QUESTION IMAGE
Question
your task: accurately answer the multiple choice questions below on the usage of commas, apostrophes, and semicolons.
one of the policemen fired an experimental shot or (1) two but the bullets ricocheted off the black metal and lodged in a palm tree.
- a. no change
b. two, but the bullets
c. two; but the bullets
d. two but, the bullets
(2) at sunset, a pounding began inside the ship. no hatches (3) sprang open no rayguns or periscopes protruded.
- a. no change
b. at sunset a pounding
c. at sunset a, pounding
d. at, sunset a pounding
- a. no change
b. sprang open; no rayguns
c. sprang open, no rayguns
d. sprang open no rayguns.
\what if (4) their trapped?\ one of us said.
- a. no change
b. there
c. their
d. theyre
(5) in berlin a woman stood.
- a. no change
b. in, berlin, a woman stood.
c. in berlin, a woman stood.
d. in berlin a woman, stood.
this was no longer our (6) problem; it belonged to our (7) governors our senators our heads of state.
- a. no change
b. problem it
c. problem, it
d. problem but it
- a. no change
b. governors, our senators, our heads of state.
c. governors; our senators; our heads of state.
d. governors, our senators our heads of state.
\(8) dont (9) shoot\ one man said.
- a. no change
b. dont
c. doesnt
d. dont
- a. no change
b. shoot,\ one
c. shoot.\ one
d. shoot;\ one
three hours later there was no sign of any of the (10) aliens the wretched or the beautiful, except for a few blackened patches of grass and wisps of smoke that curled and died.
- a. no change
b. aliens the wretched or the beautiful except
c. aliens, the wretched or the beautiful, except
d. aliens; the wretched or the beautiful; except
Question 1
We need to choose the correct punctuation for the sentence. The original sentence has "or two but the bullets" which is incorrect. A comma should be used after "two" to separate the two independent clauses joined by "but". Option b has "two, but the bullets" which is correct. Option a has no comma, option c uses a semicolon which is incorrect here, and option d has the comma in the wrong place.
The original "At sunset, a pounding" is correct. Option b removes the necessary comma after "sunset", option c incorrectly adds a comma after "a", and option d incorrectly adds a comma after "At". So the correct answer is a.
The two clauses "No hatches sprang open" and "no rayguns or periscopes protruded" are independent and should be separated by a semicolon. Option b has "sprang open; no rayguns" which is correct. Option a has no punctuation, option c uses a comma which is incorrect for independent clauses, and option d has incorrect punctuation.
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b. two, but the bullets