Name:
Period: ________ Date:
Revising and Editing Extra Practice
Apostrophes
Directions: Read the following passage. Then write / circle the best answer to the questions.
Good Insurance
(1) Sam sniffed the air deeply. (2) He smelled smoke! (3) The house must be on fire! (4) He
hadnt been in a house fire before, but he knew what to do. (5) Sam quickly picked up the phone and
dialed 9-1-1. (6) The lady’s voice on the other end of the line was calm as she told him to get any people
and animals out of the house. (7) Help would be there soon.
(8) Three fire truck’s sirens announced their arrival. (9) The men pulled hoses’ from the trucks to
put out the flames. (10) Water flew at the house, sending smoke and steam billowing upwards. (11)
After a hot and lengthy struggle, the fire was extinguished. (12) The mens’ faces dripped with sweat.
(13) Sams parents arrived home to find ashes. (14) Of course it was upsetting, but they had good
insurance; everything would be replaced. (15) They were so thankful that Sam was safe. (16) Sam was so
thankful for his parents’s insurance. (17) He just wanted everything back to normal.
1. In sentence 4, the word __hadnt__ should be written __hadn’t__.
2. Look at the apostrophe in sentence 6. Is it used correctly? Yes / No
3. Is the apostrophe in sentence 8 used correctly? Yes / No
It should be trucks’ sirens.
4. Is the apostrophe in sentence 9 used correctly? Yes / No
There should be no apostrophe.
5. Is the apostrophe in sentence 12 used correctly? Yes / No It should be men’s faces.
6. In sentence 16, the word __parents’s__ should be written __parents’__.
7. Which sentence in the last paragraph has a word missing an apostrophe? __13__
Sam’s
(Write the sentence number.)
8. Rewrite sentence 6, 8, or 12 with correct apostrophe usage. Choose a sentence that isn’t already
correct.
*See notes above for corrections
Homophones
Directions: Read the following passage. For each numbered set of parentheses, circle the correct
homophone.
The Ant and the Chrysalis
A fable by Aesop
Once ( there / their / they’re ) was an ant, running around in search of food. In his hunt, the
ant came across a chrysalis. ( Its / It’s ) time of change was very close, and it began to wiggle, attracting
the ant’s attention. Noticing that it was alive for the first time, the ant cried, “Poor, pitiful animal!
( You’re / Your ) life is so sad. While I can run around as I wish, you lie imprisoned in your shell. When
humans walk towards me, I can avoid ( there / their / they’re ) crushing steps. I can climb the highest
tree, and all you can do is squirm. ( You’re / Your ) pathetic.”
The chrysalis heard all of this, but did not try to reply. A few days later, the ant passed that
way again, but only the shell of the chrysalis remained. Wondering what had become of ( its / it’s )
contents, he suddenly observed a shadow passing over him and felt a slight wind. Looking up, he saw
the buttery fly ( who’s / whose) wings were making the wind, and those wings were gorgeous. The
butterfly spoke down to the ant, “Look at me now! ( Who’s / whose ) so pitiful? You can boast to me
now of ( you’re / your) powers to run and climb for as long as you can get me to listen.” Then the
butterfly rose in the air, flew here and ( there / their / they’re ), and was soon lost to the sight of the ant
forever.
The moral of the story: Don’t be deceived by appearances.
Verb Tense
Directions: May is telling the story of her first day in a new school. She tells the story in past tense, but
sometimes she switches to a different tense. Circle the verbs that are not in the correct tense (there are
five), and write the corrected verb above.
First Day
(1) It was a hot, humid August day. (2) I trudged off the bus into the school. (3) I am not excited
about this day. (4) I missed my old school already. (5) First and second period were uneventful.
(6) Nobody talked much. (7) Then I get to third period where it seemed like everybody finally woke up
and started talking. (8) I met a few girls who were pretty nice, and the teacher was funny. (9) The day
was looking up.
(10) The day went pretty well after that. (11) People were friendly, and I don’t get lost even
once! (12) I had worried about that before. (13) By the end of the day, I decide this school wasn’t so bad
after all. (14) That afternoon, I called my friends from my old school, and we swapped stories about our
first days. (15) I had swim practice and dinner as usual. (16) My parents even allow me to stay up a little
late. (17) So in all, my first day wasn’t so bad.
Compound Sentences
Requirements:
1) Contains two independent clauses, which could stand on their own as complete sentences.
2) The two independent clauses are connected by a comma and then one of the FANBOYS
– for, and , nor, but, or ,yet, so
Directions: Is each statement a correct compound sentence? Circle Y for yes or N for no.
Y / N 1. Jonah tried to buy a video game, but he didn’t have enough money.
Y / N 2. I finished my work early because it was easy for me.
Complex sentence
Y / N 3. My grandma walks in the park for exercise when the weather is nice. Simple sentence
Y / N 4. Tony couldn’t take the heat, so he left the kitchen.
Y / N 5. I would like to think world peace is possible, yet it seems such a distant dream