EXERCISE 1–1 ■ Eliminating Fragments
Suggested revisions:
a. Michael had a beautiful Southern accent, having lived many years in Georgia.
b. Pat and Chris are determined to marry each other, even if their families do not approve.
c. Jack seemed well qualified for a career in the air force, except for his tendency to get airsick.
d. Lisa advocated sleeping no more than four hours a night until she started nodding through her classes.
e. Complete sentences
EXERCISE 2–1 ■ Revising Comma Splices and Fused Sentences
Suggested revisions:
a. We followed the scientist down a flight of wet stone steps. At last he stopped before a huge oak door. We followed the scientist down a flight of wet stone steps until at last he stopped before a huge oak door.
b. Dr. Frankenstein selected a heavy key; he twisted it in the lock. Dr. Frankenstein selected a heavy key, which he twisted in the lock.
c. The huge door gave a groan; it swung open on a dimly lighted laboratory. The huge door gave a groan and swung open on a dimly lighted laboratory.
d. Before us on a dissecting table lay a form with closed eyes. To behold it sent a quick chill down my spine.Before us on a dissecting table lay a form with closed eyes; beholding it sent a quick chill down my spine.
e. The scientist strode to the table and lifted a white-gloved hand.The scientist strode to the table; he lifted a white-gloved hand.
EXERCISE 3–1 ■ Using Irregular Verb Forms
a. Benjamin wrote all the music, and his sister sang all the songs.
b. Correct
c. When the bell rang, darkness had already fallen.
d. Voters have chosen some new senators, who won’t take office until January.
e. Carol threw the ball into the water, and the dog swam after it.
EXERCISE 3–2 ■ Identifying Verb Tenses
a. has been living: present perfect progressive; hacked: simple past; change: simple present
b. have never appeared: present perfect; will never appear: simple future; gets selected: simple present
c. had been: past perfect; pitched: simple past
d. will have been studying: future perfect progressive; will be taking: future progressive
e. was running: past progressive; strolled: simple past
EXERCISE 3–4 ■ Using the Correct Mood of Verbs
a. Dr. Belanger recommended that Juan floss his teeth every day. (Incorrect flosses, indicative; correct floss, subjunctive)
b. If I were you, I would have done the same thing. (Incorrect was, indicative; correct were, subjunctive)
c. Tradition demands that Daegun show respect for his elders. (Incorrect shows, indicative; correct show, subjunctive)
d. Please attend the training lesson if you plan to skydive later today. (Incorrect attends, indicative; correct attend, imperative)
EXERCISE 4–1 ■ Making Subjects and Verbs Agree
a. For many college graduates, the process of looking for jobs is often long and stressful.
b. Not too long ago, searching the classifieds and inquiring in person were the primary methods of job hunting.
c. Today, however, everyone also seems to use the Internet to search for openings or to e-mail his or her résumés.
d. My classmates and my cousin send most résumés over the Internet because it costs less than mailing them.
e. All of the résumés arrive quickly when they are sent electronically.
EXERCISE 5–1 ■ Using Pronouns Correctly
a. I didn’t appreciate your laughing at her and me. (Your modifies the gerund laughing; me is an object of the preposition at.)
b. Lee and I would be delighted to serenade whoever will listen. (I is a subject of the verb phrase would be delighted; whoever is the subject of the clause whoever will listen.)
c. The managers and we servers are highly trustworthy. (We is a subject complement.)
d. The neighbors were driven berserk by his singing. (The gerund singing is the object of the verb driven; the possessive pronoun his modifies singing.) Or Correct as is. (Him is the object of the verb driven; singing is a participle modifying him.)
e. Jerry and I regard you and her as the very people whom we wish to meet. (I is a subject of the verb regard; her is a direct object of the verb regard; whom is the object of the infinitive to meet.)
EXERCISE 6–1 ■ Making Pronoun Reference Clear
Suggested revisions:
a. As the moon began to rise, I could see the faint shadow of the tree.
b. While she spent the summer in Paris, Katrina broadened her awareness of cultural differences by traveling throughout Europe.
c. Most managers want employees to work as many hours as possible. They never consider the work their employees need to do at home.
d. Working twelve hours a day and never getting enough sleep was worth it.
e. Kevin asked Mike to meet him for lunch but forgot that Mike had class at that time. Or Kevin forgot that he had class at the time he asked Mike to meet him for lunch.
EXERCISE 7–1 ■ Making Pronouns and Antecedents Agree
Suggested revisions:
a. Correct
b. Neither Melissa nor James has received an application form yet. Or
Melissa and James have not received their application forms yet.
c. He is the kind of man who gets his fun out of just sipping his beer and watching his Saturday games on TV.
d. Many a mother has mourned the loss of her child. Or
Many mothers have mourned the loss of their children.
e. When you enjoy your work, it’s easy to spend all your spare time thinking about it. Or
When one enjoys one’s work, it’s easy to spend all one’s spare time thinking about it.
EXERCISE 8–1 ■ Using Adjectives and Adverbs Correctly
a. Change increasing to increasingly.
b. Correct.
c. Change lower to lowest.
d. Change rapid to rapidly.
e. Change well to good.
EXERCISE 9–1 ■ Maintaining Grammatical Consistency
Suggested revisions:
a. Dr. Jamison is an erudite professor who tells amusing anecdotes in class. (Formal) Or Dr. Jamison is a funny teacher who cracks jokes in class. (Informal)
b. The audience listened intently to the lecture but did not understand the message.
c. Scientists can no longer evade the social, political, and ethical consequences of what they do in the laboratory.
d. To have good government, citizens must become informed on the issues. Also, they must vote.
e. Good writing is essential to success in many professions, especially in business, where ideas must be communicated clearly.
EXERCISE 10–1 ■ Placing Modifiers
Suggested revisions:
a. The bus full of passengers got stuck in a ditch.
b. In the middle of a meeting, he was daydreaming about fishing for trout.
c. With a smirk, the boy threw the paper airplane through an open window.
d. When the glare appeared, I reached for my sunglasses from the glove compartment.
e. Sally and Glen watched the kites high above them drift back and forth.
EXERCISE 10–2 ■ Revising Dangling Modifiers
Suggested revisions:
a. As I was unpacking the suitcase, a horrible idea occurred to me.
b. After fixing breakfast that morning, I might have left the oven on at home.
c. Although I tried to reach my neighbor, her phone was busy.
d. Desperate to get information, I asked my mother to drive over to check the oven.
e. I felt enormous relief when my mother’s call confirmed everything was fine.
EXERCISE 11–1 ■ Completing Comparisons
Suggested revisions:
a. The movie version of The Brady Bunch was much more ironic than the television show.
b. Taking care of a dog is often more demanding than taking care of a cat.
c. I received more free calendars in the mail for the year 2014 than I have for any other year.
d. The crime rate in the United States is higher than it is in Canada.
e. Liver contains more iron than any other meat.
EXERCISE 11–2 ■ Completing Sentences
Suggested revisions:
a. Eighteenth-century China was as civilized as and in many respects more sophisticated than the Western world.
b. Pembroke was never contacted by, much less involved with, the election committee.
c. I haven’t yet finished but soon will finish my research paper.
d. Ron likes his popcorn with butter; Linda likes hers with parmesan cheese.
e. Correct
EXERCISE 12–1 ■ Correcting Mixed Constructions and Faulty Predication
Suggested revisions:
a. Health insurance protects people from big medical bills.
b. His determination to prevail helped him finish the race.
c. AIDS destroys the body’s immune system.
d. The temperatures are too low for the orange trees.
e. In a recession, economic growth is small or nonexistent, and unemployment increases.
EXERCISE 13–1 ■ Making Sentences Parallel
Suggested revisions:
a. The border separating Texas and Mexico marks not only the political boundary of two countries but also the last frontier for some endangered wildlife.
b. In the Rio Grande Valley, both local residents and tourists enjoy visiting the national wildlife refuges.
c. The tall grasses in this valley are the home of many insects, birds, and small mammals.
d. Two endangered wildcats, the ocelot and the jaguarundi, also make the Rio Grande Valley their home.
e. Many people from Central America are desperate to immigrate to the United States by either legal or illegal means.
EXERCISE 14–1 ■ Using Coordination
Suggested revisions:
a. Professional poker players try to win money and prizes in high-stakes tournaments; however, they may lose thousands of dollars.
b. Poker is not an easy way to make a living, and playing professional poker is not a good way to relax.
c. A good “poker face” reveals no emotions, for communicating too much information puts a player at a disadvantage.
d. Hidden feelings may come out in unconscious movements, so an expert poker player watches other players carefully.
e. Poker is different from most other casino gambling games, for it requires skill and it forces players to compete against each other. Other casino gambling pits players against the house, so they may win out of sheer luck, but skill has little to do with winning those games.
EXERCISE 14–2 ■ Using Subordination
Suggested revisions:
a. Cape Cod is a peninsula in Massachusetts that juts into the Atlantic Ocean south of Boston, marking the northern turning point of the Gulf Stream.
b. Although the developer had hoped the condominiums would sell quickly, sales were sluggish.
c. Tourists love Italy because it has a wonderful climate, beautiful towns and cities, and a rich history.
d. At the end of Verdi’s opera La Traviata, Alfredo has to see his beloved Violetta again, even though he knows she is dying and all he can say is good-bye.
e. I usually have more fun at a concert with Rico than with Morey because Rico loves music while Morey merely tolerates it.
EXERCISE 16–2 ■ Avoiding Jargon
Suggested revisions:
a. Everyone at Boondoggle and Gall attends holiday gatherings in order to meet and socialize with potential business partners.
b. This year, more than fifty employees lost their jobs after Boondoggle and Gall’s decision to reduce the number of employees by September 1.
c. The layoffs left Jensen in charge of all telephone calls in the customer-service department.
d. Jensen was responsible for handling three times as many telephone calls after the layoffs, yet she did not receive any extra pay.
e. Jensen and her managers could not agree on a fair compensation, so she decided to quit her job at Boondoggle and Gall.
EXERCISE 16–3 ■ Avoiding Euphemisms and Slang
Suggested revisions:
a. At three hundred dollars a month, the apartment is a bargain.
b. The soldiers were accidentally shot by members of their own troops while they were retreating.
c. Churchill was an excellent politician.
EXERCISE 18–1 ■ Avoiding Bias
Suggested revisions:
a. Our school’s athletic program will be of interest to many applicants.
b. The new physicians include Dr. Scalia, Dr. Baniski, and Dr. Morton.
c.Diligent researchers will always find the sources they seek.
EXERCISE 20–1 ■ Using End Punctuation
a. The question that still troubles the community after all these years is why federal agents did not act sooner. [Not a direct question]
b. I wonder what he was thinking at the time. [Not a direct question]
c. Correct
EXERCISE 21–1 ■ Using Commas
a. Farmers around the world tend to rely on just a few breeds of livestock, so some breeds are disappearing.
b. Correct
c. For instance, modern breeds of cattle usually grow larger and produce more meat and milk than older breeds.
d. In both wild and domestic animals, genetic diversity can make the animals resistant to disease and parasites, so older breeds can give scientists important information.
e. Until recently, small organic farmers were often the only ones interested in raising old-fashioned breeds, but animal scientists now support this practice as well.
EXERCISE 21–2 ■ Using Commas
a. Mrs. Carver looks like a sweet little old lady, but she plays a wicked electric guitar.
b. Her bass player, her drummer, and her keyboard player all live in the same retirement community.
c. They practice individually in the afternoon, rehearse together at night, and play at the community’s Saturday night dances.
d. The Rest Home Rebels have to rehearse quietly and cautiously to keep from disturbing the other residents.
e. Correct
EXERCISE 21–3 ■ Using Commas
Suggested revisions:
a. We are bringing a dish, vegetable lasagna, to the potluck supper.
b. I like to go to Central Bank on this side of town because this branch tends to have short lines.
c. The colony that the English established at Roanoke disappeared mysteriously.
d. If the base commanders had checked their gun room, where powder is stored, they would have found that several hundred pounds of gunpowder were missing.
e. Brazil’s tropical rain forests, which help produce the air we breathe all over the world, are being cut down at an alarming rate.
EXERCISE 21–4 ■ Using Commas
a. The university insisted, however, that the students were not accepted merely because of their parents’ generous contributions.
b. This dispute, in any case, is an old one.
c. It was the young man’s striking good looks, not his acting ability, that first attracted the Hollywood agents.
d. Gretchen learned, moreover, not always to accept as true what she had read in celebrity magazines.
e. The hikers, most of them wearing ponchos or rain jackets, headed out into the steady drizzle.
EXERCISE 21–5 ■ Using Commas
a. César Chávez was born on March 31, 1927, on a farm in Yuma, Arizona.
b. Chávez, who spent years as a migrant farmworker, told other farm laborers, “If you’re outraged at conditions, then you can’t possibly be free or happy until you devote all your time to changing them.”
c. Chávez founded the United Farm Workers union and did, indeed, devote all his time to changing conditions for farmworkers.
d. Robert F. Kennedy called Chávez “one of the heroic figures of our time.”
e. Correct
EXERCISE 22–1 ■ Using Semicolons
a. By the beginning of 2014, Shirley was eager to retire; nevertheless, she agreed to stay on for two more years.
b. The committee was asked to determine the extent of violent crime among teenagers, especially those between the ages of fourteen and sixteen; to act as a liaison between the city and schools and between churches and volunteer organizations; and to draw up a plan to reduce violence, both public and private, by the end of the century.
c. The leaves on the oak trees near the lake were tinged with red; swimmers no longer ventured into the water.
d. The football team has yet to win a game; however, the season is still young.
EXERCISE 23–1 ■ Using Colons
Suggested revisions:
a. The Continuing Education Program offers courses in building and construction management, engineering, and design.
b. The interview ended with a test of skills: taking messages, operating the computer, typing a sample letter, and proofreading documents.
c. The sample letter began, “Dear Mr. Rasheed: Please accept our apologies for the late shipment.”
EXERCISE 24–1 ■ Using Apostrophes
a. Joe’s and Chuck’s fathers were both in the class of ’90.
b. Correct
c. It was a strange coincidence that all three women’s cars broke down after they had picked up their mothers-in-law.
d. Don’t forget to dot your i’s and cross your t’s.
e. Mario and Shelley’s son is marrying the editor in chief’s daughter.
EXERCISE 25–1 ■ Using Quotation Marks8
a. “What we still need to figure out,” the police chief said, “is whether the victim was acquainted with his assailant.”
b. A skillful orator, Patrick Henry is credited with the phrase “Give me liberty or give me death.”
c. “I could hear the crowd chanting my name — ‘Jones! Jones!’ — and that spurred me on,” said Bruce Jones, the winner of the 5,000-meter race.
d. The video for the rock group Guns and Roses’ epic song “November Rain” is based on a short story by Del James.
e. In response to a possible asteroid strike on Earth, former astronaut Rusty Schweickart says, “Every country is at risk.”
EXERCISE 26–1 ■ Using Dashes
Suggested revisions:
a. I enjoy going hiking with my friend John, whom I’ve known for fifteen years.
b. Pedro’s new boat is spectacular — a regular seagoing Ferrari.
c. The Thompsons devote their weekends to their favorite pastime — eating bags of potato chips and cookies beside the warm glow of the television.
EXERCISE 27–1 ■ Using Parentheses
Suggested revisions:
a. Our cafeteria serves the four basic food groups: white (milk, bread, and mashed potatoes), brown (mystery meat and gravy), green (overcooked vegetables and underwashed lettuce), and orange (squash, carrots, and tomato sauce).
b. The hijackers will release the hostages only if the government (1) frees all political prisoners and (2) allows the hijackers to leave the country.
c. Correct
EXERCISE 28–1 ■ Using Abbreviations
a.Professor James has office hours on Monday and Tuesday, beginning at 10:00 a.m.
b. Emotional issues, for example, abortion and capital punishment, cannot be settled easily by compromise.
c. The red peppers are selling for $3.25 a pound.
EXERCISE 29–1 ■ Using Capitalization
a. At our family reunion, I met my cousin Sam for the first time, as well as my father’s brother George.
b. I already knew from Dad that his brother had moved to Australia years ago to explore the Great Barrier Reef.
c. When my uncle announced that he was moving to a continent thousands of miles southwest of the United States, his mother gave him a Bible to take along.
EXERCISE 30–1 ■ Using Numbers
a. A program to help save the sea otter transferred more than eighty animals to a new colony over the course of two years; however, all but thirty-four otters swam back home again.
b.Twelve percent or so of the estimated 15 billion plastic water bottles purchased annually in the United States is recycled.
c. In act 2, scene 9, of Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice, Portia’s second suitor fails to guess which of three caskets contains her portrait [or act II, scene ix, as directed].
EXERCISE 31–1 ■ Using Italics
a. Does avocado mean “lawyer” in Spanish?
b. During this year’s First Night celebrations, we heard Verdi’s Requiem and Monteverdi’s Orfeo.
c. It was fun watching the passengers on the Europa trying to dance to “Blue Moon” in the midst of a storm.
EXERCISE 32–1 ■ Using Hyphens
a. Jimmy is a lively four-year-old boy, and his sister is two years old.
b. Correct
c. Tracy’s brother-in-law lives with his family in a six-room apartment.