ACCUPLACER TEST STUDY GUIDE COMPLETE STUDY GUIDE ALL SUBJECTS INCLUDED WITH PRACTICE QUESTIONS AND CORRECT ANSWERS

ACCUPLACER TEST STUDY GUIDE COMPLETE STUDY GUIDE ALL SUBJECTS INCLUDED WITH PRACTICE QUESTIONS AND CORRECT ANSWERS ENGLISH GRAMMER AND USAGE The following list of English Grammar Rules and their Usage Rules are essential for you to know. You must be familiar with these rules if you want to score well in this area of the test. Capitalization 1. Capitalize the first word of a sentence. 2. Capitalize all proper names. Example: Russia, United Methodist Church, Dan Marino. 3. Capitalize days of the week, months of they year, and holidays. Example: The package was mailed on Tuesday, the day after Easter. Note: Do NOT capitalize seasons. Example: In Hawaii, summer is hot. 4. Capitalize the first and all other important words of a title. Example: The Art of a Blacksmith 5. Capitalize nouns that are not regularly capitalized when they are used as part of proper names Example: Tomorrow, I am going to visit Aunt Mary, my favorite aunt. Example: Tiger Avenue is a very wide avenue. 6. Capitalize the points of the compass only when referring to a direction. Example: Many people enjoy country food in the South. Note: Do NOT capitalize the points of the compass when referring to direction. Example: Many geese head south in the fall. 7. Capitalize languages and specific place names used as modifiers. Do not capitalize any other school subjects. Example: In two years, I will take German, astrology, English literature, geometry, American history, and ancient cultures. 8. Capitalize the first word of a direct quotation. Example: It was Martin Luther King who said, “I have a dream.” Note: Do NOT capitalize the first word within quotation marks if it does not begin a complete sentence, when a directly quoted sentence is broken. Example: “I hit my head,” he told us, “because the cabinet was left open.” Punctuation The Apostrophe 1. Use an apostrophe to indicate possession. Place the apostrophe according to this rule: “The apostrophe, when used to indicate possession, means belonging to everything to the left of the apostrophe.” Examples: man’s = belonging to the man men’s = belonging to the men children’s = belonging to the children Note: To test for correct placement of the apostrophe, read “of the.” Example: childrens’ = of the children (clearly incorrect) The placement rule applies at all times, even with regard to compound nouns separated by hyphens and with regard to entities made up of two or more names. Example: son-in-law’s = belonging to a son-in-law Example: Morris, Benson, and Smith’s law firm = the law firm belonging to Morris, Benson, and Smith Example: Gomez and Son’s delivery truck = the delivery truck of Gomez and Sons 2. Use an apostrophe in a contraction in place of the omitted letter or letters. Examples: haven’t = have not, we’re = we are, let’s = let us, o’clock = of the clock class of ’85 = class of 1985 Note: Do NOT start a paragraph with a contraction that begins with an apostrophe. 3. Use an apostrophe to form plurals of numbers, letters, a