which of the following sentences correctly uses a hyphen

ATI TEAS 7

English and Language Usage TEAS

1. Which of the following sentences correctly uses a hyphen?

A. Last year, many of the players felt unsure of the coach's methods.
B. Some of the furniture she selected seemed a bit over-the-top for the space.
C. Henry is a beagle-mix and is ready for adoption this weekend.
D. Geena works to maintain a good relationship with her ex-husband to the benefit of their children.

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.

2. Which of the following phrases follows the rules of capitalization?

A. President Carter and his advisors
B. Robert Jones, the senior Senator from California
C. my Aunt and Uncle who live out West
D. the party on New Year’s Eve

Correct answer: B

Rationale: The correct answer is B. In this phrase, the words 'Senator' and 'California' are capitalized correctly since they refer to a specific position and a proper noun, respectively. 'Senator' is capitalized as it is part of the title and 'California' is capitalized as a proper noun. Choice A is incorrect because 'President' should be capitalized when it precedes a specific name, like 'President Carter.' Choice C is incorrect because 'Aunt' and 'Uncle' are not proper nouns and should not be capitalized. Choice D is incorrect because only 'New Year's Eve' should be capitalized as it is a proper noun for the event.

3. Which of the following sentences correctly uses a semicolon?

A. I have a big test tomorrow; I can't go out tonight.
B. I have a big test tomorrow; I can't go out tonight.
C. I have a big test tomorrow; and I can't go out tonight.
D. I have a big test tomorrow; but I can't go out tonight.

Correct answer: A

Rationale: The correct use of a semicolon is to join two closely related independent clauses. Choice A is the only option that correctly uses a semicolon to connect two independent clauses: 'I have a big test tomorrow' and 'I can't go out tonight.' Choice B incorrectly uses a comma instead of a semicolon. Choice C adds an unnecessary 'and' after the semicolon, which disrupts the correct punctuation usage. Choice D introduces a contradictory conjunction 'but' after the semicolon, which is not necessary for the given context. Therefore, the correct answer is A.

4. What kinds of clauses does the following sentence contain? "Although Ted had an impressive education, he had little experience working with individuals, which made him less effective at relating to them."

A. Two dependent clauses and one independent clause
B. One dependent clause and two independent clauses
C. Two independent clauses and no dependent clauses
D. One dependent clause and one independent clause

Correct answer: B

Rationale: The sentence consists of one dependent clause, 'Although Ted had an impressive education,' which introduces a condition. It also contains two independent clauses: 'he had little experience working with individuals,' which presents a fact, and 'which made him less effective at relating to them,' which provides additional information. Therefore, the correct answer is B. Choice A is incorrect because it incorrectly identifies the number of independent and dependent clauses. Choice C is incorrect as it wrongly states that there are no dependent clauses in the sentence. Choice D is incorrect as it does not accurately represent the structure of the sentence.

5. Typically, water that has evaporated remains in the sky in cloud form for less than ten days before falling to Earth again as precipitation. Which of the following parts of speech is 'remains' as used in the sentence?

A. noun
B. verb
C. adjective
D. adverb

Correct answer: B

Rationale: In the sentence, 'water that has evaporated remains in the sky,' the word 'remains' is functioning as a verb. It is describing the action of water staying in the sky in cloud form for a certain duration. Verbs are words that express actions, occurrences, or states of being, and in this case, 'remains' is indicating the state of the water being in the sky in cloud form. The other choices are incorrect: 'noun' refers to a person, place, thing, or idea; 'adjective' describes or modifies a noun; and 'adverb' typically modifies a verb, adjective, or another adverb, but in this sentence, 'remains' is not being modified by an adverb.