Hyphens and ellipses

Grade 7 Reading Worksheet - Challenge Me

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Original (Mark Twain, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, 1876)

   “Thirty yards of board fence nine feet high.” Draft: “Thirty yards of board fence nine-feet high” waited for Tom and his long handled brush.

2. 1.

   Bo finds two slips in the draft. Which revision fixes both and adds no new slip?

   • “Thirty yards of board fence nine feet high” waited for Tom and his long-handled brush.
   • “Thirty yards of board-fence nine feet high” waited for Tom and his long-handled brush.
   • “Thirty yards of board fence nine-feet high” waited for Tom and his long-handled brush.
   • “Thirty yards of board fence nine feet high” waited for Tom and his long handled brush.

3. Original (L. Frank Baum, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, 1900)

   “Dorothy lived in the midst of the great Kansas prairies, with Uncle Henry, who was a farmer, and Aunt Em, who was the farmer’s wife.” Draft: The book opens: “Dorothy lived .. with Uncle Henry, who was a farmer, and Aunt Em, who was the farmers wife.”

4. 2.

   Milo finds two slips in the draft. Which revision fixes both and adds no new slip?

   • The book opens: “Dorothy lived ... with Uncle Henry, who was a farmer, and Aunt Em, who was the farmer’s wife.”
   • The book opens: “Dorothy lived ... with Uncle Henry, a farmer, and Aunt Em, who was the farmer’s wife.”
   • The book opens: “Dorothy lived .. with Uncle Henry, who was a farmer, and Aunt Em, who was the farmer’s wife.”
   • The book opens: “Dorothy lived ... with Uncle Henry, who was a farmer, and Aunt Em, who was the farmers wife.”
5. 3.

   The seventh and eighth-grade relay starts at noon, and the race is four-laps long. Zee finds two slips in the draft. Which revision fixes both and adds no new slip?

   • The seventh- and eighth-grades relay starts at noon, and the race is four laps long.
   • The seventh- and eighth-grade relay starts at noon, and the race is four laps long.
   • The seventh- and eighth-grade relay starts at noon, and the race is four-laps long.
   • The seventh and eighth-grade relay starts at noon, and the race is four laps long.
6. 4.

   Kira checks four sentences. Which one is NOT correct?

   • The dining cabin was built in the mid-1900s.
   • Our campsite is a short walk from the lake.
   • The two- and four-person tents are stacked by the gate.
   • The camp has a two hour hike on Saturday.
7. 5.

   Ren checks four sentences. Which one is NOT correct?

   • The reading room stays open until nine on Saturday.
   • The new mural shows a three-story castle.
   • The helpers will resort the returned books by author.
   • The library has a self-checkout machine by the door.
8. 6.

   “Tom appeared on the sidewalk with a bucket of whitewash and a long-handled brush.” Esme checks four sentences. Which one is NOT correct?

   • Twain writes, “Tom appeared ... with a bucket of whitewash and a long-handled brush.”
   • Twain writes, “Tom appeared on the sidewalk with a bucket of whitewash and a long-handled brush.”
   • Twain writes, “Tom appeared on the sidewalk with a bucket of whitewash and a ... brush.”
   • Twain writes, “Tom appeared on the sidewalk with a bucket and a long-handled brush.”
9. 7.

   Noah checks four sentences. Which one is NOT correct?

   • “I guess we could try the other path...” the hiker said, drifting off.
   • “Turn to the next page and—” the reader began, and then the bell rang.
   • The sign on the pool gate said, “Closed for repairs until mid-June.”
   • “Wait, the bus leaves at...” the driver shouted as a horn blared over the words.

10. Original (Frances Hodgson Burnett, The Secret Garden, 1911)

    “When Mary Lennox was sent to Misselthwaite Manor to live with her uncle everybody said she was the most disagreeable-looking child ever seen.” Report: Burnett begins, “When Mary Lennox was sent to Misselthwaite Manor ... everybody said she was the most disagreeable looking child ever seen.”

11. 8.

    Luz checks the sentence. What is the real slip?

    • The quotation needs a comma added after the word “uncle.”
    • The dots should go, because the cut words cannot be left out of a quotation.
    • The quotation drops the author’s hyphen in “disagreeable-looking.”
    • Nothing is wrong; the shortened quotation is correct.
12. 9.

    The trip to the science center was a two-hour ride, and the ride home was two-hours long. Tala checks the sentence. What is the real slip?

    • Nothing is wrong; each hyphen in the sentence is correct.
    • “Two-hour” should have no hyphen, because it names a length of time.
    • “Two-hours” should be closed up into one word: twohours.
    • “Two-hours long” follows the verb, so it should have no hyphen.
13. 10.

    The pool held a swim meet for ten and twelve-year-old swimmers. Jun checks the sentence. What is the real slip?

    • “Ten” needs a hanging hyphen, because it shares “year-old.”
    • “Twelve-year-old” should have no hyphens before “swimmers.”
    • The sentence needs a dash right after the word “meet.”
    • Nothing is wrong; the hyphens in the sentence are correct.