HSPT Language Skills
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Identify which one of the following sentences contains a punctuation error. Select “No Errors” if none of the sentences contains a punctuation error.
The teacher told me “to go work on my homework” until recess.
Please don’t release any confetti until the party starts; we don't want to spoil the surprise!
“What am I supposed to do now?” Sasha asked.
No Errors
Explanation
The sentence that contains the incorrect punctuation is shown below.
The teacher told me “to go work on my homework” until recess.
In this sentence, double quotation marks are incorrectly used to convey indirect speech. Indirect speech is any instance where what someone said is conveyed without being directly quoted. Consider the following correctly-punctuated sentence:
Samantha told me that she would be getting a kitten this weekend.
We do not need to use any quotation marks because we are not being told exactly what Samantha said to the speaker. She could have said "I'm getting a kitten this weekend!" or "I'm so excited that this weekend I'm going to be getting a kitten!", etc. The exact words that someone told someone else are conveyed using direct quotation, which requires double quotation marks, as demonstrated in the following sentence:
Samantha told me, "I can't concentrate today because I'm so excited—my family is adopting a kitten this weekend!"
In this sentence, the speaker is conveying Samantha's exact words, so we need to surround them with double quotation marks to set them apart from the rest of the sentence.
The correctly punctuated version of the correct answer choice sentence is as follows:
The teacher told me to go work on my homework until recess.
Which of the following sentences expresses its ideas most clearly?
Hawks are amazing predators that can survive in cities by catching and eating small birds and rodents.
By catching and eating small birds and rodents, hawks can survive in cities, and they are also amazing predators.
By catching and eating small birds and rodents, hawks are amazing predators that can survive in cities.
Hawks can catch and eat small birds and rodents and this makes them amazing predators. They can also survive in cities because of this.
Explanation
The clearest option is "Hawks are amazing predators that can survive in cities by catching and eating small birds and rodents." This answer choice avoids the use of the passive voice and connects the idea of catching and eating small birds and rodents to hawks being amazing predators and their ability to survive in cities in a single sentence.
Identify which one of the following sentences contains a spelling error. Select “No Errors” if none of the sentences contains a spelling error.
It’s a good thing that Fred recieved the package before he left on his trip.
The library had so many books that it had to add more shelves.
Our neighbor decided to plant potatoes in his vegetable garden this summer.
No Errors
Explanation
The sentence that contains the spelling error is "It’s a good thing that Fred recieved the package before he left on his trip." The misspelled word is "received." It should be spelled "received." Remembering the phrase "'I' before 'E' except after 'C'" can help you avoid errors like this in the future!
Identify which one of the following sentences contains a punctuation error. Select “No Errors” if none of the sentences contains a punctuation error.
The teacher told me “to go work on my homework” until recess.
Please don’t release any confetti until the party starts; we don't want to spoil the surprise!
“What am I supposed to do now?” Sasha asked.
No Errors
Explanation
The sentence that contains the incorrect punctuation is shown below.
The teacher told me “to go work on my homework” until recess.
In this sentence, double quotation marks are incorrectly used to convey indirect speech. Indirect speech is any instance where what someone said is conveyed without being directly quoted. Consider the following correctly-punctuated sentence:
Samantha told me that she would be getting a kitten this weekend.
We do not need to use any quotation marks because we are not being told exactly what Samantha said to the speaker. She could have said "I'm getting a kitten this weekend!" or "I'm so excited that this weekend I'm going to be getting a kitten!", etc. The exact words that someone told someone else are conveyed using direct quotation, which requires double quotation marks, as demonstrated in the following sentence:
Samantha told me, "I can't concentrate today because I'm so excited—my family is adopting a kitten this weekend!"
In this sentence, the speaker is conveying Samantha's exact words, so we need to surround them with double quotation marks to set them apart from the rest of the sentence.
The correctly punctuated version of the correct answer choice sentence is as follows:
The teacher told me to go work on my homework until recess.
Identify which one of the following sentences contains a punctuation error. Select “No Errors” if none of the sentences contains a punctuation error.
The teacher told me “to go work on my homework” until recess.
Please don’t release any confetti until the party starts; we don't want to spoil the surprise!
“What am I supposed to do now?” Sasha asked.
No Errors
Explanation
The sentence that contains the incorrect punctuation is shown below.
The teacher told me “to go work on my homework” until recess.
In this sentence, double quotation marks are incorrectly used to convey indirect speech. Indirect speech is any instance where what someone said is conveyed without being directly quoted. Consider the following correctly-punctuated sentence:
Samantha told me that she would be getting a kitten this weekend.
We do not need to use any quotation marks because we are not being told exactly what Samantha said to the speaker. She could have said "I'm getting a kitten this weekend!" or "I'm so excited that this weekend I'm going to be getting a kitten!", etc. The exact words that someone told someone else are conveyed using direct quotation, which requires double quotation marks, as demonstrated in the following sentence:
Samantha told me, "I can't concentrate today because I'm so excited—my family is adopting a kitten this weekend!"
In this sentence, the speaker is conveying Samantha's exact words, so we need to surround them with double quotation marks to set them apart from the rest of the sentence.
The correctly punctuated version of the correct answer choice sentence is as follows:
The teacher told me to go work on my homework until recess.
Which of the following sentences expresses its ideas most clearly?
Hawks are amazing predators that can survive in cities by catching and eating small birds and rodents.
By catching and eating small birds and rodents, hawks can survive in cities, and they are also amazing predators.
By catching and eating small birds and rodents, hawks are amazing predators that can survive in cities.
Hawks can catch and eat small birds and rodents and this makes them amazing predators. They can also survive in cities because of this.
Explanation
The clearest option is "Hawks are amazing predators that can survive in cities by catching and eating small birds and rodents." This answer choice avoids the use of the passive voice and connects the idea of catching and eating small birds and rodents to hawks being amazing predators and their ability to survive in cities in a single sentence.
Identify which one of the following sentences contains a spelling error. Select “No Errors” if none of the sentences contains a spelling error.
It’s a good thing that Fred recieved the package before he left on his trip.
The library had so many books that it had to add more shelves.
Our neighbor decided to plant potatoes in his vegetable garden this summer.
No Errors
Explanation
The sentence that contains the spelling error is "It’s a good thing that Fred recieved the package before he left on his trip." The misspelled word is "received." It should be spelled "received." Remembering the phrase "'I' before 'E' except after 'C'" can help you avoid errors like this in the future!
Which of the following sentences expresses its ideas most clearly?
Hawks are amazing predators that can survive in cities by catching and eating small birds and rodents.
By catching and eating small birds and rodents, hawks can survive in cities, and they are also amazing predators.
By catching and eating small birds and rodents, hawks are amazing predators that can survive in cities.
Hawks can catch and eat small birds and rodents and this makes them amazing predators. They can also survive in cities because of this.
Explanation
The clearest option is "Hawks are amazing predators that can survive in cities by catching and eating small birds and rodents." This answer choice avoids the use of the passive voice and connects the idea of catching and eating small birds and rodents to hawks being amazing predators and their ability to survive in cities in a single sentence.
Which of the following sentences expresses its ideas most clearly?
Hawks are amazing predators that can survive in cities by catching and eating small birds and rodents.
By catching and eating small birds and rodents, hawks can survive in cities, and they are also amazing predators.
By catching and eating small birds and rodents, hawks are amazing predators that can survive in cities.
Hawks can catch and eat small birds and rodents and this makes them amazing predators. They can also survive in cities because of this.
Explanation
The clearest option is "Hawks are amazing predators that can survive in cities by catching and eating small birds and rodents." This answer choice avoids the use of the passive voice and connects the idea of catching and eating small birds and rodents to hawks being amazing predators and their ability to survive in cities in a single sentence.
Identify which one of the following sentences contains a spelling error. Select “No Errors” if none of the sentences contains a spelling error.
It’s a good thing that Fred recieved the package before he left on his trip.
The library had so many books that it had to add more shelves.
Our neighbor decided to plant potatoes in his vegetable garden this summer.
No Errors
Explanation
The sentence that contains the spelling error is "It’s a good thing that Fred recieved the package before he left on his trip." The misspelled word is "received." It should be spelled "received." Remembering the phrase "'I' before 'E' except after 'C'" can help you avoid errors like this in the future!