Punctuation Rules – English Grammar Exercises for B2
Planning a road trip with my ONLY brother.
Choose the option with the correct punctuation and grammatical structure to fill in the blank.
1 My brother______ is coming to visit me this weekend to discuss our travel plans.
(a) who is an architect
(b) , that is an architect,
(c) , who is an architect,
(d) , who is an architect
2 I am so excited to finally spend some quality time with Mark______
(a) ; my only brother.
(b) , my only brother.
(c) my only brother.
(d) , that is my only brother.
3 ______ we haven’t finalized the itinerary yet.
(a) Since he is usually busy
(b) Since, he is usually busy,
(c) Because, he is usually busy,
(d) Since he is usually busy,
4 He wants to go hiking in the mountains______ I prefer relaxing at the beach.
(a) but
(b) ; but
(c) , but
(d) but,
5 We are planning to take a ______ trip together.
(a) five days
(b) five-day
(c) five day
(d) five-days
6 He really loves exploring the highlands______ I think we will go to Sapa.
(a) , therefore,
(b) therefore,
(c) ; therefore
(d) ; therefore,
7 Sapa______ is famous for its stunning terraced fields.
(a) which we have never visited before
(b) , where we have never visited before,
(c) , which we have never visited before,
(d) , that we have never visited before,
8 We need to pack three essential items for the mountains______ warm jackets, sturdy hiking boots, and a map.
(a) :
(b) ;
(c) ,
(d) .
9 Since his car is being repaired, we will be using my ______ car for the road trip.
(a) fathers
(b) father’s
(c) father’
(d) fathers’s
10 My brother______ offered to drive the whole way.
(a) who usually hates driving
(b) , who usually hates driving,
(c) , who usually hates driving
(d) , that usually hates driving,
11 The drive to Sapa______ will take about six hours.
(a) according to the map
(b) , according to the map
(c) according to the map,
(d) , according to the map,
12 We will stop in Yen Bai, which is halfway______ and Lao Cai, which is near our destination.
(a) ,
(b) :
(c) ;
(d) .
13 When I asked him about the hotel accommodation, he replied______
(a) , “I booked it yesterday.”
(b) “I booked it yesterday.”
(c) , “i booked it yesterday.”
(d) : “I booked it yesterday”.
14 ______ my brother packed his bag in just ten minutes.
(a) Excited about the trip,
(b) Excited about the trip
(c) Excited, about the trip,
(d) Exciting about the trip,
15 I am bringing my expensive camera______ I refuse to travel anywhere.
(a) without which
(b) , which without
(c) , that without
(d) , without which
16 He promised to pay for all the gas we use______ a surprisingly generous offer from him.
(a) .
(b) —
(c) , which
(d) ;
17 Although the forecast predicts rain, we are still going______ however, we will bring heavy raincoats.
(a) ,
(b) .
(c) ;
(d) :
18 He brought a huge bag of snacks______ were eaten within the first hour of the drive.
(a) most of which
(b) , most of them
(c) , most of which
(d) , that most of
19 To avoid the morning rush hour traffic out of the city______
(a) we left at 5 AM.
(b) , leaving at 5 AM.
(c) ; we left at 5 AM.
(d) , we left at 5 AM.
20 The boutique hotel______ was very comfortable and had a great view.
(a) , which my brother chose,
(b) which my brother chose
(c) , that my brother chose,
(d) , where my brother chose,
ANSWER KEY & EXPLANATIONS
1 (c) , who is an architect,
Explanation: – Why it is correct (The Key): Since the speaker has only one brother (“my only brother”), the noun “my brother” is already uniquely identified. The relative clause providing extra information must be a non-defining relative clause, which requires commas on both sides.
- Distractor Analysis: (a) Common Mistake (missing commas). (b) Structural Error (“that” cannot be used in a non-defining relative clause). (d) Meaning/Punctuation Trap (missing the closing comma to complete the clause).
2 (b) , my only brother.
Explanation:
- Why it is correct (The Key): An appositive phrase at the end of a sentence providing additional information about “Mark” needs to be separated by a comma.
- Distractor Analysis: (c) Common Mistake (missing comma). (d) Structural Error (incorrect clause structure). (a) Trap (a semicolon is not used to separate a noun phrase at the end of a sentence).
3 (d) Since he is usually busy,
Explanation:
- Why it is correct (The Key): An adverbial clause of reason starting with “Since” at the beginning of a sentence must be followed by a comma to separate it from the main clause.
- Distractor Analysis: (a) Common Mistake (missing comma). (c) Structural Error (unnecessary comma after ‘Because’). (b) Trap (unnecessary comma immediately after ‘Since’).
4 (c) , but
Explanation:
- Why it is correct (The Key): When connecting two independent clauses with a coordinating conjunction (FANBOYS: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so), a comma must precede the conjunction.
- Distractor Analysis: (a) Common Mistake (missing comma). (d) Structural Error (a semicolon does not directly precede ‘but’ in this simple structure). (b) Trap (incorrect comma placement).
5 (b) five-day
Explanation:
- Why it is correct (The Key): A compound adjective modifying the noun “trip” requires a hyphen, and the noun inside it must remain singular.
- Distractor Analysis: (a) Common Mistake (adds ‘s’ and lacks a hyphen). (c) Structural Error (missing hyphen). (d) Trap (contains a hyphen but incorrectly keeps the ‘s’).
6 (d) ; therefore,
Explanation:
- Why it is correct (The Key): The conjunctive adverb “therefore” connecting two independent clauses requires a semicolon before it and a comma after it.
- Distractor Analysis: (a) Common Mistake (using only commas creates a comma splice). (b) Structural Error (missing punctuation to separate the clauses). (c) Trap (missing the comma after ‘therefore’).
7 (c) , which we have never visited before,
Explanation:
- Why it is correct (The Key): “Sapa” is a specific proper noun, thus requiring a non-defining relative clause (with commas). “Which” acts as the direct object replacing “Sapa”.
- Distractor Analysis: (a) Common Mistake (missing commas). (d) Structural Error (“that” is not used after a comma). (b) Meaning Trap (Using “where” is grammatically incorrect here because the verb “visit” requires a direct object “which”, not an adverb of place).
8 (a) :
Explanation:
- Why it is correct (The Key): A colon is used to introduce a list following a complete independent clause.
- Distractor Analysis: (c) Common Mistake (incorrect use of a comma). (b) Structural Error (incorrect use of a semicolon). (d) Trap (a period makes the following list a sentence fragment).
9 (b) father’s
Explanation:
- Why it is correct (The Key): The singular possessive form of “father” is formed by adding ‘s.
- Distractor Analysis: (a) Common Mistake (plural form instead of possessive). (d) Structural Error (incorrect format). (c) Trap (misplaced apostrophe).
10 (b) , who usually hates driving,
Explanation:
- Why it is correct (The Key): Since “my brother” is already identified as the only brother in this context, this is a non-defining relative clause and must be enclosed by commas.
- Distractor Analysis: (a) Common Mistake (missing commas). (d) Structural Error (“that” cannot be used). (c) Trap (missing the closing comma at the end of the relative clause).
11 (d) , according to the map,
Explanation:
- Why it is correct (The Key): A prepositional phrase interrupting the subject and the verb must be enclosed by two commas.
- Distractor Analysis: (a) Common Mistake (missing both commas). (b) & (c) Structural/Trap (missing one comma, disrupting the sentence structure incorrectly).
12 (c) ;
Explanation:
- Why it is correct (The Key): When listing items that internally contain commas (a complex list), semicolons are used to separate the main items to prevent confusion.
- Distractor Analysis: (a) Common Mistake (using a comma makes it hard to distinguish the main items from the internal commas). (b) Structural Error. (d) Trap.
13 (a) , “I booked it yesterday.”
Explanation:
- Why it is correct (The Key): When quoting direct speech after a reporting verb, a comma is needed before the quotation marks, and the first letter inside the quotes must be capitalized.
- Distractor Analysis: (b) Common Mistake (missing comma). (d) Structural Error (colons are less common here, and placing the period outside the quotes is incorrect in standard American English). (c) Trap (failure to capitalize the pronoun “I”).
14 (a) Excited about the trip,
Explanation:
- Why it is correct (The Key): A past participle phrase at the beginning of a sentence describing a state or reason must be separated from the main clause by a comma.
- Distractor Analysis: (b) Common Mistake (missing comma). (d) Structural Error (using the active V-ing “Exciting” is incorrect here). (c) Trap (unnecessary comma inside the phrase).
15 (d) , without which
Explanation:
- Why it is correct (The Key): A non-defining relative clause containing a preposition followed by a relative pronoun (preposition + whom/which).
- Distractor Analysis: (a) Common Mistake (missing comma). (c) Structural Error (“that” cannot follow a comma and a preposition). (b) Trap (incorrect word order; the preposition must precede the relative pronoun).
16 (b) —
Explanation:
- Why it is correct (The Key): An em-dash is used to emphasize an additional comment, explanation, or afterthought at the end of a sentence.
- Distractor Analysis: (a) Structural Error (a period creates a sentence fragment). (d) Trap (a semicolon requires a complete independent clause after it). (c) Meaning Trap (missing the verb “to be” if a relative clause were to be used).
17 (c) ;
Explanation:
- Why it is correct (The Key): When “however” connects two independent clauses, it must be preceded by a semicolon (or a period) and followed by a comma.
- Distractor Analysis: (a) Common Mistake (comma splice). (b) Structural Error (If using a period, ‘however’ must be capitalized). (d) Trap (colons are not used in this context).
18 (c) , most of which
Explanation:
- Why it is correct (The Key): A quantifier + of + relative pronoun (most of which / all of whom) is used in a non-defining relative clause to modify “snacks”.
- Distractor Analysis: (a) Common Mistake (missing comma). (b) Structural Error (using “them” creates a comma splice because it is a personal pronoun, not a relative pronoun). (d) Trap (using “that” instead of “which”).
19 (d) , we left at 5 AM.
Explanation:
- Why it is correct (The Key): A to-infinitive phrase of purpose at the beginning of a sentence must be separated from the main clause by a comma.
- Distractor Analysis: (a) Common Mistake (missing comma). (c) Structural Error (a semicolon is not used to separate a phrase from a clause). (b) Meaning Trap (using “leaving” makes the main clause grammatically incorrect/incomplete).
20 (a) , which my brother chose,
Explanation:
- Why it is correct (The Key): “The boutique hotel” implicitly refers to a specific hotel they both know about for this trip, so the relative clause provides extra (non-defining) information and requires commas.
- Distractor Analysis: (b) Common Mistake (missing commas). (c) Structural Error (“that” is not used in non-defining clauses). (d) Trap (“where” is incorrect because the verb “chose” requires a direct object “which”).
GRAMMAR POINTS TO REMEMBER
- Non-defining Relative Clauses:
When referring to a uniquely identified noun (e.g., “my only brother”, “Sapa”, “the sun”), you must use commas to separate the relative clause from the main clause.
Rule of thumb: If you remove the clause between the commas and the sentence still makes perfect sense, it’s a non-defining clause. Never use “that” in these clauses. - Conjunctive Adverbs:
Words like however, therefore, moreover require a semicolon (;) before them and a comma (,) after them when connecting two independent clauses (e.g., Clause 1; therefore, Clause 2). - Complex Lists:
Use a semicolon (;) to separate items in a list if those items already internally contain commas (e.g., Yen Bai, which is halfway; and Lao Cai, which is near Sapa). This prevents reader confusion. - Compound Adjectives:
When combining a number and a noun to create an adjective before another noun, use a hyphen (-) and keep the noun singular (e.g., a five-day trip, NOT a five-days trip).