Editor's Corner

Good morning! I’ve annoyed you with quizzes in the past, but I don’t think I’ve ever provided a punctuation quiz, so today is your lucky day. This quiz comes from Daily Writing Tips. Your job is to correct the punctuation in the following five sentences. You might need to add punctuation, or you might need to correct punctuation. You have to figure it out.

At some point in the history of Editor’s Corner, we have covered all the rules you need to know to ace this quiz. I know you’re up to the challenge!

I’ve included the answers and explanations, but you’ll have to scroll down to see them. Best of luck to you!

The following sentences contain errors of punctuation. Revise them as necessary.

1. That’s my dream car in the window I plan to buy it as soon as I have enough money.

2. The boss is really old. He still addresses women clients as Mrs So-and-So.

3. I never expected to see so many glacier’s and pit’s on our trip.

4. Before we get to Phoenix let’s stop at an IHOP for breakfast.

5. All the “hardback books” are the same price.

Answers and Explanations

1.
Original: That’s my dream car in the window I plan to buy it as soon as I have enough money.
Correct: That’s my dream car in the window. I plan to buy it as soon as I have enough money.

Error: run-on sentence. The new thought begins with “I.” Another way to correct it would be to put a semi-colon instead of a period between “window” and “I.”

2.
Original: The boss is really old. He still addresses women clients as Mrs So-and-So.
Correct: The boss is really old. He still addresses women clients as Mrs. So-and-So.

U.S. punctuation convention places a period after “Mrs.” and “Ms.”

3.
Original: I never expected to see so many glacier’s and pit’s on our trip.
Correct: I never expected to see so many glaciers and pits on our trip.

No apostrophes are needed; glaciers and pits are simply plural nouns.

4.
Original: Before we get to Phoenix let’s stop at an IHOP for breakfast.
Correct: Before we get to Phoenix, let’s stop at an IHOP for breakfast.

A subordinate clause that begins a sentence is set off with a comma. [dbb – I wrote a post on this topic; it’s called
Commas with Introductory Phrases.]

5.
Original: All the “hardback books” are the same price.
Correct: All the hardback books are the same price.

Using quotations marks for emphasis is an error.

Donna Bradley Burcher | Senior Technical Editor | Symitar®

8985 Balboa Ave. | San Diego, CA 92123 | Ph. 619.278.0432 | Ext: 765432

About Editor’s Corner

Editor’s Corner keeps your communication skills sharp by providing information on grammar, punctuation, JHA style, and all things English. As editors, we spend our days reading, researching, and revising other people’s writing. We love to spend a few extra minutes to share what we learn with you and keep it fun while we’re doing it.

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