Keep the tense, the voice and the pronoun steady

Grade 9 Reading Worksheet - Challenge Me

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Draft

   Last spring, the robotics club entered a regional meet, and the robot was built by the members in only six weeks. The club packed their tools carefully, but a loose wire costs the team a point.

2. 1.

   Ari revises a club report. Which revision fixes the tense shift, the needless passive and the pronoun, and keeps every fact?

   • Last spring, the robotics club entered a regional meet, and the members built the robot in only six weeks. The club packed its tools carefully, but a loose wire cost the team a point.
   • Last spring, the robotics club entered a regional meet, and the members built the robot in only six weeks. The club packed their tools carefully, but a loose wire cost the team a point.
   • Last spring, the robotics club entered a regional meet, and the members built the robot in only six weeks. The club packed its tools carefully, but a loose wire costs the team a point.
   • Last spring, the robotics club entered a regional meet, and the robot was built by the members in only six weeks. The club packed its tools carefully, but a loose wire cost the team a point.
3. 2.

   An apology that owns the mistake and names who made it, written in the past tense by the club's officers. Tala drafts a note for the drama club. Which sentence serves the purpose, in the same tense, with the pronouns right?

   • Two rehearsals were scheduled for the same hour, and an afternoon was lost by the cast.
   • We scheduled two rehearsals for the same hour, and your mistake cost the cast an afternoon.
   • We scheduled two rehearsals for the same hour, and our mistake cost the cast an afternoon.
   • We schedule two rehearsals for the same hour, and our mistake costs the cast an afternoon.

4. Draft

   Last June, the footbridge was repaired by the parks crew, and the crew paint each rail by hand. Now the town lights them at dusk.

5. 3.

   Jun revises a town newsletter. Which revision fixes the tense shift, the needless passive and the pronoun, and keeps every fact?

   • Last June, the parks crew repaired the footbridge, and the crew paint each rail by hand. Now the town lights it at dusk.
   • Last June, the footbridge was repaired by the parks crew, and the crew painted each rail by hand. Now the town lights it at dusk.
   • Last June, the parks crew repaired the footbridge, and the crew painted each rail by hand. Now the town lights them at dusk.
   • Last June, the parks crew repaired the footbridge, and the crew painted each rail by hand. Now the town lights it at dusk.
6. 4.

   Pia checks four sentences for a formal report. Which one has the tense shift the time words need, active voice for a named doer and agreeing pronouns?

   • The museum's staff restores the quilt last March, and the museum now displays it near the entrance.
   • The quilt was restored by the museum's staff last March, and the museum now displays it near the entrance.
   • The museum's staff restored the quilt last March, and the museum now displays it near the entrance.
   • The museum's staff restored the quilt last March, and the museum now displays them near the entrance.

7. Purpose

   a news story that credits the history club for saving a flooded archive, with the doers named first, in the past tense.

8. 5.

   Bo writes a line for the school paper. Which sentence serves the purpose, in the same tense, with the pronouns right?

   • Volunteers from the history club rebuild the flooded archive in a weekend, and the club saves its oldest photographs.
   • Volunteers from the history club rebuilt the flooded archive in a weekend, and the club saved its oldest photographs.
   • Volunteers from the history club rebuilt the flooded archive in a weekend, and the club saved their oldest photographs.
   • The flooded archive was rebuilt in a weekend by volunteers from the history club, and the club's oldest photographs were saved.

9. Draft

   Before the storm reached the coast, the radar was moved inland by the weather team, and the team had tested their backup power twice. The team now tracked the system from the new site.

10. 6.

    Milo revises a weather-team memo. Which revision fixes the tense shift, the needless passive and the pronoun, and keeps every fact?

    • Before the storm reached the coast, the weather team moved the radar inland, and the team had tested its backup power twice. The team now tracks the system from the new site.
    • Before the storm reached the coast, the radar was moved inland by the weather team, and the team had tested its backup power twice. The team now tracks the system from the new site.
    • Before the storm reached the coast, the weather team moved the radar inland, and the team had tested their backup power twice. The team now tracks the system from the new site.
    • Before the storm reached the coast, the weather team moved the radar inland, and the team had tested its backup power twice. The team now tracked the system from the new site.
11. 7.

    Zee checks four sentences for a formal report. Which one has the tense shift the time words need, active voice for a named doer and agreeing pronouns?

    • Before the bus left the lot, the trip committee had counted its permission slips, and the committee now posts the list on the door.
    • Before the bus left the lot, the trip committee had counted their permission slips, and the committee now posts the list on the door.
    • Before the bus left the lot, the permission slips had been counted by the trip committee, and the committee now posts the list on the door.
    • Before the bus left the lot, the trip committee had counted its permission slips, and the committee now posted the list on the door.

12. Draft

    Each of the three exhibits opened in spring, and a short guide for visitors was written by its curator. The curators writes that visitors should ask the guards if they have questions.

13. 8.

    Ren revises a museum notice. Which revision fixes the tense shift, the needless passive and the pronoun, and keeps every fact?

    • Each of the three exhibits opened in spring, and their curator wrote a short guide for visitors. The curators write that visitors should ask the guards if they have questions.
    • Each of the three exhibits opened in spring, and a short guide for visitors was written by its curator. The curators write that visitors should ask the guards if they have questions.
    • Each of the three exhibits opened in spring, and its curator wrote a short guide for visitors. The curators write that visitors should ask the guards if they have questions.
    • Each of the three exhibits opened in spring, and its curator wrote a short guide for visitors. The curators writes that visitors should ask the guards if they have questions.
14. 9.

    Esme checks four sentences for a formal report. Which one has a steady tense, active voice for a named doer and agreeing pronouns?

    • Each of the three exhibits opened in spring, and a short guide for visitors was written by its curator.
    • Each of the three exhibits opened in spring, and its curator writes a short guide for visitors.
    • Each of the three exhibits opened in spring, and their curator wrote a short guide for visitors.
    • Each of the three exhibits opened in spring, and its curator wrote a short guide for visitors.
15. 10.

    a brief that keeps readers' attention on the damaged boats, not on the storm, in the past tense. Noah writes a line for a local news brief. Which sentence serves the purpose, in the same tense, with the pronouns right?

    • Eleven boats are damaged when the storm struck the marina, and their owners are notified by phone.
    • The storm damaged eleven boats when it struck the marina, and the marina notified their owners by phone.
    • Eleven boats were damaged when the storm struck the marina, and their owners were notified by phone.
    • Eleven boats were damaged when the storm struck the marina, and its owners were notified by phone.