PUBLICATION AND EDITING (COMM 14)

DIAGNOSTIC TEST (ORAL)

Using Correct Grammar, Usage and Punctuation

Name: _____________________________________________________________________

Subject and Verb Agreement

1. An introvert and an extrovert rarely (made, make) good partners.

2. His friend and partner (are, is) very patient.

3. John, as well as Jim, (are, is) going to play on the team.

4. The order form, in addition to a money order, (is, are, will be) required.

5. Mary, as well as her mother, (is, are) on the guest list.

6. Mary or her sisters (are, is) going to keep the appointment.

7. Neither John nor his children (is, are, will be) required to attend.

8. Neither John nor his son (is, are) going fishing today.

9. Either Jim or Jack (is, are) to be at the stadium by 1 p.m.

10. Neither the boys nor the girls (are, is) are doing well on the agility test.

11. The last two innings of the game (are, were, is, was) dull.

12. Three-fourths of the students (are, is) prepared for college.

13. Three-fourths of a cup of water (are, is) needed in the recipe.

14. Each student (has, have, is, are) lunch money.

15. Everyone (have, has, is, are) lunch money.

16. No one (has, have, is, are) money for lunch.

17. Much (have, is, are, has) been written about grammar.

18. Someone (is, are, will) going to meet us at the airport.

19. John and Mary each (are, is) scheduled to meet with the president of the company.
 20. The team (is, are) going to compete for the championship.

21. The team (were, are, is, was) arguing about their individual playing assignments and the
selection of a captain.

22. The couple (was, were) married yesterday and left on their honeymoon. ______ (supply a
pronoun) will return home next week.

23. Each couple (are, is) going to buy a ticket.

24. The couple (is, are) planning to attend the banquet.

A couple (are, is) planning to attend.

25. The number of convictions (is, are) increasing.

26. A number of people (were, was) convicted on those charges.

27. The majority (has, have) voted for Jones.

28. A majority of citizens (agreed, agree, agrees) that the laws should be enforced.

29. Statistics (are, is) required course for business majors.

30. Politics (are, is) not an exact science.

Noun and Pronoun Agreement

1. John introduced Mary, whom/who he planned to marry, to his mother.

2. I asked for ______ money.

3. He asked for _______ money.

4. The woman said _______ would complete in the race.

5. The women asked that _______ be given equal pay for equal work.

6. The team defended __________ championship.

7. Either of the boys should receive _______ prize.

8. Each of the girls received _______ invitation in the mail.

9. All of the students have _________ pencils.

 10. Neither Mary nor John has applied for _______ visa.

11. Neither John nor Mary has applied for _______ visa.

12. A journalist should edit _________ copy carefully.

Reflexive and Intensive Pronouns

1. The store manager __________ waited on customers.

2. I _________ don’t mind working hard.

3. John injured _____________.

Pronoun Case

1. To ________ should we address the letter?

2. He gave advice to ___________ asked for it.

3. Jones, _________ I always thought was unapproachable, gave me advice.

4. ________ gun is this?

5. They declared the culprit to be _________.

6. __________ going to ride in our car?

Essential and Nonessential Clauses

1. This is the car (that, which) won the race.

2. John Smith’s 1991 Ford, (that, which) won the race last weekend, is for sale.

Possessive Nouns

1. for appearance’ sake (correct, wrong)

for conscience’ sake (correct, wrong)

2. the hostess’s invitation (correct, wrong) the hostess’s standards (correct, wrong)

3. the witness’s testimony (correct, wrong) the witness’s story (correct, wrong)
Sequence of Tenses

1. The senate passed the tax bill, (defeat, defeated) the food stamp proposal and (send, sent)
the defense measure back to the appropriations committee.

2. The senate defeated the food stamp proposal, which (have been approved, had been
approved, has been approved) by the House of Representatives.

3. The Senate sent the defense measure back to the committee, where it (should be
amended, will be amended, would be amended).

Irregular Verb Forms

Present Past Present Participle Past Participle

awake awakening

was (were) been

broadcast

burst bursting

cling

drink drank

drove driven

drown drowning

fly flying

fly (for a baseball)

forsook forsaking

went gone

hanged (execute) hanging

hang (hang a picture) hanging

Present Past Present Participle Past Participle

hit hitting

lay (to place) lying

led

lie (recline) lying

meant

risen

shake

shone shining

shrink

strove striving

spring

swore swearing

torn

woven

wring

Subjunctive Mood

1. If I (was, were) president of the company, I (will, would) give workers a salary increase.

2. If Jennifer (were, was) in shape to run faster, the coach (would, will) not have asked that I
(ran, run) the final leg of the relay.

Misplaced and Dangling Modifiers

1. Running down the road, I felt my nose (got, getting) cold.

 2. As a member of the Congress, I want to get your views on alleged violations by some of
your colleagues.
Revise:________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________.

3. What is the meaning of each sentence?

She was only a lawyer.

She was the only a lawyer.
He gave the hungry children only money.
He gave only the hungry children money.
He gave the hungry children the only money.

Double Negatives

1. She never hardly studies. ________________________________________ (Revise)

2. She hardly ever studies. _________________________________________ (Revise)

3. The store doesn’t have but one brand.

____________________________________________________________ (Revise)

4. The store has but one brand. _______________________________________ (Revise)

5. It is not impermissible to use negative adjectives. ______________________________

______________________________________________________________ (Revise)

6. Workers cannot help but feel the effect of the wage freeze. _______________________
______________________________________________________________ (Revise)

Parallel Construction

Make the sentences parallel.

1. Cardiovascular health is promoted by exercising frequently and a good diet.

____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________

2. Velcro is popular for fastening shoes and to keep compartments in handbags shut.
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________

3. Congress passed the tax-reform legislation, but the minimum-wage increase was
defeated. ________________________________________________________________
 ________________________________________________________________________

4. He was charged with drunken driving, carrying a weapon, resisting arrest and possession
of cocaine. ______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________

5. She not only sold some of her possessions, she took a second job to earn money to pay
the hospital bills. _________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________

6. They elected him because of his knowledge, honesty and because he was personally
appealing. _______________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________

Punctuation

1. Go to the parking lot and get on the second bus which displays stadium as its destination.

2. The doctor who is my sister will see you now.

3. The coach said in his resignation letter it is with regret that I leave this university. We’ve
had a long successful run and I expect that my successor will maintain the winning
tradition of this great institution. It’s time for me to turn to other opportunities.

4. His mother on the other hand lived in New York City.

5. In the morning she will feed her cats.

6. Across the street lives my sister.

7. Despite its cost the children need the school lunch program. Mark Jane Doe

8. Out of date merchandise was on sale.

9. Jones attributed the delays to bad weather.

10. Our credibility is at stake here because we promised to have the job finished before July
1.

11. The city has committed $500,000 to the project private developers will also put money
into it.

12. The city has committed $500,000 to the project however, private developers will pay
most of the cost.