Benchmark One- Complete each of the following on notebook paper. Each of the following sentences is simple, compound or complex. 1. Lying exposed without its blanket of snow, the ice on the river melts quickly under the warm March sun. 2 Arnold hasn t worked a day since he won the lottery. 3 Bobby Sue has an appointment with Dr. Phil at 4:30. 4 Krystal had enough money, but her dad would not allow her to buy another purse. 5 The movers loaded the furniture quickly but carefully. 6 Rita had already read the book before Ms. Hansen assigned it. 7 Jason became a plumber, and Amanda became a nurse. 8 Although I am nervous about the test, I think I will do just fine. 9 Anna, Catherine and Kaylee went swimming and horseback riding yesterday. 10 Audrey goes to sleep after her mom reads her a bedtime story. 11 Over the river and through the woods to Grandmother s house we go. 12 You will get in trouble if you don t listen to your teacher. 13 The largest mammals are found in the sea; there's nowhere else to put them. Use the paragraph below to answer questions 1-3. School drop out rates are rising at an alarming rate. According to recent statistics from the National Center for Education Statistics, nearly 3.9 million young adults, ranging in ages from 16 to 24, were not enrolled in a high school program and did not graduate with a high school degree or its equivalent. One must determine the cause of this problem before a solution can be determined. (Hopkins 1). 14. What s the topic of this paragraph? A. Students who drop out become successful members of society. B. School drop out rates are rising at an alarming rate. C. The NCES helps many high school students graduate. D. 3.9 million young people did not and will not graduate high school 15. What is the purpose of this paragraph? A. To talk about the success of the National Center for Education Statistics B. To scare people into staying in school C. To make the public aware of the increasing number of high school drop outs so that a solution can be found D. To improve high school programs so that students will not want to drop out of school 16. What is the BEST choice for an ending or concluding sentence for the above paragraph? A. High schools are unimportant and are not necessary for young adults. B. Statistics are sometimes not accurate, so you can t always believe what you read. C. If these numbers are not quickly diminished, it will affect the future of our nation for years to come. D. Teachers are to blame, because if they were not so boring, more students would stay in school.
Use the paragraph below to answer questions 4 and 5. Maria is watching too much television. A toddler shouldn t be spending hours staring blankly at a screen. Worse yet, some of her wild behavior has been inspired by those awful cartoons she watches. 17. Which of the following sentences is the topic sentence in the above paragraph? A. A toddler shouldn t be spending hours staring blankly at a screen. B. Maria is watching too much television. C. All cartoons are bad. 18. Which of the following sentences is the best ending or concluding sentence for the above passage? A. Maria will most likely grow up to be a violent criminal. B. Watching cartoons is okay at long as they are nonviolent. C. We need to spend more time reading books with her and pull the plug on the TV! Use the paragraph below to answer question 6. 1 Mike pulled the cake out of the oven. 2 The cake began to rise. 3 Mike wanted to bake a cake. 4 He mixed all the ingredients for the cake. 5 Mike poured the batter in the pans and placed them in the oven. 19. What is the best order for the sentences in the above paragraph? A. 2, 3, 4, 1, 5 B. 3, 4, 5, 2, 1 C. 3, 2, 1, 4, 5 D. 5, 1, 3, 2, 4 Use the paragraph below to answer question 7. The instructions on a cake mix package are as follows: Combine two beaten eggs, water, and oil with the mix and beat for two minutes. Then, pour the batter into a pan. Spread evenly with a spatula. Next, place in the oven and bake for 25 minutes. 20. Which is a transition word in the above paragraph? A. combine B. spread C. spatula D. next 21. After you finish eating go clean your room. Where should a comma be placed in the above sentence? A. after finish B. after eating C. after go D. after clean
22. In the above sentence (question 8), what is the subordinate clause? A. go clean your room B. eating C. finish D. after you finish eating 23. Which sentence is punctuated correctly? A. Listen to your teacher, she might have some important information. B. Listen to your teacher she might have some important information. C. Listen to your teacher, but she might have some important information. D. Listen to your teacher; she might have some important information. 24. Combine the following sentences. We went to the movies. We shared some popcorn. A. We went to the movies and shared some popcorn. B. We went to the movies; and shared some popcorn. C. We went to the movies because we shared some popcorn. 25. Combine the following sentences. The students at our school are electing a president. Everyone is talking about the campaign. A. The students at our school are electing a president, and everyone is talking about the campaign. B. The students at our school are electing a president because everyone is talking about the campaign. C. Even though everyone is talking about the campaign, the students at our school are electing a president. 26. Read the sentence. Choose the transition word or words that BEST fit the blank. Desiree likes watching romantic comedies;, Tristan prefers action movies. A. in other words B. as a result C. however D. furthermore 27. What sentence structure is the following sentence: Kenya and Nigeria are African nations located near the equator. A. simple B. compound C. complex D. compound-complex
28. Part of speech word used to connect words, phrases, and clauses together in a sentence A. interjection B. adverb C. conjunction D. adjective 29. Part of speech word used to describe a noun or pronoun A. interjection B. adverb C. conjunction D. adjective 30. What sentence structure is the following sentence: Mrs. Lee went to Publix because she needed a beef roast for supper. A. simple B. compound C. complex D. compound-complex Use the paragraph below to answer question 31. 1 The first cowboys were Mexican, not American. 2 They were called vaqueros, which means cowboy in Spanish. 3 They taught the Anglos how to handle cattle without harming their horses. 4 During the days when what are now Texas, California, and New Mexico were part of Mexico, vaqueros tended cattle on ranches owned by Mexicans. 5 In 1835, Texas won its independence from Mexico. 6 The new Anglo ranch owners needed the vaqueros to teach them how to take care of cattle. 7 By the 1870 s and 1880 s, the Anglo cowboys had replaced their Mexican-American teachers. 31. Which sentence should be moved to after sentence 6? A. Sentence 2 B. Sentence 3 C. Sentence 4 D. Sentence 5 32. Which is the best way to combine the sentences below? Della decided to ride her bicycle to school. It is good exercise. A. Della decided to ride her bicycle to school, it is good exercise. B. Della decided to ride her bicycle to school because it is good exercise to school. C. Because it is good exercise, Della decided to ride her bicycle to school. D. Even though it is good exercise, Della decided to ride her bicycle to school.
33. Which sentence has the correct punctuation? A. We can afford this car, but not the other one B. Who is going to lead the parade on Saturday! C. Watch out for that falling tree? D. How did our team do in the game? 34. Which sentence below contains an error? A. Where is your book. B. Please get the magazine on the shelf. C. There is the cat. D. I am visiting the high school next week. 35. Which of the following is a complete sentence? A. Because he is only three years old and very shy. B. A very tired and exhausted bird. C. Ice melts. D. If it doesn t stop raining Choose the subordinate clause to fill in the blanks on questions 36 and 37. 36. the group walked to their favorite diner for late night meal. A. After the game B. Grinning and laughing hysterically C. After the ladies finished their card game D. To avoid a growling stomach 37. they often need assistance. A. Because puppies are small and helpless, B. Puppies are small and helpless, and C. Some animals are small and helpless D. To prevent small, helpless puppies from getting hurt 38. What of the following choices best defines the word coherent? A. disorganized B. understandable C. assistant D. snotty
Last week I took a trip to Disney World. When I arrived, an employee from the park was there to greet me. He shared some fascinating stories about the park s history. I love those ice cream sandwiches in the shape of Mickey Mouse s head. I finished my chat with the park employee and headed to the rides. I also enjoyed several shows while I was there. It was a wonderful trip that I won t soon forget. 39. Which sentence should be removed to make the paragraph above more coherent? A. He shared some fascinating stories about the park s history. B. It was a wonderful trip that I won t soon forget. C. I love those ice cream sandwiches in the shape of Mickey Mouse s head. D. I also enjoyed several shows while I was there. 40. Combine the following sentence to make one compound sentence. You can put wings on a pig. You won t make it an eagle. A. Putting wings on a pig will not make it an eagle. B. Even though you can put wing on a pig, it won t make it an eagle. C. Wings are on a pig, but not an eagle. D You can put wings on a pig, but you won't make it an eagle. 41. Which answer combines the following sentences into one sentence with an independent and a subordinate clause (complex sentence) without changing the meaning? I enjoy learning about other countries in Social Studies. Science is my favorite subject. A. Although Science is my favorite subject, I enjoy learning about other countries in Social Studies. B. Since Science is my favorite subject, I enjoy learning about other countries in Social Studies. C. Science is my favorite subject, because I enjoy learning about other countries in Social Studies. D. I enjoy learning about other countries in Social Studies, so Science is my favorite subject. 42. What is the best way to re-write the following run-on sentence? The children attempted to paste the broken vase back together they didn t want their mom to know that they were playing ball in the house. A. The children attempted to paste the broken vase back together, they didn t want their mom to know that they were playing ball in the house. B. Their mother would never know that they were playing ball in the house, as they attempted to paste the pieces of the vase back together. C. Hoping their mother would never know that they were playing ball in the house, the kids attempted to paste the pieces of the broken vase back together. D. The kids pasted the pieces together, with glue. They didn t want their mom to know that they were playing ball in the house.
43. Which of the following sentences it written correctly? A. I enjoy pizza. The cheese is my favorite part. B. I enjoy pizza; the cheese is my favorite part. C. I enjoy, pizza; the cheese is my favorite part. D. I enjoy pizza, the cheese is my favorite part. 44. How can the following sentence be corrected? As we turned down the road onto Ridgecrest Drive A. Add a subordinate clause B. Add a comma after road C. Add a comma after As D. Add an independent clause 45. What can be done to correct the following sentence? When we won the state championship the team captain jumped for joy. A. Add a semicolon after the word joy B. Add a comma after the word championship C. Add a predicate D. Change the comma after the word team 46. Identify the compound sentence. A. Before you go home, take an AR test. B. It s time to go home; I have so much homework. C. Are you going to the party? D. Stop being so noisy because I have a headache! 47. Identify the complex sentence. A. Lying exposed without its blanket of snow, the ice on the river melts quickly under the warm March sun. B. Ice melts. C. Canada is a rich company, but it still has many poor people. D. After he ate, he went home. 48. Identify the simple sentence. A. The sun rises in the east; it sets in the west. B. Smiled sweetly at the girl sitting next to him C. Listen to your parents because they are smarter than you are. D. Lying exposed without its blanket of snow, the ice on the river melts quickly under the warm March sun.
49. Define inaccurate. A. not flexible B. not annoying C. not complete D. not accurate 50. Define clarity A. allergy medicine B. inaccurate C. clear D. cloudy 51. Define irrelevant. A. important B. not important C. needed in order to complete a job D. using details that support the main idea