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Jeff Boykin - Grammar Jeopardy
Topic Examples (Teacher’s Edition, with answer key):
Category 1
Fragments: Determine which section of the following passage is a fragment.
A) James opened the door of his cluttered refrigerator. B) Which caused a pint of blueberries to fall to the
floor. C) The fruit bounced and rolled everywhere in an explosion of indigo. (B)
A) When Will stepped out of the shower, he panicked. B) Realizing that all of his underwear was still in
the washing machine. C) Damp boxers were not a good way to start his day. (B)
A) Sam knew that his roommate Chris had cupcakes hidden in the apartment. B) He looked everywhere.
C) Including in the clothes hamper, on top of the bookcases, behind the sofa—all to no avail. (C)
A) To stay awake for a long evening of chemistry homework. B) Beth made a huge pot of coffee. C)
Unfortunately, her heart beat so fast and her legs jiggled so violently that the poor girl couldn't
concentrate. (A)
A) To save enough money to pay tuition, Shauna keeps a strict budget. B) She never carries more than
three dollars in her wallet. C) To avoid making impulse purchases like a pizza or CD that will cause her
to come up short when registration begins. (C)
Category 2
Comma Splices: Choose the correct response for the underlined section:
After the thunderstorm, Teresa splashed through the puddles left on the street, she enjoyed feeling the
cool rainwater on her hot feet. (C)
A. street she
B. street, except she
C. street; she
Fighting the urge to crawl under her desk, Adriana looked at the clock, there was still a half hour left of
class, more than enough time to do her poorly prepared, ten-minute speech. (B)
A. clock there
B. clock; there
C. clock, so there
Sandra spent every dime on her vacation to Cancun, Mexico, where she went shopping, dancing,
swimming, and sightseeing, she doesn't care that her rent will be late and that she will have to eat
macaroni and cheese for a week. (A)
A. sightseeing; she
B. sightseeing, nevertheless, she
C. sightseeing she
Sighing heavily, Melody tried to summon the energy to get to her next class her heavy book bag and the
long walk, however, seemed impossible challenges. (B)
Adapted from “Grammar Bytes,” by Robin L. Simmons.
Source: http://www.chompchomp.com
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A. class, her
B. class; her
C. class but her
Mrs. Britton was grading papers at her desk, her students were slaving over their in-class compositions.
(B)
A. desk her
B. desk while her
C. desk, moreover, her
Category 3
Word Choice: Fill in the blanks with the appropriate choice and form:
To, Too, or Two
Instead of researching killer whales for Marine Biology, Jorge went __________ the beach. (to)
Its or It’s
“__________ been quite a challenge,” Eric admitted as he shook hands with Dr. O’Sullivan on the last
day of class. (it’s)
Their, There, or They’re
Despite the complaints from his girlfriend Gloria, Frank continues to wear his old, dirty, smelly sneakers
because __________ the most comfortable shoes that he owns. (they’re)
Their, There, or They’re
Sheba and Cindy Sue, the family cats, keep Jeanne from sleeping past 6 a.m. __________ meows of
hunger can wake her from the deepest sleep. (their)
Its or It’s
The abandoned textbook lay on the coffee shop table, __________ pages ruffled by the breeze. (its)
Category 4
Irregular Verbs: Name the correct form of the verb in the following sentences:
He dragged/drug/drugged his less-than-sober pal up the stairs and put him in bed. (dragged)
He had froze/freezed/frozen the beef that he would serve for dinner on Saturday. (frozen)
He had drunken/drank/drunk nearly a gallon of water that day. (drunk)
Finally, she had shook/shaken/shaked all the dust from her clothes. (shaken)
Yesterday, the cows lied/laid/lay down in the pasture when the wind was blowing. (lay)
Category 5
Subject/Verb Agreement: Choose the correct form of the following sentence:
Your pants (is/are) at the cleaner’s. (are)
Either answer (is/are) acceptable. (is)
The committee (debates/debate) these questions carefully. (debates)
All of the CDs, even the scratched one, (is/are) in this case. (are)
Adapted from “Grammar Bytes,” by Robin L. Simmons.
Source: http://www.chompchomp.com
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Fifteen candles (was/were) in that bag. Now only one (is/are) left. (were/is)
Final Jeopardy
Rearrange and combine the following in the right order, using ALL phrases and punctuation correctly
(Note: I have taken out capitalization): (B, D/E/F, C, D/E/F, G, D/E/F, H, A)
A) .
B) in order to get an extension on his research essay
C) daniel brought brownies to mrs. mauzy
D),
E) ,
F) ,
G) his instructor
H) who loved any kind of chocolate
Elimination Round: The sentence below contains four underlined parts which may require
punctuation. Find and fix the problems. (class, he) (caffeine; even) (test, his)
If Chris hopes to survive in his 8 a.m. English class he needs to discover caffeine even when he has a test
his head hits the desk and snores soon escape his mouth.
Bonus Final Question: Choose the option that corrects an error in the underlined portions. If no
error exists, choose “No change is necessary.” (B)
After Deidre saw the tiny balance on her ATM receipt, (A) she realized, (B) that her meals for the next
week would consist of cheap food, (C) such as peanut butter sandwiches and instant soup.
A. ... receipt. She ...
B. ... realized that ...
C. ... food. Such ...
D. No change is necessary.
Adapted from “Grammar Bytes,” by Robin L. Simmons.
Source: http://www.chompchomp.com