Commas, dashes and ellipses

Grade 8 Reading Worksheet - Challenge Me

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Gap 1

   Pia hesitates, unsure of the answer. Gap 2: a loud bell cuts Pia off. Pia: “I think the answer is [1] maybe twelve.” Pia: “Quick, before the bell rings, we should [2]”

2. 1.

   Noah fills two gaps in a script. Which pair of marks goes in order?

   • dash, then ellipsis
   • ellipsis, then dash
   • dash, then dash
   • ellipsis, then ellipsis

3. Gap 1

   a shout cuts Luz off. Gap 2: a light pause comes before the name of the person Milo is speaking to. Luz: “I only wanted to [1]” Milo: “Hand me the tape [2] Zee.”

4. 2.

   Pia fills two gaps in a script. Which pair of marks goes in order?

   • dash, then comma
   • comma, then dash
   • dash, then dash
   • comma, then comma

5. Gap 1

   a light pause comes before the name of the person Bo is thanking. Gap 2: Ari hesitates and loses the thought. Bo: “Thanks for the ride [1] Ari.” Ari: “No problem. I was hoping we could [2] oh, never mind.”

6. 3.

   Ren fills two gaps in a script. Which pair of marks goes in order?

   • ellipsis, then ellipsis
   • ellipsis, then comma
   • comma, then ellipsis
   • comma, then comma
7. 4.

   The lighthouse—built long ago, still guides boats home. Its keeper however lives in town. Zee edits a draft about a lighthouse. Two marks are wrong or missing. Which revision fixes both and changes nothing else?

   • The lighthouse—built long ago—still guides boats home. Its keeper, however, lives in town.
   • The lighthouse—built long ago—still guides boats home. Its keeper however lives in town.
   • The lighthouse—built long ago—still guides boats home. Its keeper, however, lives, in town.
   • The lighthouse—built long ago, still guides boats home. Its keeper, however, lives in town.
8. 5.

   The sign says, “The pool opens at nine on summer weekends.” The pool—our favorite spot is closed on Mondays. Ari edits a draft that quotes a pool sign. The sign said the pool opens at nine and closes at eight on summer weekends. Which revision fixes both slips?

   • The sign says, “The pool opens at nine … on summer weekends.” The pool—our favorite spot—is closed on Mondays.
   • The sign says, “The pool opens at nine … on summer weekends.” The pool—our favorite spot—is closed, on Mondays.
   • The sign says, “The pool opens at nine … on summer weekends.” The pool—our favorite spot is closed on Mondays.
   • The sign says, “The pool opens at nine on summer weekends.” The pool—our favorite spot—is closed on Mondays.
9. 6.

   The mural—painted by the whole class took a month to finish. The art teacher of course was proud. Esme edits a draft about a class mural. Two marks are wrong or missing. Which revision fixes both and changes nothing else?

   • The mural—painted by the whole class took a month to finish. The art teacher, of course, was proud.
   • The mural—painted by the whole class—took a month to finish. The art teacher, of course, was proud.
   • The mural—painted by the whole class—took a month to finish. The art teacher, of course, was, proud.
   • The mural—painted by the whole class—took a month to finish. The art teacher of course was proud.

10. Original

    “The library does not allow food near the computers because crumbs damage the keyboards.” Shortened: “The library … allow food near the computers because crumbs damage the keyboards.”

11. 7.

    Jun checks a shortened quotation for a school report. Which statement judges the cut correctly?

    • Fair: just two small words are hidden, so the meaning stays the same.
    • Unfair: the ellipsis hides “does not”, so the quote says the opposite of the writer.
    • Fair: an ellipsis marks words that were cut, so the cut is allowed.
    • Unfair: an ellipsis cannot stand in the middle of a sentence.

12. Original

    “The garden produced vegetables that the students had planted themselves in April for the lunch program.” Shortened: “The garden produced vegetables … for the lunch program.”

13. 8.

    Kira checks a shortened quotation for a school report. Which statement judges the cut correctly?

    • Unfair: the hidden words say who did the planting, and the claim depends on that.
    • Unfair: the ellipsis should sit at the start of the quotation, not in the middle.
    • Fair: the ellipsis hides a background detail, so the writer's claim is the same.
    • Unfair: the shortened quote has fewer words than the original.

14. Original

    “At the winter concert the choir will perform only songs written by students.” Shortened: “At the winter concert the choir will perform … songs written by students.”

15. 9.

    Luz checks a shortened quotation for a school report. Which statement judges the cut correctly?

    • Fair: just one small word is hidden, so the meaning stays the same.
    • Unfair: the ellipsis hides “only”, so the quote loses the limit the writer set.
    • Unfair: an ellipsis cannot go between two words of one sentence.
    • Fair: the ellipsis shows a cut, and that is enough to make it honest.

16. Original

    “The class turtle lives in a large tank by the window and eats lettuce every day.” Shortened: “The class turtle lives in a large tank … and eats lettuce every day.”

17. 10.

    Milo checks a shortened quotation for a school report. Which statement judges the cut correctly?

    • Unfair: the ellipsis belongs at the end of the quotation, not in the middle.
    • Fair: the ellipsis hides where the tank sits, so the writer's claim is the same.
    • Unfair: the cut makes the quote shorter than what the writer wrote.
    • Unfair: the hidden words say where the tank sits, and the claim depends on that.