Which of the following examples uses correct punctuation?

Correct Answer: B

Rationale: Option B is the correct answer because it correctly places the period inside the closing quotation mark, following the closing punctuation of the sentence. This is the standard punctuation rule for quotations in American English. Choice A is incorrect as it has an extra period outside the closing quotation mark. Choice C is incorrect as the period should come after the closing quotation mark. Choice D is incorrect as it lacks the initial space before the quotation, not adhering to proper punctuation rules.

Correct Answer: D

Rationale: The correct answer is sentence D: 'I cooked, so I could eat dinner.' This sentence uses a comma correctly to separate two independent clauses, 'I cooked,' and 'so I could eat dinner.' Choice A is incorrect as it lacks punctuation to separate the clauses properly. Choice B incorrectly uses a comma after 'so,' disrupting the flow of the sentence. Choice C incorrectly places a comma after 'I,' which is not needed in this context.

Correct Answer: C

Rationale: The correct usage of a hyphen is seen in sentence C, 'Henry is a beagle-mix and is ready for adoption this weekend.' The hyphen is used in 'beagle-mix' to link the two words together to describe Henry's breed accurately. Choice A contains a comma incorrectly placed after 'Last year.' Choice B uses hyphens as dashes, which is incorrect. Choice D does not require a hyphen as there is no compound term or adjective that needs to be linked.

Correct Answer: C

Rationale: The sentence is a direct question as the speaker is asking if the person will send a postcard from Germany. Therefore, the correct punctuation mark to use at the end of a question is a question mark. An exclamation mark (Choice D) is used to convey strong emotion or surprise, which is not the case here. A period (Choice A) is used for declarative statements. A colon (Choice B) is used to introduce a list or explanation, which is not needed in this context.

Correct Answer: C

Rationale: The correct plural form of 'cactus' is 'cacti' according to the English language rules for forming plural nouns ending in -us. The word 'cacti' is the plural form of 'cactus,' which follows this particular rule. Choice A 'Tomatoes' is incorrect because the correct plural form of 'tomato' is 'tomatoes,' not 'tomatos.' Choice B 'Analysis' is incorrect as it is already the plural form. Choice D 'Criterion' is incorrect as its plural form is 'criteria,' not 'criterion.'

Correct Answer: A

Rationale: The correct answer is '-ic.' The suffix '-ic' means 'relating to,' as seen in words like 'artistic' (relating to art). - 'B' is incorrect as the suffix '-ology' refers to the study of a subject, not 'relating to.' - 'C' is incorrect as the suffix '-ation' is used to form nouns expressing an action or process, not 'relating to.' - 'D' is incorrect as the suffix '-ate' is used to form verbs or nouns denoting an office, function, or rank, not 'relating to.'

Correct Answer: C

Rationale: In this sentence, 'It's' is the contraction for 'it is,' and 'than' is used correctly for comparisons (e.g., better than). Therefore, sentence C is correct because it uses 'It's' (it is) and 'than' (for comparison) properly. Choices A, B, and D are incorrect. Choice A lacks the necessary apostrophe in 'It's' (it is) and incorrectly uses 'then' instead of 'than.' Choice B incorrectly uses 'Its' (possessive form) instead of 'It's.' Choice D lacks the necessary apostrophe in 'It's' (it is) and incorrectly uses 'then' instead of 'than.'

Correct Answer: B

Rationale: The error in capitalization is in option B. 'Uncle' should not be capitalized because it is not used as a proper noun in this context. It should be written as 'uncle.' In the other options, capitalization is correctly used for proper nouns like 'East Coast,' 'English Composition II,' and 'Jersey Shore,' making them the correct choices.

Correct Answer: C

Rationale: A compound sentence is made up of two independent clauses connected by a coordinating conjunction (such as 'and,' 'but,' 'so,' etc.) or a semicolon. In this case, 'The baby was sick' and 'I decided to stay home from work' are two independent clauses connected by the coordinating conjunction 'so.' Choice A is a simple sentence with one independent clause. Choice B is a complex sentence with an independent clause 'Marissa last saw Elena' and a dependent clause 'and talked to her this morning.' Choice D is also a simple sentence with one independent clause.