Professional Communication Multiple Choice Questions on “Types of Punctuation”.
1. Which of these is not a punctuation mark?
a) Full stop
b) Comma
c) Colon
d) Hashtag
Answer: d
Clarification: The main punctuation marks are full stop, comma, colon, semicolon, question mark, exclamation mark, hyphen, dash, brackets, apostrophe. Hashtag isn’t a punctuation mark. It is a symbol used in social networks, and it has no relevance in English Grammar.
2. The full stop is used at the end of an indirect question.
a) True
b) False
Answer: a
Clarification: The statement is true. The full stop is used at the end of an indirect question. It is used to mark the close of a complete sentence. Example: I was wondering if you’d be interested in going to the cinema tonight.
3. The comma is used after a word used to address a person.
a) True
b) False
Answer: a
Clarification: The statement is true. The comma used before or after a word used to address a person. For example, “Come here, Mohan.”
4. Which of these is used after a nominative absolute?
a) Colon
b) Comma
c) Full stop
d) Question mark
Answer: b
Clarification: The comma is used after a nominative absolute. For example, “ Once over, she returned home in complete peace.”
5. Which of these is used to separate short co-ordinate clauses of a compound sentence?
a) Semicolon
b) Comma
c) Full stop
d) Colon
Answer: b
Clarification: The comma is used to separate short co-ordinate clauses of a compound sentence. For example, “ She came, she stooped, she conquered.”
6. Which of these is used to separate a series of loosely related clauses?
a) Comma
b) Full stop
c) Semicolon
d) Colon
Answer: c
Clarification: The semicolon is used to separate a series of loosely related clauses. For example: Today we love what tomorrow we hate; today we seek what tomorrow we shun.
7. Which of these is used between sentences which are grammatically independent?
a) Colon
b) Semicolon
c) Comma
d) Hyphen
Answer: a
Clarification: The colon is used between sentences which are grammatically independent but closely connected in sense. For example, “Truth is the greatest inspiration of all: nothing is of greater value.”
8. Which of these is used to convey proportions?
a) Semicolon
b) Colon
c) Comma
d) Hyphen
Answer: b
Clarification: The colon is used to convey certain conventional constructions as to convey proportions like 4 : 1.
9. Choose the correct statement:
a) My aunt who lives in Mumbai is a doctor.
b) My aunt, who lives in Mumbai, is a doctor.
c) My aunt, who lives in Mumbai is a doctor.
d) My aunt who lives in Mumbai, is a doctor.
Answer: b
Clarification: The correct statement is: My aunt, who lives in Mumbai, is a doctor. All the sentences are correct but the commas decide the meaning.
10. Choose the correct statement:
a) I met a beautiful , European woman.
b) I met a beautiful European woman.
c) I met a beautiful European, woman.
d) I met a beautiful , European, woman.
Answer: b
Clarification: The correct statement is: I met a beautiful European woman. Ungradable adjectives are hardly ever preceded by commas.