Editing: Grammar, Punctuation & Spelling

Editing is the process in which we look at each sentence carefully to make sure that it is well crafted and serves its purpose. While editing, we will be focusing on grammar, punctuation, and spelling. We will be checking for grammatical and punctuation errors, spelling mistakes, etc.

In the course of this article, we will also be learning new vocabulary words, as well as varying usage of the same words to help us enrich our language skills. 

Past Participles

We use Past Participle when we are talking about the first of two events completed in the past. We must use “has/have/had” before the verb. For example, begun is a participle form of the verb begin. We never use the word begun alone in a sentence. We always use it with has/have/had. E.g. He had begun dancing at 6 pm.

Practice Questions: Grammar, Punctuation & Spellings

Let us test your concepts by trying out some questions.

Question 1:

Leevai missed his flight from Ataku to Titania after waking up late.

Having __________.

1. Having woke up late, Leevai missed his flight from Ataku to Titania.
2. Having woken up late, Leevai missed his flight from Ataku to Titania.
3. Having waken up late, Leevai missed his flight from Ataku to Titania.
4. Having awakened up late, Leevai missed his flight from Ataku to Titania.

Solution:

2

Question 2:

Tonee and Romma succeeded because of their perseverance.

Had __________.

1. Had Tonee and Romma not persevered, they would have succeeded.
2. Had Tonee and Romma not persevered, they would not have succeeded.
3. Had Tonee and Romma persevered, they would not have succeeded.
4. Had Tonee and Romma persevered, they would have succeeded.

Solution:

2

Question 3: 

Laprazz swam 1000 km. She was slightly exhausted.

Having __________

1. Having swum 1000 km, Laprazz was slightly exhausted.
2. Having swam 1000 km, Laprazz was slightly exhausted.
3. Having been slightly exhausted, Laprazz swam 1000 km.
4. Having slightly exhausted, Laprazz swam 1000 km.

Solution:

1

Question 4:

Bili Ailesh’s thirst could have been avoided if he had had sufficient water.

Had __________.

1. Had Bili Ailesh not drank sufficient water, his thirst could have been avoided.
2. Had Bili Ailesh drank sufficient water, his thirst could have been avoided.
3. Had Bili Ailesh drunk sufficient water, his thirst could have been avoided.
4. Had Bili Ailesh not drunk sufficient water, his thirst could have been avoided.

Solution:

3

Question 5:

Because the snow was too powdery, Elisar could not build a snowman.

Had __________.

1. Had the snow been too powdery, Elisar could not have built a snowman.
2. Had the snow been too powdery, Elisar could have built a snowman.
3. Had the snow not been too powdery, Elisar could have built a snowman.
4. Had the snow not been too powdery, Elisar could not have built a snowman.

Solution:

3

Question 6:

The bicycle was way too small, which made peddling quite impossible.

1. pedaling
2. pedalling
3. paddling
4. pedelling

Solution:

2

Question 7:

He bought an insurance plan for his dependants.

1. dependents
2. depandents
3. defenseless
4. dependents

Solution:

1

Question 8:

The armour has a fire-resist coating.

1. resists
2. resisting
3. resistant
4. resistance

Solution:

3

Question 9:

Seeing the plumes of flames shoot into the night sky, the knight made hasten for the castle.

1. hasty
2. haste
3. hasted
4. hasta la vista

Solution:

2

Question 10:

The new cat would sit at the foot of the bed and meow for hours on end. This continued to recurring for the whole week.

1. recur
2. recurs
3. recurred
4. recurring

Solution:

1

Question 11:

Accessing most information on your phone were not limited to physical location, except for where there is no cellular reception.

1. was
2. are
3. is
4. where

Solution:

3

Question 12:

Many still hope that the pandemic will blow down.

1. up
2. out
3. over
4. under

Solution:

3

 

Question 13:

The book is about underage wizards whose struggle to fit in with the rest of the magical world.

1. who’s
2. whom
3. who
4. and why they

Solution:

3
 

Question 14:

That van has been stashenery for a while. Let us go check it out.

1. stesheneree
2. stashenary
3. stationery
4. stationary

Solution:

4

 

Question 15:

The spell book was bound in leather with a color diamond embedded in its center.

1. colour
2. colours
3. coloured
4. colouring

Solution:

3

Vocabulary Words

Let us now go over some of the words and their different meanings.
 

• Peddling

It is the activity of selling illegal drugs or stolen items.

These days many young people are involved in drug peddling.

• Pedalling

It is the action of working the pedals of a bicycle.

I have to do some fast pedalling to reach my school on time.

• Dependent

A person who relies on another, especially a family member, for financial support.

The person died in an accident leaving behind four dependents.

• Make haste

It is a phrase of haste. It means to hurry.

Make haste or we shall miss the train.

• Stationary

It means not moving.

The oncoming car collided with a stationary truck.

• Stationery

It means writing and other office materials like pens, paper etc.

She wanted to buy the stationery supplies before the school reopens after vacation.

• Embedded

It is an object that is fixed firmly and deeply in a surrounding mass.

Swami materialized a gold ring with nine embedded gem stones.

• Pandemic

A disease prevalent in the whole world.

The world is going through the CoronaVirus pandemic right now.

• Blow Away

It means to impress someone greatly.

I am blown away by his new poem.

• Blow Out

It means to be extinguished by an air current.

Please blow out the candles.

• Plumes

• a long cloud of smoke or vapour resembling a feather as it spreads from its point of origin;

Seeing the plumes of flames from the nearby huts, the neighbors called the fire engines.

• a long, soft feather or arrangement of feathers used by a bird for display or worn by a person for ornament.

A plume is a special type of bird feather which is mainly for decorative purposes.

• Fumes

It is an amount of gas or vapor that smells strongly or is dangerous to inhale.

It is dangerous to inhale the fumes from the car exhaust.

Conclusion

In this article, we have revised key concepts by practising questions on grammar, punctuation, and spelling as well as some questions on the usage of past participle verbs. We have also learned the different meanings of some vocabulary words and their usage in sentences.

I hope this will help you further in getting better at the English language, as well as enrich your vocabulary.