Correct Answer: C

Rationale: In the sentence, the phrase 'the farmhouse' is misplaced because it should come before 'behind' to clarify the location properly. The corrected sentence should read, 'There was a long fence behind the farmhouse made of crisscrossed logs.' Placing 'the farmhouse' after 'behind' creates a clearer and more logical sentence structure. Choice A, 'There,' is correct in its placement at the beginning of the sentence. Choice B, 'a long fence,' is also correctly positioned as it describes the object being referred to. Choice D, 'made of crisscrossed logs,' is properly placed to provide additional detail about the fence.

Correct Answer: D

Rationale: In the given sentence, a semicolon is needed after 'early' to join the two independent clauses 'I finished the project early' and 'however, I really should edit my work.' This punctuation mark helps to connect the related ideas in the sentence while maintaining the separation between the clauses. The other choices are incorrect because an apostrophe is used to show possession or to indicate missing letters; a colon is used to introduce a list, explanation, or quotation; and a comma alone would not provide the necessary separation between the two independent clauses in this context.

Correct Answer: C

Rationale: In the sentence, 'The nursing staff appreciate occasional thank-you cards,' the pronoun 'them' is the best word to substitute for 'nursing staff.' The word 'them' is a pronoun that refers to a group of people or things, which matches the plural form of 'nursing staff.' Therefore, 'them' is the correct choice in this context. Choice A, 'They,' could also refer to the nursing staff, but 'them' is more precise in this case. Choice B, 'It,' is singular and does not match the plural 'nursing staff.' Choice D, 'Us,' refers to the speaker and others, which is not appropriate in this context.

Correct Answer: B

Rationale: The correct answer is B: 'Comma.' In the sentence, a comma is needed to separate the independent clauses 'I will check the supply closet' and 'you can look in the laundry.' This comma helps to indicate a pause between the two related but separate actions that each person is taking. Choice A (Period) is incorrect because a period would create two separate sentences. Choice C (Colon) is incorrect as a colon is used to introduce a list or explanation. Choice D (Semicolon) is incorrect as a semicolon is used to connect two closely related independent clauses without a coordinating conjunction.

Correct Answer: B

Rationale: In this sentence, the subject 'board of education' is singular, so the verb should also be singular to match. 'Plans' is the correct form of the verb to use with a singular subject. The correct sentence should be: 'The board of education plans to hold a special meeting.' Choices A, C, and D are incorrect because they do not agree in number with the singular subject 'board of education.' 'Plan' is plural, 'planning' is a gerund form, and 'do plan' is not the correct verb form for the subject-verb agreement in this sentence.