for the correct spellings of words.

A. desk her B. desk while her C. desk, moreover, her

7. Ingie looked at his wife's collection of cookbooks and sighed, although there were thousands of recipes for delicious meals, he knew Valerie would want to order another pepperoni and mushroom pizza for dinner.

A. sighed although B. sighed. Although C. sighed; Although

8. Mike has terrible eating habits when he opened his lunch bag, we saw a bag of potato chips, two candy bars, cellophane-wrapped cupcakes, and a carton of chocolate milk.

A. habits, when B. habits, but when C. habits; when

9. While flirting on the phone with the satellite dish salesman, Rose forgot about the omelet cooking in the kitchen, she did not expect the stovetop fire that filled the house with smoke.

A. kitchen she B. kitchen, so she C. kitchen, consequently; she

10. Several students sat sneezing and sniffling in their seats, Jason always wore too much cologne, and allergic reactions kicked into high gear as the odor wafted through the classroom.

A. seats Jason B. seats, and Jason C. seats. Jason

11. Sandra spent every dime on her vacation to Cancun, Mexico, where she went shopping,

dancing, swimming, and sightseeing, she doesn't care that her rent will be late and that she will have to eat macaroni and cheese for a week.

A. sightseeing she B. sightseeing, nevertheless, she C. sightseeing; she

12. The terrified passengers aboard the 747 gripped their armrests as the jet bucked in a bad stretch of turbulence after a ride like this one, everyone knew that five minutes on Disney's Space Mountain would feel like relaxing in a rocking chair.

A. turbulence, after B. turbulence; After C. turbulence. After

13. Richard squeezed, thumped, and shook the empty shampoo bottle, hoping for a few drops to wash his dirty hair, since the bottle was completely empty, Richard worked up a lather with a few sprinkles of bathroom cleanser instead.

A. hair since B. hair; since C. hair, consequently, since

14. After the thunderstorm, Teresa splashed through the puddles left on the street, she enjoyed feeling the cool rainwater on her hot feet.

A. street she B. street, because she C. street, for she

15. Fred blew and blew on the globs of liquid white-out, but they refused to dry when the professor called time, Fred closed the cover of his exam book and hoped the pages wouldn't cement together.

A. dry, when B. dry; when C. dry, as a result, when

16. As Irene scooped stuffing out of the Thanksgiving turkey, she saw gold glinting from the breadcrumbs, finally, she had found her earring, which she had lost early that morning.

A. breadcrumbs finally B. breadcrumbs, finally at last C. breadcrumbs; finally

17. No foot powder, no shoe insert, no expensive soap can kill the odor of Bartholomew's feet, when he takes off his shoes, even the goldfish gag.

A. feet when B. feet. When C. feet, thus when

18. Ursula clutched her head, trying to remember the correct formula to solve the statistics problem, the only thing she could focus on, however, was the stupid fight she had in the car with her boyfriend, Mac.

A. problem the B. problem, consequently, the C. problem; the

19. Quang wants a degree in business administration, he fantasizes about yelling at future employees who are too afraid of losing their jobs to talk back.

A. administration he B. administration, because he C. administration since he

20. In Dr. Ribley's calculus class, Yi-Ping tapes every lecture and carefully rewrites her notes, she is planning to sell these guides to desperate freshmen next semester.

A. notes she B. notes, because she C. notes, for she


Name Date

Commas Exercise 1


Directions: Choose the option that will fix the comma error.

1. During lunch, at the campus cafeteria, Mildred noticed the dirty tables, the overworked cashiers, and the exorbitant price for a watery soda.

A. Should you remove the comma after lunch? B. Or should you remove the comma after cashiers?

2. Melissa couldnt study for her comma quiz, because she was joy riding on the Enterprise with

Mr. Spock, whom the US Air Force chased with its fastest jets.

A. Should you remove the comma after quiz? B. Or should you remove the comma after Mr. Spock?

3. The slimy smelly lettuce on my burrito made me ask the manager to return my 99 cents.

A. Should you add a comma after slimy? B. Or should you add a comma after burrito?

4. Sitting in the atrium, Marcus chatted pleasantly with a pretty student from his chemistry

class, but then he had to leave suddenly, because he noticed that he had only thirty seconds to get to Professor Spottkes English class on time.

A. Should you remove the comma after atrium? B. Or should you remove the comma after suddenly?

5. To study for his calculus midterm, Brian drank seven cups of strong Turkish coffee which

kept him wide awake for the all-nighter. A. Should you remove the comma after midterm? B. Or should you add a comma after coffee? 6. "Don't eat that pizza," warned Lisa. "It's over two weeks old ", she then explained. A. Should the comma after pizza follow the quotation marks? B. Or should the comma after old precede the quotation marks? 7. Fifteen uncooked popcorn kernels, and a few grains of salt littered the front of Robert's shirt

as he slouched in the theater seat. A. Should you add a comma after fifteen? B. Or should you remove the comma after kernels?

8. Swinging at the fast ball, Bobbie heard, the satisfying crack of the home run that he had just hit.

A. Should you remove the comma after ball? B. Or should you remove the comma after heard? 9. Karen wasn't sure if she needed a comma or not so she drew in a smudge that could pass

for a comma or a stray pen mark. A. Should you add a comma after not? B. Or should you use a comma after comma? 10. Maricarmen bought a new dictionary, so that she could proofread for spelling errors on her

next in-class essay. A. Should you remove the comma after dictionary? B. Or should you add a comma after errors? 11. Last weekend, Brenda had time to wash clothes. The dishes, however were piled all over the

kitchen counter and in the sink. A. Should you add a comma after however? B. Or should you add a comma after counter? 12. "Don't give me that look Marlin," warned Mrs. Clemmons, who held his paycheck in her

hand. A. Should you add a comma after look? B. Or should you remove the comma after Mrs. Clemmons? 13. Winning the lottery would create more headaches than the money is worth but Fred still

buys a ticket every week. A. Should you add a comma after lottery? B. Or should you add a comma after worth? 14. Thumbing through the s section of the dictionary, Harold tried to find, the correct spelling of

psychology, but the word eluded him despite his careful search. A. Should you remove the comma after find? B. Or should you remove the comma after psychology? 15. Oreo, a "barkless" basenji will scream like a human child if we don't feed her pizza crust

quickly enough. A. Should you add a comma after basenji? B. Or should you add a comma after child?

16. Coffee brewed on the counter top and bacon fried on the stove. Snuggling under the covers

for a few more moments of sleep, Clyde relished his first Saturday free from work. A. Should you add a comma after top? B. Or should you remove the comma after sleep?

17. At the bakery where she worked, Denise happily took one order after another, enjoying the fast pace of Sunday afternoon. Orville, on the other hand had a killer headache from the constant noise and flood of hungry customers.

A. Should you remove the comma after another? B. Or should you add a comma after hand? 18. Christine removed her glasses, so that the world would dissolve into a blur. If she couldn't

see the mound of homework before her, she could pretend that it didn't exist. A. Should you remove the comma after glasses? B. Or should you remove the comma after her? 19. David looked in his cereal bowl and gasped in surprise. When his mother came running from

the kitchen, David explained "Something just dove under the flakes!" A. Should you remove the comma after kitchen? B. Or should you add a comma after explained? 20. Deepa slaved over her essay so she expected a good grade when Ms. Richards returned the

papers. The A on the last page confirmed for Deepa that hard work does pay off. A. Should you put a comma after essay? B. Or should you put a comma after page?


Name Date

Commas Exercise 2


Directions: Choose the option that corrects an error in the underlined portion(s). If no error exists, choose No change is necessary. 1. In the crevices between the bathroom tiles, mold sprouts as opportunistically as A B

weeds do in the cracks, of sidewalks. C

A. crevices, between B. tiles mold C. cracks of D. No change is necessary.

2. Diane couldnt concentrate on General Hospital, because Santana, her beagle who had A B

been cooped up in the house all day, wanted to take a long walk around the lake. C

A. General Hospital because B. Santana her C. day wanted D. No change is necessary.

3. The blue, creamy frosting from the cupcake hung like a stalactite at the tip of poor Georges A B

nose, causing Michelle to giggle uncontrollably. C

A. blue creamy B. hung, like C. nose causing D. No change is necessary.

4. Anthony wanted fried chicken for lunch, but the cafeteria offered only greenish

A meatballs with overcooked noodles, and crispy meatloaf with lumpy mashed potatoes. B C A. lunch but B. meatballs, with C. noodles and D. No change is necessary.

5. To clean up the kitchen more quickly, Maria let Romeo, the familys German A

shepherd prewash the dishes with his fat, pink tongue. B C A. quickly Maria B. shepherd, prewash C. fat pink D. No change is necessary.

6. Dont let the cat out, warned my roommate Beatrice. Yesterday, he brought home A

another dead squirrel, she then explained to me. B C

A. out, warned B. squirrel, she C. explained, to D. No change is necessary.

7. An unswept driveway and overgrown lawn make the house on the corner look A B

deserted but the truth is that the family living there loathes yard work. C

A. driveway, and B. house, on C. deserted, but D. No change is necessary.

8. Swimming in cloudy water, the goldfish peered through the dirty, aquarium glass, hoping A B

that today Fred would remember to sprinkle some food into the tank. C A. water the B. dirty aquarium C. remember, to D. No change is necessary.

9. Simon needed a dollar for a soda but discovered that his wallet was empty, so he gave the A B

machine a hard kick, hoping to dislodge a bottle for free. C

A. Pepsi, but B. empty so C. bottle, for D. No change is necessary.

10. Rhonda remembered to grab a jacket before she left the house, so that she wouldnt freeze A B

for fifty minutes in College Algebra. C

A. remembered, to B. house so C. minutes, in D. No change is necessary.

11. Five, steaming bowls of squid eyeball stew sat on the buffet table. Cassandra didnt want A

to be a pig, but the smell was so appetizing that she took two just for herself. B C A. Five steaming B. pig but C. appetizing, that D. No change is necessary.

12. Take that comma out, whispered Crystal, who saw Tamara making a mistake on the quiz. A B

You need to put it after the next word she then advised. C

A. out whispered B. Tamara, making C. word, she D. No change is necessary.

13. Dr. Grayson, who enjoys belittling students pointed a long, bony finger at Charlotte and A B

began to explain why Charlottes comment about the French Revolution was hopelessly and C completely wrong. A. students, pointed B. long bony C. hopelessly, and D. No change is necessary.

14. Larrys crumpled smelly laundry piled on the chair caused his neat-freak sister A B

Samantha so much frustration that she washed the clothes for her lazy brother. C

A. crumpled, smelly B. chair, caused C. frustration, that D. No change is necessary.

15. After I saw a cockroach peeking out of my burrito, one restaurant that I no longer A B

recommend is Titos Taco Palace, on West Summerland. C

A. cockroach, peeking B. restaurant, that C. Palace on D. No change is necessary.

16. Ricky stuffed his wad of money in a sock hidden in the hamper, so that Mark, his A B

freeloading roommate, wouldnt start begging for a loan. C

A. sock, hidden B. hamper so C. roommate wouldnt D. No change is necessary.

17. Hair clung to all the seat cushions, and dog snot smeared the glass of the living room A

windows. Bones, stuffed toys, and tennis balls littered the floor. Exhausted from their day B of play, Oreo, and Skeeter slept soundly on the loveseat, waiting for their owners to return. C A. cushions and B. toys and C. Oreo and D. No change is necessary.

18. Sweetheart, you better get your girlfriend a better Valentines gift than that cheap box of A

chocolates, warned Mrs. Smith, Clarences mother. B C

A. Sweetheart you B. chocolates", warned C. Smith Clarences D. No change is necessary.

19. Louisa had to go food shopping for her cat had nothing to eat except the expensive canned A B

tuna that Louisa didnt want to waste on a pet. C

A. shopping, for B. eat, except C. tuna, that D. No change is necessary.

20. When Sam saw the zero at the top of his comma quiz, he scratched his head in A

puzzlement, because he had studied for hours. Then he realized the problemhe had B forgotten to use pencil to mark the bubble sheet! C A. quiz he B. puzzlement because C. pencil, to D. No change is necessary.


Name Date

Commas Exercise 3

This handout accompanies Exercise 3 of Grammar Bytes! Get the answers by doing the interactive version of the exercise at this address: http://chompchomp.com/exercises.htm Directions: Read the items below. If you believe a comma belongs in a box, then add a comma. If you believe no punctuation is necessary, put an X in the box.

1. "Don't worry honey said Mom. "If Rocky doesn't come home we'll go to the

humane society and pick out another cat."

2. If you need a memo typed in a hurry you should take it to Sharon who has the fastest

fingers of anyone in the office.

3. After catching enough trout for both dinner and breakfast we let Bobby scale and

gut the fish because he doesn't mind the dirty job.

4. The difficult calculus problems made Setha's head hurt so badly that the aspirin

she took did little to relieve the throbbing.

5. Desperate for a snack to take to school Willie put a ripe mushy banana in his book

bag but soon discovered that it soaked his dictionary with sweet-smelling slime.

6. Sophia a conscientious student spent two hours every day studying for the algebra

midterm. Marvin on the other hand wrote all of the important formulae on his thigh

before the exam.

7. Arden wanted to give his old crutches to Kathy who had sprained an ankle after a

misstep on the stairs but his wife was using them to stake tomatoes in the garden.

8. The fire alarm began to whine startling everyone in the room but Mr. Chambless

continued to lecture about economic theory ignoring the possibility that flames might

be licking the hallway walls.

9. Even though Cornelius had spent the entire evening practicing his speech in front of a

mirror he had less confidence than Beatrice whose theater experience prepared her

for performing in front of an audience.

10. After the ride on the fast terrifying roller coaster Deirdre decided to avoid eating any

other heavy greasy foods at the fair.

11. Valerie spent hours vacuuming and dusting the interior of her new car. All the while she

knew the chores were useless since Toby her big and hairy mutt insisted on riding

everywhere with her.

12. Sitting at the sticky crumb-covered cafeteria table Luther and Ruth carefully studied

their chemistry notes so that Dr. Wilson's next tricky test wouldn't confuse them.

13. Starving after three hours of basketball practice Julius went straight to his sister's

bathroom for he knew Annette kept a bag of corn chips hidden behind the toilet paper

underneath the sink.

14. Unable to sleep in the hot room Robert grabbed his pillow and blanket went

outside and stretched out on a lawn chair to enjoy the evening breeze.

15. Allowing even a small dog to sleep on the bed can cause problems for in the night the

animal will slowly uncurl and steal more than its fair share of pillows blanket and

mattress.

16. Tasting the air with its tongue the snake lay on the warm concrete enjoying the

mild spring day and meaning no one any harm.

17. Diane promised herself that she would eat only three caramel candies but her fingers

kept digging into the bag pulling out another treat unwrapping the cellophane and

popping the chewy square into her mouth.

18. Stacked on the desk huge piles of books and printed web pages lay ignored by

Josephine who should have turned in her research paper two days ago.

19. Because Shawn is so tall he must keep the driver's seat almost fully reclined so that his

head doesn't bump the roof of his small car. When he can afford it he plans to buy a

convertible so that he doesn't have to worry about a roof at all.

20. Despite three cups of coffee Danny could not keep his eyes open for another one of Dr.

O'Sullivan's long dreary lectures on Egyptian pharaohs. So he doodled in his notebook

wishing that he had chosen a different class to satisfy his history requirement.


Name Date

Commas Exercise 4

This handout accompanies Exercise 4 of Grammar Bytes! Get the answers by doing the interactive version of the exercise at this address: http://chompchomp.com/exercises.htm Directions: Read the sentences below. If you believe a comma belongs in a box, then add a comma. If you believe no punctuation is necessary, put an X in the box. 1. Chad hopes to play professional football in the future so he regularly works out at the

gym where he lifts weights, runs laps, drinks vitamin-enriched smoothies and ogles pretty

girls as he gets strong and fast for tryouts.

2. "Quickly Annabelle put your notes away warned Ms. Simmons as she passed out

the quiz. Annabelle did as she was asked for she had all of the comma rules written on her

wrists.

3. On the way to American Lit Drew saw Marc the most handsome man in calculus so

she risked missing the lecture to chat with him in the cafeteria.

4. Whenever Maria needs to study she sits in the garage. She cannot study in the house

because her children watch television with the volume on high. In addition the phone rings

constantly with new juicy gossip from her sisters.

5. "Well done " said Professor Bekas who had just finished grading Samilia's comma

quiz. With the extra credit points that Samilia had earned in class she scored a 117.

6. Perched on the seats like human passengers seven fat sheep accompanied a farmer to

market. Joe sitting across the aisle wished that he had biked to downtown Manila

instead of riding the overcrowded smelly bus.

7. To get an A on his biology quiz Francisco drew and labeled frog parts on his wrist

so that he could surreptitiously check his answers when Dr. Keiper wasn't looking.

8. Because Sarah has chemistry at the other end of campus she must run to her 10 a.m.

class ignoring all of her friends who try to greet her on the way.

9. My friend Harry who lives alone only goes food shopping if a hurricane is about to hit

the area or if he's down to using dish soap as shampoo.

10. Whenever Maria is housecleaning she tunes the radio to her favorite salsa station

sings and dances while she dusts and vacuums.

11. Laverne knows that she is in big trouble because she has turned in neither of her

essays for Mr. Beane who has no patience for late work excuses or apologies.

12. To get on Mrs. Markham's good side Jason brought his teacher her favorite dish

delicious chocolate-broccoli muffins with green cream cheese frosting.

13. On a dare Michael spent the night in the Finklestein's abandoned house which has

inspired stories of ghosts who will suck out a persons eyes and eat them like grapes.

14. Oreo my black and white basenji puppy loves to chase the cat around the house

and lick dry the legs of anyone stepping out of the shower.

15. Because Gloria is such a picky housekeeper she inspects any dishwashing that her

roommate Delores does checking, for example that all the lipstick has been removed

from the rims of cups and glasses.

16. Ignoring his burning tongue and fingers Frankie sipped the steaming sugar-loaded

coffee as he tried to warm up after four hours of snow skiing in subzero weather.

17. Dustin loves internet auctions so he spends hours on eBay where he bids on comic

books antique milk bottles and unicorn figurines to add to his collections.

18. Lying on the coffee table were Casey's school books the ones he needed to complete his

homework. Unfortunately the TV remote also lay beside them so Casey spent the

evening channel surfing instead of preparing for his Tuesday classes.

19. Nancy discarded one dress after another as she prepared for her first date with Ray.

Across town Ray threw on a wrinkled dirty T-shirt and old jeans completely

unconcerned about the first impression he would make.

20. Baking in the hot sun Rachel swatted biting mosquitoes wiped sweat from her face

and rubbed her sore arms as she cleared the overgrown thorny bushes along the fence

line.


Tom wont eat in the cafeteria , baked under the cheese of his pizza .

because he found a cockroach

Take out the trash . , " before the dog gets in it "

Mom ordered

that the roof doesnt blow off , Tina sits on the sofa and hopes .

when a thunderstorm is crashing overhead

Name Date

Commas Exercise 5


Directions: Put the parts of the sentence in order. You must use all words and punctuation marks. Write your answer on the lines provided. 1.

2.

3.

loves and . shredding magazines my dog Oreo unfortunately

chewing on sofa arms ,

Joe ! out of your nose get those straws ,

my friend Maggie has decided to sell her stove to buy textbooks , ,

who microwaves all her meals .

with her boyfriend Ernest a nose picker and his little sister . ,

Shaccara went to Red Lobster

4.

5.

6.

7.

but found Marios car already parked in the driveway . to beg forgiveness

, Alex drove to his girlfriend Nadias house

Elliot decided to eat at Titos Taco Palace

of his roommates awful tuna casserole , so that he could avoid another evening

. searching for money

as her cat purred on her lap Olivia enjoyed an hour of television

sipping hot tea

. ,

from Jerrid who loved to stomp the poor reptiles flat

scampering off the hot sidewalk

.

the lizards found safety

8.

9.

10.

11.

, ,

for she had once broken a leg in a fall from that very same oak .

to get out of the tree Beverly warned her brother Tim

began meowing like a mother cat and Maurice opened a can of tuna fish

. to entice the kitten off the roof

slurping spaghetti noisily

Melissa did not realize the poor impression that she was making on Justin

her date .

to get an extension on his research essay

. his instructor

Dante brought brownies to Mrs. Mauzy

who loved any combination of chocolate and nuts

12.

13.

14.

15.

,

,

, ,

, , ,

. that was holding one ear piece in place Tiffany took off her glasses

so that Michael would notice her beautiful eyes instead of the tape before flashing a smile

Barry . please try to sit still while I trim your bangs

spider webs snatched at her hair and

as Karen searched the abandoned house

for empty bottles .

insects scurried from her path

bought a can of tuna fish . distracted as usual Judith but

forgot the mayonnaise jar was empty

16.

17.

18.

19.

,

, ,

, ,

,

his girlfriend

. scanning his inbox Gloria Harold hoped to find an email from 20.


,

,

Name Date

Fragments Exercise 1

This handout accompanies Exercise 1 of Grammar Bytes! Get the answers by doing the interactive version of the exercise at this address: http://chompchomp.com/exercises.htm Directions: Read each short passage that follows. Determine which part is the fragment

1. A Maria wasn't watching her plate of barbecue very carefully. B So Santana, the family beagle,

snatched a chicken leg hanging over the edge. C As baked beans and potato salad slid onto

Maria's new sandals.

2. A Ever since Andre peeked at Melissa's paper during the biology exam. B Guilt has consumed

him. C Even the blueberries floating in his cereal bowl seem like the accusing eyes of Dr.

Gregory, his microbiology instructor.

3. A James opened the door of his cluttered refrigerator. B Which caused a pint of blueberries to

fall to the floor. C The fruit bounced and rolled everywhere in an explosion of indigo.

4. A Richie loves to walk his friends' dogs at Lake Eola Park. B For example, Kim's Labrador

retriever Murphy or Gary's bulldog Kembo. C Beautiful women, Richie has learned, gravitate

toward guys with cute dogs.

5. A Head down, Lela stared at the textbook on her desk. B She understood the fragment practice

that Mrs. Markham was going over in class. C But was too shy to raise her hand and volunteer

an answer.

6. A Joshua found the pressure from the gas in his stomach unbearable. B Although he didn't want

to be rude in the middle of geology class. C An explosive belch erupted from his mouth.

7. A Phillip left work early. B To memorize the vocabulary that his Spanish midterm would test the

next day. C But all that he could think about was Beatrice, the cute new sales associate who

worked in the camera department.

8. A Chewing the dry, tough, whole-grain bread bought from the health food store. B Lorena tried

to enjoy her lunch. C Fantasizing about a juicy cheeseburger on a soft white bun didn't improve

the taste of the soy product sandwiched between leaves of organic lettuce.

9. A My cat Fuzz loves to sleep in inconvenient places. B Lately she prefers the computer table.

C Where her long hair sticks to the mouse pad, covers the keyboard, and clings to the screen of

the monitor.

10. A Rocking and thrashing like a wild horse that cowboys had lassoed. B The washer complained

about its overloaded tub. C At the other end of the laundromat, Bobby quietly read an old

magazine, pretending that it was not his machine.

11. A Day after day, thunderclouds rolled in during the early afternoon. B Making Madison's grass

thrive from all of the water. C Her neighbors, however, prayed for a sunny afternoon so that

Madison could finally mow the jungle that was the front yard.

12. A While cleaning under his bed, Glen heard the vacuum cleaner suck up something hard and

metallic. B Glen wanted to know what the object was. C But had no intention of digging through

a bag of dust, dead bugs, cat litter, and bathroom hair to find out.

13. A Farah woke Kirby, the family's ancient German shepherd. B To see if he had fallen asleep on

the remote control. C The growl that Kirby rumbled in protest convinced Farah to use the

channel buttons on the front of the television instead.

14. A Raja knew that his roommate Tina had cupcakes hidden in the apartment. B He looked

everywhere. C Including in the clothes hamper, on top of the bookcases, behind the sofa

even under his own bed!all to no avail.

15. A Peering around the other students in line, Sylvia tried to see the lunch choices. B The

cafeteria selections were disappointing. C For example, greasy fried chicken, soupy sweet-n-

sour pork, and a gray mystery meat floating in translucent, lumpy gravy.

16. A Struggling up three flights of stairs, her arms filled with the heavy texts for four classes, her

backpack loaded with notebooks and other supplies. B Jamala huffed and puffed. C Never

again would she register for all of her classes back-to-back on the same days of the week.

17. A As quietly as possible, Sherri tried to open the one-pound bag of candy on her lap. B Finally,

the tough plastic split open. C Causing an explosion of chocolate balls that bounced and rolled

down the aisles of Dr. Wilson's chemistry class.

18. A Each morning when Helene is fixing her hair in the bathroom. B She applies many sticky hair

products. C During a typical day, she catches more bugs in her coif than most spiders manage

to land in their webs in a week.

19. A Ralph spent all of his savings on a diamond ring to give to his girlfriend Melanie. B A greedy

young woman who had a box full of expensive trinkets from ex-boyfriends. C Melanie was

always looking for the man with the fattest wallet.

20. A Emily pounded on the bedroom door, demanding a little quiet so that she could study for her

physics midterm. B Her sister Amy ignored the request. C And continued banging on the drum

set that she bought at a garage sale.


Name Date


This handout accompanies Exercise 2 of Grammar Bytes! Get the answers by doing the interactive version of the exercise at this address: http://chompchomp.com/exercises.htm Directions: Read each short passage that follows. Determine which part is the fragment.

1. A While Cynthia dressed for her sister's wedding, Murphy, the golden retriever, ate the straps

off the only shoes that matched Cynthia's pale blue dress. B Her replacement options were

inappropriate. C Like rubber flip-flops, running shoes, fuzzy pink rabbit slippers, or brown

leather pumps.

2. A When Will stepped out of the shower, he panicked. B Realizing that all of his underwear

was still in the washing machine. C Damp jockey shorts were not a good way to start his day.

3. A Joey idolizes his older brother David. B Combing his hair in the style that David wears,

drinking coffee black with five sugars, and giving teachers the same lame excuses for late

homework. C As a consequence, everyone calls Joey David by mistake!

4. A While thunder boomed in the distance, Margaret started off on her daily five-mile run.

B Confident that she had plenty of time before the storm arrived. C Wet hair and clothes

plastered to her body proved that she couldn't outpace Mother Nature.

5. A Whenever Coach Moody sees behavior that she doesn't likeeither on or off the court.

B The members of the girls' basketball team pay during the next practice. C When Frankie

was caught smooching her boyfriend Larry in the hallway, everyone had to run two extra

miles that afternoon.

6. A Making his anxious students relax would have required very little effort. B Like a smile when

he walked into class or a "Good job" written at the bottom of an essay. C Professor Marshall

refused to do more than scowl and read from his yellowed lecture notes.

7. A Marcus has no consideration for the ecosystem rich with life in his backyard. B When he

cuts the lawn, he slows for nothing. C As toads, lizards, and insects jump to the sanctuary of

bushes to avoid the deadly mower blades.

8. A Each morning, Darren adds guava juice, raw egg, protein powder, raisins, and sardines to a

blender. B After mixing these ingredients on high for a few seconds, he has breakfast. C A

drink that will give him plenty of energy and shiny hair.

9. A Horrified, Sherri stared at her reflection in the mirror. B Hair sticking out in seventeen

different directions, a spot of whipped cream on her chin, and a green pen mark across her

nose. C Why hadn't her friends at the table mentioned her disarray?

10. A Lying awake in the dark room, staring up at the shadows that danced across the ceiling.

B Jason worried about the shuffling and thumps that he heard outside. C Raccoonsnot

hungry zombies with grabbing armswere prowling behind the house.

11. A Like amber honey, Helene's long hair dripped over her shoulders and spilled down her

back. B Styling products, moreover, made the tresses as sticky as pancake syrup.

C Catching pieces of thread, feathers, dust, and even an occasional insect that buzzed too

close.

12. A While eating the plate of sesame chicken, Maria was thankful for her skill with chopsticks.

B Eating utensils that required only one hand to use. C For Maria's left hand was pinned to the

booth by Hunter, her five-year-old son who lay sleeping after a long day of shopping at the

mall.

13. A To stay awake for a long evening of chemistry homework. B Beth made a huge pot of

coffee. C Unfortunately, her heart beat so fast and her legs jiggled so violently that the poor

girl couldn't concentrate.

14. A Diane picked at the slice of cheesecake with her car keys. B While Nick sucked whipped

cream off his fingers. C Horrified, Rachel watched her roommates decimate the dessert that

she had spent three hours preparing.

15. A Cringing with anxiety at the grade that she might find. B Nancy peeked at the last page of

the essay. C The big red A sent waves of relief radiating through her body.

16. A Jonathon often tries to shock his English teacher, Mrs. Mauzy, with weird paper topics.

B Such as eating tarantulas or wearing women's underwear. C Mrs. Mauzy remains

nonplussed, scandalized only by the number of fragments in Jonathon's essays.

17. A To save enough money to pay tuition, Tanisha keeps a strict budget. B She never carries

more than three dollars in her wallet. C To avoid making impulse purchases like a pizza or

CD that will cause her to come up short when registration begins.

18. A To keep the cat from sleeping on her new convertible's canvas top. B Kim leaves the

garden hose out. C Like a gunslinger in a Western, she "duels" with Rocky, the family's

orange tom, who hisses as vehemently as the forceful spray of water.

19. A Dr. Gregory surveyed the auditorium full of nervous, sweating biochemistry students. B Her

gaze often stopped on Bryan. C Whose test anxiety manifested in the loud popping of his

knuckles and the high-speed bouncing of his left leg.

20. A To save money on a haircut that he badly needed. B Raja let Tina, his roommate and an

aspiring stylist, trim his shaggy head. C Honestly, a blender or a weed whacker could have

done a better job!


Name Date


This handout accompanies Exercise 3 of Grammar Bytes! Get the answers by doing the interactive

version of the exercise at this address: http://chompchomp.com/exercises.htm

Directions: Find and fix the fragments in the passage below. 1Marina, the beautiful mermaid, wanted some tuna salad. 2But had a small problem since she

was allergic to celery. 3At Sammys Sub Shop, Marina hoped to find tuna salad free of this dangerous

vegetable. 4Flopping across the tiled floor to the counter. 5Marina placed her order and then

checked her sandwich for celery. 6Not noticing, however, the spoiled mayonnaise. 7At five o'clock

that evening, Marina became violently ill with food poisoning. 8When a lifeguard at the beach

discovered the problem, he called 911. 9Even though the mermaid had fishy breath. 10A handsome

paramedic gave her mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. 11Wailing like a sick dog, the ambulance sped off

to the hospital. 12Where the doctor on call refused to treat a sea creature with a scaly tail. 13A kind

nurse, however, had more sympathy. 14After she found some Pepto-Bismol. 15Marina drank the

entire bottle of pink liquid, feeling an immediate improvement. 16The mermaid told the rude doctor

never to swim in the ocean. 17For she would order hungry sharks to bite off the doctor's legs. 18While

sharp-clawed crabs plucked out his eyes. 19Tossing her long hair, Marina thanked the nurse for the

Pepto-Bismol. 20And took a mint from David, the handsome paramedic.


Name Date


This handout accompanies Exercise 4 of Grammar Bytes! Get the answers by doing the interactive version of the exercise at this address: http://chompchomp.com/exercises.htm Directions: Choose the option that correctly identif

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