What the question looks like
The question reads: “Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?” Punctuation questions use the same wording, so look at the choices to tell them apart. On the questions this lesson covers, the words themselves change: a A word for what something does or is, such as carry or seem., a A word like “it” or “they” that stands in for a noun., an apostrophe, or the order of a few words, as in grows / grow / growing / has grown.
If the words stay the same and only a The mark , which separates parts of a sentence., The mark ; which joins two complete sentences., or A long mark used alone before an explanation or in pairs around an added detail. changes, you’re on a punctuation question. That includes choices that move “however” around along with its commas. Boundaries covers those.
Only one choice follows the rules, and the wrong ones often read just as smoothly. This lesson gives you a quick check for each rule and links to the lesson that covers it in full.
Working through a question
The Alder Falls library was built in 1910 with money from three local mills. While it is closed for repairs this spring, ______ collection of old maps will be kept at the county archive.
- A.
its - B.
it’s - C.
their - D.
they’re
- Read the passage so you know what it says. The library is closing for a while, and its maps are going somewhere safe.
- Look at the choices and say what changes. Two things do. “Its” and “it’s” are for one thing, and “their” and “they’re” are for several. Two of the choices also have an apostrophe.
- Start with the faster check. For the apostrophe, read the long form in the blank. “It is collection” and “they are collection” make no sense, so B and D are out.
- If two choices are left, find what still differs between them and check that. A and C differ in one or several, so find the noun the word stands for. Whose collection is it? It’s the library’s, and there’s one library, so the answer is “its.”
- Read the sentence once more with your answer in it: “While it is closed for repairs this spring, its collection of old maps will be kept at the county archive.”
The answer is A. C is the one that pulls, because “repairs” and “mills” are plural and sit close to the blank. Neither of them owns the maps.
When a verb changes
When the choices are forms of one verb, check whether it goes with one thing or several (is / are), when it happens (planted / has planted / will plant), and whether it can be the sentence’s verb at all (counts / counting / to count). Some sets change two of these at once.
To check one or several, find the subject. Cover the words between it and the blank, such as a A stretch of words without its own subject and verb. “In the north yard” is one. starting with “of,” and read the subject straight into the verb.
Trap: Matched to the nearest noun
“The box of old letters are heavy.” “Are” sounds right after “letters,” but it’s the box that’s heavy.
What to do: Cover “of old letters” and read “The box is heavy.”
The subject can also come after the verb, as when a sentence opens with a place.
The verb matches its subject, even when the subject comes after it.
- Right
- Near the entrance stand two stone lions.
- Wrong
- Near the entrance stands two stone lions.
The subject is “two stone lions.” Flip the sentence to check: “Two stone lions stand near the entrance.”
Subject-verb agreement covers the harder cases, such as “each” and two subjects joined by “and.”
For the time, look for a year, “since,” “each spring,” or the other verbs in the paragraph. Say the time in plain words before you pick. The cue can sit a sentence or two before the blank, so read the whole paragraph.
Trap: The wrong time
“Since 2015, the city planted 4,000 trees.” The planting started in the past, so “planted” slips by. But “since” runs from that date up to now.
What to do: Say the time in plain words. “Since 2015” means from 2015 until now, and that takes “has planted.”
Last, ask whether that part of the sentence already has its The verb that says what the subject does. In “The crew mapped the river,” it’s mapped.Read the lesson. If it doesn’t, pick a form that can be one, with a time built in, like “counts.” If it does, the blank usually takes an “-ing” or “to” form, and “to” is the one that gives a reason: “Volunteers walked the shore to count nests.”
Trap: No main verb
“The new survey counting every nest on the island.” “Counting” names the right action, but the sentence never says what the survey does.
What to do: Read the subject with the choice. If nothing else in that part of the sentence is the verb, pick a form like “counts.”
Verb tense and form has the rest on time and on verb forms, including two verbs joined by “and.”
Pronouns and apostrophes
For it / they or its / their, find the noun the pronoun stands for, called its The noun a pronoun stands for. In “The vault stayed shut until it was opened,” the “it” stands for the vault.Read the lesson, and match one or several. A group such as a committee or a company counts as one.
A pronoun matches the noun it stands for, even when that noun is a group of people.
- Right
- The committee announced its decision on Friday.
- Wrong
- The committee announced their decision on Friday.
A committee is made of people, so “their” sounds natural, but “committee” names one group.
For its / it’s or their / they’re, read the long form in the blank: “it is” (or “it has”) and “they are.” If the long form makes no sense, take the one without the apostrophe. Pronouns covers these and the other pronoun questions.
When the choices are one noun with the apostrophe moving around, as in pilots / pilot’s / pilots’, ask whether that word owns the thing after it. If it doesn’t, use no apostrophe. If it does, count the owners. One pilot’s notebook takes “’s,” and two pilots’ notebooks take the apostrophe after the “s.”
Trap: Ownership left off
“Both pilots notebooks were found in the cockpit.” Read aloud, it’s identical to the right answer, because “pilots” and “pilots’” sound the same.
What to do: Read it as “the notebooks belonging to both pilots.” If that’s what it means, the owners need an apostrophe: “pilots’.”
Plurals and possessives has the rest of the apostrophe rules.
When the words change order
Sometimes the sentence opens with a description and a comma, and the choices put about the same words in different orders. Then the question is who or what the opening words describe. That person or thing has to come right after the comma.
Trap: The opener left hanging
“Walking to school, a fox was spotted by Maya.” Maya is right there in the sentence, so it reads fine at first. The fox comes right after the comma, though, which makes the fox the one walking to school.
What to do: Before you read the choices, say who was walking to school: Maya. Take the choice that puts her right after the comma: “Walking to school, Maya spotted a fox.”
A name after “by” or before “’s” isn’t the subject. “Walking to school, Maya’s eye was caught by a fox” fails too, because now her eye is doing the walking.
Modifiers calls this a A describing phrase placed next to the wrong thing, as in “Walking home, the rain started,” where the rain seems to be walking.Read the lesson. It also covers openings that describe a thing instead of a person.
Which lesson to read next
Before you pick an answer, say which check chose it, such as “the subject is the box, so ‘is.’” If all you can say is that it sounds right, run the check again. The right answer sometimes sounds worse than a wrong one, like a verb for one thing right after a string of plural nouns.
When you miss one, the choice you picked tells you which lesson to read next.
| If you picked | Read |
|---|---|
| A verb that matched a nearby noun instead of the subject | Subject-verb agreement |
| A verb at the wrong time, or an “-ing” or “to” form where the sentence needed its main verb | Verb tense and form |
| “Their” for one thing, or “it’s” where “its” belonged | Pronouns |
| A plain plural where someone owned something, or the apostrophe on the wrong side of the “s” | Plurals and possessives |
| A choice that put the wrong thing right after the opening words and comma | Modifiers |
Practice
Work the three examples, saying what changes in the choices before you run the check. Then try five more. Their explanations call a form that can be the main verb a A verb that shows when something happens, like “carried” or “is.” Every sentence needs one, and forms like “to carry” or “carrying” don’t count.Read the lesson, and an “-ing” or “-ed” form used to describe something a The “-ing” or “-ed” form of a verb used to describe something. In “a box sealed in 1908,” it’s sealed.Read the lesson.
A research team observing garden spiders records temporary silk lines before each full web is built. Its analysis suggests that the arrangement of these lines ______ which locations offer adequate support for a finished web.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
- A
indicate
- B
indicating
- C
had indicated
- D
indicates
Show the answer
- A
indicate
“Indicate” incorrectly agrees with the nearby The form of a word that means more than one, like boxes. A word for a person, place, thing, or idea, like harbor or silence. “lines.” The The who or what a sentence is about. In “The vault held papers,” it’s the vault. is the The form of a word that means just one, like box. noun “arrangement,” so the A word for what something does or is, such as carry or seem. must be singular.
- B
indicating
“Indicating” is a The “-ing” or “-ed” form of a verb used to describe something. In “a box sealed in 1908,” it’s sealed.Read the lesson, so it leaves the A stretch of words with a subject and a verb in it. Both “the road reopened” and “because the road reopened” count.Read the lesson beginning with “the arrangement” without a A verb that shows when something happens, like “carried” or “is.” Every sentence needs one, and forms like “to carry” or “carrying” don’t count.Read the lesson.
- C
had indicated
“Had indicated” shifts to the past perfect, but the passage uses the present The time a verb shows, like the past in held or the future in will hold. and gives no earlier past event that would require the past perfect.
- D
indicates
Correct answerThe The form of a word that means just one, like box. A word for what something does or is, such as carry or seem. “indicates” agrees with the singular The who or what a sentence is about. In “The vault held papers,” it’s the vault. “arrangement.” It also matches the present-tense context established by “records” and “suggests.”
Solution
The The who or what a sentence is about. In “The vault held papers,” it’s the vault. of the blank is “arrangement,” a The form of a word that means just one, like box. A word for a person, place, thing, or idea, like harbor or silence.. The The form of a word that means more than one, like boxes. noun “lines” appears inside the A preposition and the noun that follows it. “After lunch” is one.Read the lesson “of these lines” and does not control the A word for what something does or is, such as carry or seem..
The sentence describes the research team’s findings in the present The time a verb shows, like the past in held or the future in will hold. with “records” and “suggests.” The singular present-tense verb “indicates” therefore completes the A stretch of words with a subject and a verb in it. Both “the road reopened” and “because the road reopened” count.Read the lesson: “the arrangement of these lines indicates which locations offer adequate support.”
A design team developing prosthetic hands asked several users to compare two thumb shapes while performing a series of everyday tasks. The team then reviewed all of those ______ comments to determine which shape offered a more comfortable grip on small objects.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
- A
users
- B
users’
- C
user’s
- D
us’ers
Show the answer
- A
users
“Users” is a bare The form of a word that means more than one, like boxes., so it does not show that the comments belong to the users.
- B
users’
Correct answerThe comments came from several users, so the The form of a word that means more than one, like boxes. The form of a word that shows ownership, like the crew’s log or its handle.Read the lesson “users’” correctly shows ownership.
- C
user’s
“User’s” is The form of a word that means just one, like box. The form of a word that shows ownership, like the crew’s log or its handle.Read the lesson, but the passage says that several users provided the comments.
- D
us’ers
“Us’ers” places the The mark in “don’t” and “the crew’s log,” which stands for missing letters or shows ownership.Read the lesson inside the The form of a word that means more than one, like boxes. A word for a person, place, thing, or idea, like harbor or silence.. For a plural noun ending in s, the apostrophe belongs after the final s.
Solution
The passage refers to “several users,” so the A word for a person, place, thing, or idea, like harbor or silence. must be The form of a word that means more than one, like boxes.. The comments belong to those users, so the noun must also be The form of a word that shows ownership, like the crew’s log or its handle.Read the lesson.
To form the possessive of the plural noun “users,” place an The mark in “don’t” and “the crew’s log,” which stands for missing letters or shows ownership.Read the lesson after its final s: “users’ comments.”
Researchers monitoring a wolf pack in a remote forest use location signals to follow its travels, including trips through dense vegetation where direct observation of the animals is difficult. Fitted around the necks of several adult wolves and set to operate even when the animals are resting beneath thick cover, ______
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
- A
location signals are transmitted at regular intervals by the collars.
- B
the collars’ transmission of location signals occurs at regular intervals.
- C
the transmission of location signals occurs at regular intervals through the collars.
- D
the collars transmit location signals at regular intervals.
Show the answer
- A
location signals are transmitted at regular intervals by the collars.
This creates a A describing phrase placed next to the wrong thing, as in “Walking home, the rain started,” where the rain seems to be walking.Read the lesson: the The who or what a sentence is about. In “The vault held papers,” it’s the vault. “location signals” receives the opening description, although signals cannot be fitted around wolves’ necks. Placing “the collars” in the “by” phrase does not make them the subject.
- B
the collars’ transmission of location signals occurs at regular intervals.
This creates a A describing phrase placed next to the wrong thing, as in “Walking home, the rain started,” where the rain seems to be walking.Read the lesson because the The who or what a sentence is about. In “The vault held papers,” it’s the vault. is “transmission,” an activity that cannot be fitted around wolves’ necks. The The form of a word that shows ownership, like the crew’s log or its handle.Read the lesson “collars’” modifies “transmission”; it does not make the collars the subject.
- C
the transmission of location signals occurs at regular intervals through the collars.
This creates a A describing phrase placed next to the wrong thing, as in “Walking home, the rain started,” where the rain seems to be walking.Read the lesson by making “transmission” the The who or what a sentence is about. In “The vault held papers,” it’s the vault. described as fitted around wolves’ necks. The phrase “through the collars” leaves the collars outside the subject.
- D
the collars transmit location signals at regular intervals.
Correct answerThe opening description refers to The person or thing a verb acts on. In “The crew carried a map,” it’s a map. fitted around wolves’ necks and set to operate beneath thick cover. “The collars” immediately follows that description as the The who or what a sentence is about. In “The vault held papers,” it’s the vault., so the A word or phrase that describes something else in the sentence. In “the kiln, still warm,” it’s still warm.Read the lesson attaches to the objects it describes.
Solution
The opening A word or phrase that describes something else in the sentence. In “the kiln, still warm,” it’s still warm.Read the lesson, “Fitted around the necks of several adult wolves and set to operate even when the animals are resting beneath thick cover,” must describe the The who or what a sentence is about. In “The vault held papers,” it’s the vault. that follows it. The collars are the The person or thing a verb acts on. In “The crew carried a map,” it’s a map. fitted around the wolves’ necks and set to operate.
In “the collars transmit location signals at regular intervals,” the subject is “the collars,” so the opening modifier attaches correctly. The other completions make either “location signals” or “transmission” the subject, creating a A describing phrase placed next to the wrong thing, as in “Walking home, the rain started,” where the rain seems to be walking.Read the lesson.
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