Verbal

Question 1

Name all singular indefinite pronouns.

Answer 1

Anybody, anyone, anything, each, either, everybody, everyone, everything, neither, nobody, no one, nothing, one, somebody, someone, something, whatever, whoever, every.

Question 2

Name all plural indefinite pronouns.

Answer 2

Both, few, many, and several.

Correct: Both of my sisters (like) to watch cartoons on the weekends.

Question 3

Correct or not: Whoever (keep) eating other people’s food out of the break room fridge (is) really inconsiderate.

Answer 3

Incorrect: (keep) should be (keeps).

Correct: (is)

Question 4

Is neither always singular?

Answer 4

No. In neither/nor sentences it must agree with the subject noun to which it is closest.

Correct: Neither of the compromises put forth by Senate leaders (appeals) to a majority of the members.
Incorrect:

Question 5

Correct or not: semi-colons are used to connect two independent clauses.

Answer 5

Correct.

Question 6

Correct or not: The spider monkey, a New World monkey; the vervet monkey, an Old World monkey; and the capuchin monkey, another New World monkey, have somewhat similar diets.

Answer 6

Correct. Semi-colons can be used in list with multiple items and descriptors for clarity.

Question 7

When can you use a colon?

Answer 7

After an independent clause.

Question 8

Does the section of a sentence after a colon have to be an independent clause?

Answer 8

No. Only the section before the colon.

Question 9

Which is correct?:

Neither the bread nor the potatoes (look/looks) very appealing.

Answer 9

Look.

It’s closest to ‘potatoes’ in this sentence which is a plural subject needing a plural verb.

Question 10

How do you separate two independent clauses in one sentence?

Answer 10

With a semi-colon OR comma + conjunction (and, but, yet, so)

Question 11

Are ‘majority’ and ‘minority’ considered singular or plural.

Answer 11

They can be either depending on the context.

Correct: A majority of the students (are) applying to jobs.
Correct: The majority of the team (fits) into one bus.
Correct: A large enough minority (is) sufficient for blocking passage of a new enhancement.

Question 12

Which pronoun should accompany ‘Anyone’?

Answer 12

His or her.

Anyone is considered singular.

Question 13

Correct or not: No one who genuinely cares about earning a high grade in this class would wait until the last week of the semester to start writing their term paper, particularly since the term paper is weighted even more heavily than the final exam.

Answer 13

Not.

No one is considered singular.

No one who genuinely cares about earning a high grade in this class would wait until the last week of the semester to start writing (her) term paper, particularly since the term paper is weighted even more heavily than the final exam.

Question 14

Correct or not: Gerard doesn’t like to eat at the diner because their servers are rude, but there are no other places to get lunch near his office.

Answer 14

Not.

The diner is singular.

Gerard doesn’t like to eat at the diner because its servers are rude, but there are no other places to get lunch near his office.

Question 15

What every language has in common with other languages is that (it uses/they use) verbs.

Answer 15

It uses.

Question 16

Correct or not: The capuchin monkey, along with monkeys of some other species, all of which inhabit rainforests in the Americas, have prehensile tails, which can be used to hold objects.

Answer 16

Not.

“Along with monkeys of some other species” is an additive phrase which means the subject is “the capuchin monkey” which is singular.

The capuchin monkey, along with monkeys of some other species, all of which inhabit rainforests in the Americas, (has) a prehensile tail, which can be used to hold objects.

Question 17

What is the subject?

The label “socialism” has long been avoided by many, but recent news stories have made it a more mainstream ideology.

Answer 17

‘The label “socialism”’

Question 18

When the word “term” is used in reference to the name of something, make sure that any pronouns meant to refer to that thing refer to the thing itself and not to the word “term”.

Answer 18

Incorrect: The term “social media” is often used to describe platforms such as Facebook and Twitter, but it is actually any form of internet communication, including blogs, wikis, and more.

Correct: The term “social media” is often used to describe platforms such as Facebook and Twitter, but it actually refers to any form of internet communication, including blogs, wikis, and more.

Correct: The term “social media” is often used to describe platforms such as Facebook and Twitter, but social media is actually any form of internet communication, including blogs, wikis, and more.

Question 19

CAUTION: When a word such as “term”, “label”, or “name” introduces a noun in quotes, be on the lookout for a pronoun-antecedent error in the sentence.

Question 20

Correct or not: The road was severely damaged, and it made driving on it nearly impossible.

Answer 20

Not.

The first (it) is referring to the entire first clause.

Pronouns should only be associated with a direct noun. Adding so or because when referring to the first clause as the reason for the second clause is more clear.

Correct: The road was severely damaged, so driving on it was almost impossible.

Question 21

What trick do you use to determine if (who/whom) should be used?

Answer 21

Insert ‘he’ in place of ‘who’ and ‘him’ in place of ‘whom’ to test.

Question 22

When is ‘whom’ used?

Answer 22

When it’s serving as an object of a sentence.

I do not know with whom I will go to prom.