Nursing Elites

1. Which sentence avoids a comma splice?

• A. The wind howled, the branches swayed, and rain lashed against the windows.
• B. He packed his bags, checked the weather forecast, and then hit the road.
• C. The movie was entertaining; it was also thought-provoking.
• D. Tired and hungry, she stopped for a quick bite at the cafe.

Correct answer: C

Rationale: Option C uses a semicolon to correctly separate the two independent clauses 'The movie was entertaining' and 'it was also thought-provoking.' This usage of a semicolon avoids a comma splice, which occurs when two independent clauses are incorrectly joined by a comma without a coordinating conjunction or appropriate punctuation. Choices A, B, and D are incorrect because they all contain comma splices. In choice A, the comma splice is present between 'The wind howled' and 'the branches swayed.' In choice B, the comma splice occurs between 'He packed his bags' and 'checked the weather forecast.' Choice D has a comma splice between 'Tired and hungry' and 'she stopped for a quick bite at the cafe.'

2. What is missing from the following sentence: 'He asked, When is the assignment due?'

• A. There should be quotation marks.
• B. There needs to be a semicolon after 'asked.'
• C. There should be a comma after 'assignment.'
• D. Nothing is missing.

Correct answer: A

Rationale: The correct answer is A. The sentence is missing quotation marks around 'When is the assignment due?'. Quotation marks are essential to indicate that the words enclosed are being directly quoted. Choice B is incorrect because a semicolon is not needed in this context. Choice C is incorrect as a comma is already present after 'He asked' to separate the introductory clause. Choice D is incorrect because the sentence does lack proper punctuation, which are the quotation marks.

3. Which of the following sentences correctly uses a transition word?

• A. Gilda is a hardworking student; therefore, she earned a good grade on her essay.
• B. Gilda is a hardworking student; therefore she earned a good grade on her essay.
• C. Gilda is a hardworking student: therefore, she earned a good grade on her essay.
• D. Gilda is a hardworking student and therefore she earned a good grade on her essay.

Correct answer: A

Rationale: Choice A is the correct answer. 'Therefore' is correctly used as a transition word with proper punctuation in this sentence. In a compound sentence like this, a semicolon is used before the transition word to connect two independent clauses. Choice B is incorrect because it lacks the necessary punctuation to separate the independent clauses. Choice C is incorrect as a colon is not typically used before a transition word in this context. Choice D is incorrect because 'and' does not function as a transition word in this sentence.

4. Identify the type of sentence: 'The sky is blue, and the grass is green.'

• A. Simple sentence
• B. Compound sentence
• C. Complex sentence
• D. Compound-complex sentence

Correct answer: B

Rationale: The correct answer is B, compound sentence. This sentence consists of two independent clauses ('The sky is blue' and 'the grass is green') that are joined by the coordinating conjunction 'and.' A simple sentence contains a single independent clause. In contrast, a complex sentence has one independent clause and at least one dependent clause. A compound-complex sentence consists of multiple independent clauses and at least one dependent clause, which are not present in the given sentence, making choices A, C, and D incorrect.

5. Which of the following is a complex sentence?

• A. When skywriting, a pilot flies a small aircraft in specific, particular formations, creating large letters visible from the ground.
• B. The public defense attorney was able to maintain her optimism despite her dearth of courtroom wins, her lack of free time, and her growing list of clients.
• C. Because the distance between stars in the galaxy is far greater than the distance between planets, interstellar travel is expected to be an even bigger challenge than interplanetary exploration.
• D. Invented in France in the early nineteenth century, the stethoscope underwent a number of reiterations before the emergence of the modern form of the instrument in the 1850s.

Correct answer: C

Rationale: A complex sentence has one independent clause and at least one dependent clause connected by a subordinating conjunction or a relative pronoun. In choice C, the sentence 'Because the distance between stars in the galaxy is far greater than the distance between planets' is a dependent clause introduced by the subordinating conjunction 'Because,' while the rest of the sentence 'interstellar travel is expected to be an even bigger challenge than interplanetary exploration' forms the independent clause. This combination of an independent clause and a dependent clause makes choice C a complex sentence. Choices A, B, and D do not contain both an independent and dependent clause connected in the way that choice C does, thus they do not qualify as complex sentences.

Similar Questions