Punctuation Workbook
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PUNCTUATION WORKBOOK In each sentence below, select the better choice for clarity, grammar, and style. APOSTROPHES QUIZ 1 1. “It’s not that I’m afraid to die. I just don’t want to be there when it happens.” Woody Allen, Without Feathers, “Death (A Play)” (1975) a. It’s b. Its 2. “Do You Always Have to Give Two Weeks’ Notice?” Headline, usnews.com, Mar. 5, 2013 a. Weeks b. Weeks’ 3. “In a few months’ time, an all-new Mustang will be revealed and signed off as a 2015 production.” Sunday Star-Times (Wellington, New Zealand), Sept. 8, 2013 a. months b. months’ 4. The Hundred Years’ War lasted 116 years. a. Years b. Years’ 5. “Curb Your Enthusiasm became a milestone show because of its mostly improvised format.” mentalfloss.com, June 14, 2016 a. it’s 2 b. its QUIZ 2 1. “Who’s afraid of the big bad wolf?” Lyric from the 1933 Disney cartoon Three Little Pigs a. Who’s b. Whose 2. “I’ve been in Who’s Who, and I know what’s what, but it’ll be the first time I ever made the dictionary.” Mae West, after being told that the term “Mae West,” referring to an inflatable life jacket, had been entered into a dictionary; correspondence, 1941 a. Who’s b. Whose 3. It’s the economy, stupid.” James Carville, Bill Clinton campaign slogan, 1992 a. It’s b. Its 4. Amy Schumer, on her boyfriend: “Ben is the first guy who’s really been my boyfriend. There are guys who, if they heard me say that, would want to punch me in the face, but…it’s the truth.’” Quoted in marieclaire.com, July 11, 2016 a. who’s/ it’s b. whose/ its 5. About Ryan Reynolds: “He’s a movie star who’s aware how absurd it is that he’s a movie star.” Anna Peele, gq.com, Nov. 14, 2016 a. who’s b. whose QUIZ 3 1. “The greatest thing about being a comedian is knowing other comedians. And 3 you get to talk to them. It’s the most fun.” Jerry Seinfeld, quoted in latimes.com, Nov. 30, 2008 a. It’s b. Its 2. Question: Are you and Garfield learning to kiss upside down? Emma Stone: “We have a very different kiss, but it’s a secret.” Emma Stone, on kissing Andrew Garfield, who played Spiderman in the 2012 film The Amazing Spider-Man; Vogue, Mar. 2011 a. it’s b. its 3. “Each year in the ruins of what was once North America, the Capitol of the nation of Panem forces each of its twelve districts to send a teenage boy and girl… to compete in the Hunger Games.”1 Synopsis quoted in collider.com, Mar. 12, 2012 a. its b. it’s 4. “I don’t feel old. I don’t feel anything till noon. That’s when it’s time for my nap.” Bob Hope, quoted in Quotable Quotes: Wit and Wisdom from the Greatest Minds of Our Time (2012) a. its b. it’s 5. “It’s a great honor, but it’s not worth getting hit by a bus.” Larry David, worrying that bad luck would follow after he received a Writers Guild of America Award; in ft.com [Financial Times], Apr. 6, 2012 a. its b. it’s BUT 1 The standard spelling for the chief city of a country is capital. Capitol is the spelling of the main city in the Hunger Games. 4 QUIZ 1 1. “If man could be crossed with a cat, it would improve man, but it would deteriorate the cat.” Mark Twain, Notebook, 1894 a. but b. , but 2. Mark Twain, on being bitten by a poisonous snake in India: “In the very jungle where I killed sixteen tigers and all those elephants, a cobra bit me, but it got well; everyone was surprised…. Usually death would result in fifteen minutes.” Following the Equator, vol. 2, Ch. 21 (1897) a. but b. , but 3. “A man can be destroyed but not defeated.” Hemingway, The Old Man and the Sea (1952) a. but b. , but 4. Laura Bush, on having an empty nest after the children leave: “Everyone deals with it in different ways. But I told George I thought running for president was a little extreme.” Speech, August 2000 a. But b. , however 5. “When I was a kid my parents moved a lot, but I always found them.” Rodney Dangerfield, quoted in Andrew Horton and Joanna E. Rapf, A Companion to Film Comedy (2012) a. but b. , but QUIZ 2 1. “Mr. C. had talent, but he couldn’t spel.” 5 Artemus Ward, speaking of Chaucer, “At the Tomb of Shakespeare,” in Artemus Ward in London, Ch. 4 (1867) a. , but b. , however 2. “Grief can take care of itself; but to get the full value of a joy you must have somebody to divide it with.” Mark Twain, Following the Equator, Ch. 48 (1897) a. ; but b. , however 3. “I do not know how the Third World War will be fought, but I can tell you what they will use in the Fourth – rocks!” Albert Einstein, interview, Liberal Judaism, April – May 1949 a. , but b. , however 4. "Ask not what disease the person has, but rather what person the disease has." Oliver Sacks, Epigraph, An Anthropologist on Mars: Seven Paradoxical Tales (1995) a. , but b. ; but 5. “I’d like to race against Usain Bolt…. But it’s possible that while I’m still running, he would be doing his post-race interview.” Woody Allen, quoted in theguardian.com, Aug. 26, 2016 a. But it’s possible b. However it’s possible QUIZ 3 1. “I would say to the House, as I have said to those who have joined this government: ‘I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears, and sweat.’” Winston Churchill, first speech as prime minister, referring to the war with Germany; May 13, 1940 a. but 6 b. , but 2. “We campaign in poetry, but when we’re elected we’re forced to govern in prose.” Mario Cuomo, speech at Yale University, Feb. 15, 1985 a. but b. , but 3. “I’m very fond of women; I admire them. But, like all men, I don’t understand them.” Frank Sinatra, quoted in Bill Zehme, The Way You Wear Your Hat: Frank Sinatra and the Lost Art of Livin’ (1997) a. But, like all men b. However like all men 4. “I love Dolce & Gabbana. I love Versace. I love the crazy, more eccentric stuff…. I can’t pay my rent, but I’m [expletive] gorgeous.” Lady Gaga, quoted in wmagazine.com, Oct. 2007 a. , but b. , however 5. “I really understand the chagrin that accompanies aging, especially for a woman, but I think that people look funny when they freeze their faces.” Meryl Streep, quoted in Aceshowbiz.com, Jan. 9, 2010 a. , but I think b. , but, I think COMMAS, COLONS, OR SEMICOLONS QUIZ 1 1. “Keep your eyes wide open before marriage, half shut afterwards.” Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richard’s Almanack, June 1738 a. : half b. , half 7 2. “A gifted person should learn English (barring spelling and pronunciation) in thirty hours, French in thirty days, and German in thirty years.” Mark Twain, “The Awful German Language,” A Tramp Abroad (1880) a. hours: b. hours, 3. “If at first you don’t succeed try, try again. Then quit. There’s no use being a damn fool about it.” W. C. Fields, quoted in Reader’s Digest, Sept. 1949 a. try try b. try, try 4. About Stephen Curry’s 3-point record: “The record is an outlier that defies most comparisons, but here is one: It is the equivalent of hitting 103 home runs a Major League Baseball season.” nytimes.com, Apr. 16, 2016 a. one: b. one; 5. About Benedict Cumberbatch: “Sherlock made him a meme; The Imitation Game made him an A-lister; Doctor Strange may yet make him a mega-star.” Michael Schulman, vanityfair.com, Nov. 2016 a. meme:/ A-lister: b. meme;/ A-lister; QUIZ 2 1. “Whenever you find that you are on the side of the majority, it is time to reform.” Mark Twain, Notebook (1905) a. it b. , it 2. “When the solution is simple, God is answering.” Albert Einstein, quoted in John Brockman, My Einstein (2007) 8 a. simple b. simple, 3. “For me, being a mum has been a really, really instinctive thing." Rachel Weisz, on being a mother; quoted in “Guardian, Aug. 27, 2011 a. really really b. really, really 4. “Never, ever, ever again agree to do anything for any magazine, ever.” Louis C. K., answering the question “What is your motto?” on a questionnaire, Vanity Fair, January 2013 a. Never ever ever b. Never, ever, ever 5. “I see this in patients all the time. Even though they’ve already tried a dozen diets, none resulting in lasting weight loss, they are still willing to severely restrict calories and cut out entire food groups if it will help them lose weight.” Carrie Dennett, washingtonpost.com, May 6, 2016 a. loss they b. loss, they QUIZ 3 1. Benjamin Franklin said, “Work as if you were to live 100 years; pray as if you were to die tomorrow.” Poor Richard’s Amanack, May 1757 a. years: b. years; 2. “Princeton is a wondrous little spot, a quaint and ceremonious village of puny demigods on stilts.” Albert Einstein, letter to Queen Elisabeth of Belgium, Nov. 20, 1933 a. spot. A b. spot, a 9 3.