Grammar - Cannondale Bikes- 4A

LANGUAGE ARTS

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Grammar and Usage

In the following sentences, four parts of each sentence are underlined. If you think any one of the underlined parts is incorrect, choose the letter under that part as your answer. If you think the sentence is correct as written, choose (E) as your answer. Please note: read together, all of the sentences in this section make up a story.

1. The Cannondale Bicycle Corporation is an American division of Canadian conglomerate Dorel Industries who supplies bicycles. No Error.

A: WHO is wrong here. Only use WHO for people, not bicycles! The Cannondale Bicycle Corporation is an official name of a corporation, so it is capitalized.

2. It is headquartered in Bethel Connecticut with manufacturing and assembly facilities in China and Taichung, Taiwan. No Error.

A: “Bethel, Connecticut.” You need a comma to separate city and state.

3. The company, founded in 1971 by Joe Montgomery, Jim Catrambone, and Ron Davis, were designed to manufacture backpacks and bags for camping and later for bicycle trailers for bicycle touring. No Error.

A: WERE is WRONG Here, the company WAS not WERE. Use WAS for one but WERE for two or more. One company WAS; many companies WERE.

4. One of the more successful products was the Bugger, a child trailer, although Cannondale's marketing department seemed unaware of the connotations of the name in British English. No Error.

A: MORE is wrong here. MORE refers to two! Only use MORE when you are positive that you have TWO. Otherwise use most. Use BETTER for TWO; use BEST for THREE. Remember that ER endings apply to two; EST endings apply to three or more. When you are unsure, use EST endings and assume three or more, unless states otherwise. 

5. Today, Cannondale produces many different types of high-end bicycles, few of which are handmade in united states. No Error.

A: UNITED STATES must be capitalized. The name of a country is a proper noun and must be capitalized.

6. The name of the company was took from the Cannondale Metro North train station in Wilton, Connecticut. No Error.

A: WAS TOOK is wrong because WAS is already in the past and you do not need to repeat that it WAS TOOK. The correct answer should state WAS TAKEN.

7.  In the late 1990s, Cannondale attempted move into the motorsports business, producing a line of off-road motorcycles and all-terrain vehicles. No Error.

A: ATTEMPTED MOVE is wrong here. Use the infinitive.  Attempted TO move. Ex: I like TO dance. She tries TO sing.

8. According to an interview with Cannondale Communications Director, Tom Armstrong, the company was unable to drive down the cost of their motor vehicles fast enough. No Error.

A: THEIR is wrong here. The COMPANY is singular and it should say ITS not THEIR 

9. Sales took off when the company was still losing money on each motorbike they shipped. No Error.

A: THEY is wrong here. Again, the company lost money on each motorbike IT shipped, not THEY shipped.

10. This gap drove the company to seek bankruptcy protection in 2003, which it probably should of done sooner. No Error.

A: “Should of” is wrong here. “Should’ve” “Could’ve” and “Would’ve” are OK to use. They are all contractions for “should have” “could have” and “would have.” There is NO SUCH THING AS “should of” “could of” or “would of”  

11. Cannondale's bicycle division was purchased in 2003 by Pegasus Capitol Advisors, which supported the company's renewed focus on bicycle production. No Error.

A: CAPITOL is wrong here. A capitol is a statehouse; capital are assets or essentials or a main city. No Error.

12. In february 2008, Cannondale was purchased from Pegasus Capital Advisors by Dorel Industries. No Error.

A: February is the name of a month and always capitalized. You always have to capitalize months of the year. (EX: September, October, November). In general, all proper nouns are always capitalized.

13. In April, 2009, Cannondale announced that all production would be transferred to Taiwan. No Error.

A: APRIL 2009 does not require a comma in between.  There is an extra comma here. Only use a comma when you have a certain DATE, For example, “Frances Kweller was born on May 22, 1982”  

14. Originally a privately held company Cannondale became a $22 million IPO in 1995. No Error.

A: You need a comma between “company” and “Cannondale”

15. The business continued as a publicly traded company until they declared bankruptcy on January 29, 2003. No Error.

A: THEY is wrong here. ONE business must be IT not THEY. Use THEY only for plural!

16. Cannondale's full assets were than purchased at auction by Pegasus Partners II, L.P.  No Error.

A: THAN is wrong here. THAN is used for comparison. THEN is used for indicating time, or answers “when”. For example: “She is taller THAN I am” and “First THEN second place”

17. The motor-sports IP, manufacturing equipment and inventory were quick sold off as the company returned its focus to bicycle manufacture. No Error.

A: QUICK is wrong here. The answer should say “quickly” – The adjective must end in LY. For example:  “speak softly” “run quickly” “drive safely.”

18. In February 2008 Dorel Industries a Canada-based diversified consumer products company, announced the purchase of Cannondale from Pegasus for approximately $200 million. No Error.

A: You need a comma after “2008” and after the word “industries.”  To avoid confusion, use commas to separate words and word groups within a series of three or more. Here, use a comma before and after surrounding the name or title of a person directly addressed. For example: “Will you, Bob, do the assignment for me?” Also use commas to surround degrees or titles. For example, “Frances Kweller, Esq., is a lawyer and the founder of Kweller Prep Tutoring and Educational Services” or “Frances Kweller, who is a lawyer, is also the founder of Kweller Prep.” Here you use the double commas.  No Error.

19. Dorel also owns Pacific Cycle, who is a distributor of bicycles made in Taiwan. No Error.

A: WHO is wrong here. Only use WHO for people. The correct answer should say “which” is a distributor.

20. Cannondale began manufacturing aluminum racing and touring frames in 1983; mountain bike frames were added later. No Error.

A: No Error. A semi colon is weaker than a comma but stronger than a period. Use a semi colon to connect two similarly related ideas. After a semi colon, always use a lower case letter. No Error.