SAT Writing › Identifying Other Punctuation Errors
Choose the best punctuation for the blank:
Because it was the only recourse left to me __________ I swallowed my pride and called my high school math teacher.
, (comma)
. (period and new sentence)
; (semi-colon)
— (dash)
No punctuation
If a sentence starts with because, it needs a comma before the main clause starts.
Select the underlined word or phrase that needs to be changed to make the sentence correct. Some sentences contain no error at all.
The tourists were enamored with the brightly-colored dresses and necklaces, and they nearly bought out the entire market. No error
brightly-colored
No error
enamored with
they
necklaces, and
Because “brightly” is an adverb, not an adjective, it shouldn’t be hyphenated. Only compound adjectives—two words together functioning as a single adjective—need hyphenation.
Select the underlined word or phrase that needs to be changed to make the sentence correct. Some sentences contain no error at all.
As part of their defense, the lawyers presented a ninety page document that asserted their client’s innocence in exhausting detail. No error
ninety page document
defense,
No error
asserted
their client's
“Ninety page” is a compound adjective that appears directly in front of a noun. In standard English, compound adjectives that immediately precede nouns are always hyphenated for clarity’s sake. “Ninety-page document” is the correct form.
Choose the punctuation mark that, when inserted into the blank, makes the sentence meet the requirements of standard written English.
I decided it was worthwhile to buy the expensive fish tank that covers the entire wall instead of the little bowl __________ I wanted my goldfish to feel free to explore.
; (semi-colon)
: (colon)
, (comma)
No punctuation
/ (slash)
Here, there are two independent clauses with no conjunctions between them. A semi-colon (or a period and new sentence) is correct.
Select the underlined word or phrase that needs to be changed to make the sentence correct. Some sentences contain no error at all.
The heiress wept when she discovered that her favorite two year old horse had broken a leg and would never race again. No error
two year old horse
heiress
No error
would never race again
wept
Here, “two year old” is a compound adjective that appears immediately before a noun, so it must be hyphenated. “Two-year-old horse” is the correct form.
Select the underlined word or words that need to be changed to make the sentence correct. Some sentences may not contain an error.
“If you’ve never seen a group of ninety year olds dance the polka, you’ve never lived,” he laughed. No error
ninety year olds
"If
laughed.
No error
lived,"
Here, “ninety year olds” needs to be hyphenated as it is functioning as a noun.
Select the underlined word or phrase that needs to be changed to make the sentence correct. Some sentences contain no error at all.
“In all my years on the force, I’ve never seen such a thinly-veiled attempt at blackmail,” the police captain said. No error
thinly-veiled
No error
"In all my years
force,
blackmail,"
Because “thinly” is an adverb, not an adjective, it shouldn’t be hyphenated. Only compound adjectives that immediately precede nouns require hyphenation.
Select the underlined word or phrase that needs to be changed to make the sentence correct. Some sentences contain no error at all.
I was wondering if, after the fair, we could stop by the farmers market? No error
market?
if,
No error
fair,
stop by
In this sentence, the speaker is making a statement (“I am wondering”), not answering a question (“Am I wondering?”). Even though the sentence is expressing uncertainty, it is not an interrogative sentence and therefore should not end with a question mark. A period is the correct punctuation to use to end this sentence.
Choose the punctuation mark that, when inserted into the blank, makes the sentence meet the requirements of standard written English.
The defendant claimed that he had been unjustly incarcerated __________ and that key evidence had been falsified.
No punctuation
, (comma)
; (semi-colon)
— (dash)
. (period and capital)
The phrase following the blank is not a full sentence, nor is it a modifying phrase. No punctuation is needed.
Select the underlined word or phrase that needs to be changed to make the sentence correct. Some sentences contain no error at all.
Far from passive players in their colonial fate, Africans throughout the nineteenth-century responded to the encroaching European presence with various forms of resistance and negotiation. No error
nineteenth-century
Far from passive players
fate, Africans
encroaching
No error
“Far from passive players” correctly modifies the subject, “Africans.” The phrase “fate, Africans” illustrates the correct use of a comma to link a dependent clause with an indepent clause when the dependent clause precedes the independent clause. “Encroaching” is an appropriate vocabulary word to describe the “European presence.” The problem comes with “nineteenth-century.” Because the phrase is used as a noun here, it should not be hyphenated. It would be hyphenated if the two words together were functioning as an adjective modifying a different word, as in the phrase "nineteenth-century problems."