Keep the tense, the voice and the pronoun steady

Grade 9 Reading Worksheet

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Draft

   [1] Last spring, the Key Club sold hand-painted bookmarks to raise money for the animal shelter. [2] Now the club sells stickers because the bookmarks took too long to paint. [3] At the April sale, the volunteers raise $212, and the shelter uses it to buy blankets.

2. 1.

   Ari edits a club history. Which revision of sentences 2 and 3 fixes the shift nothing calls for and keeps the shift the time words need?

   • [2] Now the club sold stickers because the bookmarks took too long to paint. [3] At the April sale, the volunteers raised $212, and the shelter used it to buy blankets.
   • [2] Now the club sells stickers because the bookmarks took too long to paint. [3] At the April sale, the volunteers raised $212, and the shelter used it to buy blankets.
   • [2] Now the club sells stickers because the bookmarks took too long to paint. [3] At the April sale, the volunteers raised $212, and the shelter used it to buy food.
   • [2] Now the club sells stickers because the bookmarks took too long to paint. [3] At the April sale, the volunteers raised $212, and the shelter uses it to buy blankets.

3. Draft

   The planning committee reviewed forty proposals and announced that they had chosen three finalists; the committee will release their names on Friday.

4. 2.

   Luz proofreads formal minutes. Which revision makes each pronoun agree with its noun and keeps every detail?

   • The planning committee reviewed forty proposals and announced that it had chosen three finalists; the committee will release its names on Friday.
   • The planning committee reviewed forty proposals and announced that it had chosen three finalists; they will release their names on Friday.
   • The planning committee reviewed forty proposals and announced that they had chosen three finalists; the committee will release the finalists' names on Friday.
   • The planning committee reviewed forty proposals and announced that it had chosen three finalists; the committee will release their names on Friday.

5. Context

   A jar of pond soil sat on the lab shelf for three weeks. Goal: start the next sentence with the jar, because the report is about the jar, and keep the past tense.

6. 3.

   Tala writes the next sentence of a lab report. Which sentence meets the goal?

   • The jar was weighed by Ms. Ito on Friday, and its lid was checked for cracks.
   • The jar is weighed by Ms. Ito on Friday, and its lid is checked for cracks.
   • Ms. Ito weighed the jar on Friday, and she checked its lid for cracks.
   • The jar was weighed by Ms. Ito on Friday, and their lid was checked for cracks.

7. Draft

   [1] In 2019, the Elm Street Library scanned its oldest maps into an online archive. [2] The archive now holds more than nine hundred maps, which researchers had used before the library closed for repairs. [3] Last fall, the staff add a search tool, and visitors find maps by street name.

8. 4.

   Jun edits a club history. Which revision of sentences 2 and 3 fixes the shift nothing calls for and keeps the shift the time words need?

   • [2] The archive now holds more than nine hundred maps, which researchers had used before the library closed for repairs. [3] Last fall, the staff added a search tool, and visitors found maps by street name.
   • [2] The archive now holds more than nine hundred maps, which researchers had used before the library closed for repairs. [3] Last fall, the staff added a search tool, and visitors found maps by author name.
   • [2] The archive now holds more than nine hundred maps, which researchers had used before the library closed for repairs. [3] Last fall, the staff added a search tool, and visitors find maps by street name.
   • [2] The archive now held more than nine hundred maps, which researchers had used before the library closed for repairs. [3] Last fall, the staff added a search tool, and visitors found maps by street name.
9. 5.

   The district cut late buses to save money, which made families late for work, and this angered parents. Pia edits a news brief. The writer means the bus cut angered parents. Which revision makes that clear and keeps the tense?

   • The district cut late buses to save money, which made families late for work, and it angered parents.
   • The district cut late buses to save money, which made families late for work, and the cut angered parents.
   • The district cut late buses to save money, which made families late for work, and the cut angers parents.
   • The district cut late buses to save money, which made families late for work, and they angered parents.

10. Context

    Judges chose the winning mural from forty entries. Goal: put the painters after the verb, as the new information, and keep the past tense.

11. 6.

    Bo writes the next sentence of a news story. Which sentence meets the goal?

    • The mural is painted by Ms. Pruitt's art class, which hangs its sketches in the lobby.
    • The mural was painted by Ms. Pruitt's art class, which hung his sketches in the lobby.
    • Ms. Pruitt's art class painted the mural and hung its sketches in the lobby.
    • The mural was painted by Ms. Pruitt's art class, which hung its sketches in the lobby.

12. Draft

    [1] Before the city painted bike lanes on Cedar Avenue, riders shared the road with delivery trucks. [2] Last month, volunteers count 480 riders a day, up from 310 a year before. [3] Because of those numbers, the council now plans a second route, and the city will paint it next spring.

13. 7.

    Milo edits a club history. Which revision of sentences 2 and 3 fixes the shift nothing calls for and keeps the shift the time words need?

    • [2] Last month, volunteers have counted 480 riders a day, up from 310 a year before. [3] Because of those numbers, the council now plans a second route, and the city will paint it next spring.
    • [2] Last month, volunteers counted 480 riders a day, up from 310 a year before. [3] Because of those numbers, the council now plans a second route, and the city will paint it next spring.
    • [2] Last month, volunteers counted 480 riders a day, up from 310 a month before. [3] Because of those numbers, the council now plans a second route, and the city will paint it next spring.
    • [2] Last month, volunteers counted 480 riders a day, up from 310 a year before. [3] Because of those numbers, the council then planned a second route, and the city would paint it next spring.
14. 8.

    The jury is still deliberating, and they will announce the winner at noon, even if their discussion runs late. Zee proofreads a contest notice for formal writing. Which revision makes the pronouns agree with jury and keeps every detail?

    • The jury is still deliberating, and it will announce the winner at noon, even if their discussion runs late.
    • The jury is still deliberating, and it will announce the winner at noon, even if its discussion runs late.
    • The jury is still deliberating, and it will announce the winner at noon, even if its discussion ran late.
    • The jury is still deliberating, and it will announce the winner at noon, even if it runs late.

15. Context

    The old school bell hung in the tower for decades. Goal: say it was rung every morning without inventing a ringer, since no record names one, and keep the past tense.

16. 9.

    Kira writes the next sentence of a school history. Which sentence meets the goal?

    • The bell was rung every morning until the school closed, and their sound carried across the field.
    • The bell was rung every morning until the school closed, and its sound carried across the field.
    • A custodian rang the bell every morning until the school closed, and its sound carried across the field.
    • The bell was rung every morning until the school closes, and its sound carries across the field.

17. Context

    Residents asked how the downtown parking rules changed. Goal: name the doer first, since readers want to know who decided, and keep the past tense.

18. 10.

    Noah writes the next sentence of a town bulletin. Which sentence meets the goal?

    • Downtown parking limits were cut to two hours by the council, and the change was posted on its website.
    • The council cut downtown parking limits to two hours, and they posted the change on their website.
    • The council cuts downtown parking limits to two hours, and it posts the change on its website.
    • The council cut downtown parking limits to two hours, and it posted the change on its website.