Welcome to grammar day on Seriously Write. Ready to test your skills? The following sentences may contain grammar, punctuation, spelling, or other writing misdemeanors. Your job is to find the infraction and set it right. Try not to look at the answers below.
Have fun!
Sentences to correct:
1) A beautiful ballad flowed from the radio, as I drove to my destination. No matter where the singer traveled, how much he acomplished, or how many people surrounded him he felt alone and acked to go home.
2) Maybe “home” is where you grew up. No matter how old we became, our parents may still ask, “When are you coming home”?
3) Maybe home is a “safe place to land” for you, family, and friends. A place where everyone can find warmth, comfort, encouragment, aceptance, and unconditonal love. It’s been said that “home is where the heart is” which means your true home is with the person or place you love most.
4) Everyone deserves to have a home. Whether its a mansion or a shack, a home should provide shelter and protection not only the elements, but the stress, struggles, and pain that can be expereinced in the outside world.
5) As followers of Christ, we know that an eternal home is being prepard for us. John 14:2 says, In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepar a place for you (NIV).”
6) But, there’s also another kind of home to be found. One that we can live in today. “Jesus replied, “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.” (John 14;23 NIV) We can find the truest sense of home—of being where were supposed to be—in our relatoinship with our Lord.
Corrected sentences:
1) A beautiful ballad flowed from the radio as I drove to my destination. No matter where the singer traveled, how much he accomplished, or how many people surrounded him, he felt alone and ached to go home.
Note: No comma is needed after radio.
Note: There were two extra spaces between the first and second sentence in the incorrect set above. There should only be one space in-between sentences.
2) Maybe “home” is where you grew up. No matter how old we become, our parents may still ask, “When are you coming home?”
3) Maybe home is a “safe place to land” for you, family, and friends. A place where everyone can find warmth, comfort, encouragement, acceptance, and unconditional love. It’s been said that “home is where the heart is,” which means your true home is with the person or place you love most.
Note: A comma is needed between “home is where the heart is,” and the word “which.”
4) Everyone deserves to have a home. Whether it’s a mansion or a shack, a home should provide shelter and protection from not only the elements, but also the stress, struggles, and pain that can be experienced in the outside world.
5) As followers of Christ, we know that an eternal home is being prepared for us. John 14:2 says, “In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you” (NIV).
Note: In the example above, quotation marks proceed and follow the quote. The period comes after the reference.
6) But, there’s also another kind of home to be found. One that we can live in today. “Jesus replied, ‘If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him’” (John 14:23 NIV). We can find the truest sense of home—of being where we’re supposed to be—in our relationship with our Lord.
Note: When a quote is contained within a quote it’s surround by single quotation marks. In this case, because the inside quote also ends the quote, both single and double quotation marks are used at the end of the sentence.
Note: A colon, not a semi-colon, separates the Bible chapter and verse. The period follows the reference, not the quote.
How well did you do?
Like anyone else, I’m not perfect. I use The Chicago Manual of Style, The Christian Writers Manual of Style, and Webster’s Dictionary as my sources.
