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Semicolon Use - Exercise 2

Revise the following sentences by adding commas where they are needed. You may need to change a comma to a semicolon. Type your answers in the test below each item. If a sentence is correct, type "correct" in the textbox. When you are finished, hit the "Check My Work" button at the bottom of the page.

1.  Martin Luther King did not intend to become a preacher, originally he wanted to be a lawyer.



2.  Bill helped Susan with her homework, coached her in softball, and encouraged her to stay in school, but when her uncle died, she quit school and gave up.



3.  The parole hearing was attended by James Thomas, who was a federal prosecutor, Irene Milton, who supervised the state prison system, and Jeremy Ingram, a former legal aide for the city.



4.  If you want to lose weight and keep it off, try a good diet, if you are serious about your goal, you should be successful.



5.  The route suggested by Map Quest was not, however, open to traffic that day.



6.  Her hand, her neck, and her right leg, which was severely twisted, were all caught in the trap, yet she managed to extricate herself and crawl all the way back to the campsite.



7.  Many parents are in favor of school uniforms, they feel that the uniforms develop a sense of community among students.



8.  The rain was causing flooding in many areas, however, we still carried out our plans.



9.  My parents, who hadn't known anything about the party, Mrs. Schultz, who trusted me implicitly, and Jim Bell, a police officer with the juvenile services division, were all waiting for me when I got home.



10.  Throwing his arms into the air, Mike looked absolutely dumbfounded, so he stood up, knocking all of the materials on the floor, and left the building.



           

 

For further information on these resources, contact
Margaret L. Benner
benner@towson.edu

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