50+ Punctuation worksheets for 8th Grade on Quizizz | Free & Printable - Free Printable

Let’s go through each question one by one and figure out which sentence uses hyphens or dashes correctly.

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Question 1: Which sentence uses hyphens correctly?

We’re looking for “self-confidence” — that’s a compound word that needs a hyphen when used as a noun.
- A: “Success builds self-confidence.” → ✔ Correct! “Self-confidence” is one idea, so it gets a hyphen.
- B: “Success-builds self confidence.” → ✘ Wrong. “Success-builds” isn’t a thing, and “self confidence” should be hyphenated.
- C: “Success builds self confidence.” → ✘ Missing hyphen in “self-confidence”.
- D: “Success builds-self confidence.” → ✘ Hyphen in wrong place.

✔ Answer: A

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Question 2: Which sentence uses hyphens correctly?

“Red-hot embers” — this describes the color/temperature of the embers. When two words together describe a noun (like “embers”), they often get a hyphen if they come before the noun.
- A: “Red hot embers...” → ✘ Should be hyphenated because it’s describing the embers.
- B: “Red hot-embers...” → ✘ Hyphen in wrong spot.
- C: “Red-hot embers glow...” → ✔ Correct! “Red-hot” is a compound adjective before “embers”.
- D: “...in-the-fireplace.” → ✘ No need to hyphenate prepositional phrases like that.

✔ Answer: C

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Question 3: Which sentence uses hyphens correctly?

“One-half teaspoon” — fractions used as adjectives before nouns are usually hyphenated.
- A: “calls-for one half teaspoon” → ✘ “Calls-for” doesn’t make sense; also missing hyphen in fraction.
- B: “calls for one-half teaspoon” → ✔ Correct! “One-half” is hyphenated because it’s modifying “teaspoon”.
- C: “one half-teaspoon” → ✘ Hyphen shouldn’t be between “half” and “teaspoon” — it’s not a compound unit here.
- D: “one half teaspoon” → ✘ Missing hyphen in the fraction.

✔ Answer: B

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Question 4: Which sentence uses hyphens correctly?

“Double-decker bus” — this is a common compound noun. It always has a hyphen.
Also, “top level” does NOT need a hyphen unless it’s acting as an adjective before a noun — but here it’s after “on the”, so no hyphen needed.
- A: “double-decker bus” + “top level” → ✔ Both correct!
- B: “top-level” → ✘ Not needed here.
- C: “double decker bus” → ✘ Missing hyphen in “double-decker”.
- D: “In-London” → ✘ Never hyphenate city names like that.

✔ Answer: A

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Question 5: Which sentence uses dashes correctly?

Dashes (—) can set off extra information or emphasize something. Here, we want to say: “There’s only one thing I still need to pack for my trip — sunscreen.” The dash introduces what that one thing is.
- A: “pack- for my trip sunscreen” → ✘ Dash in wrong place, breaks the phrase.
- B: “trip- sunscreen” → ✘ Same issue — dash cuts off the flow.
- C: “thing- I still need...” → ✘ Dash interrupts the subject unnecessarily.
- D: “There’s- only one thing...” → ✘ Breaks up “There’s” incorrectly.

Wait — none look perfect? Let’s re-read.

Actually, option B says:
> “There’s only one thing I still need to pack for my trip- sunscreen.”

That’s almost right — but it should have a space before the dash? Actually, in informal writing, sometimes people write it without space. But technically, em dash should have spaces around it or none — depending on style. However, among these choices, B is closest — it uses the dash to introduce “sunscreen” as the one thing.

But wait — let’s check again. Maybe the test expects:

The best version would be:
“There’s only one thing I still need to pack for my trip — sunscreen.”

Looking at the options, B writes:
“pack for my trip- sunscreen” — so the dash is between “trip” and “sunscreen”, which is where it should be to introduce the item.

Even though punctuation spacing might be off, B is the only one using the dash to correctly introduce the final item.

Actually — hold on. Option C:
“There’s only one thing- I still need to pack for my trip sunscreen.” → That makes no sense — “thing- I still need...” breaks the sentence.

Option D: “There’s- only one thing...” → breaks “There’s”.

So actually, none are perfectly punctuated, but B is the least wrong — it puts the dash right before naming the item.

Wait — maybe I misread. Let me look again.

Actually, in many school tests, they accept:

> “There’s only one thing I still need to pack for my trip — sunscreen.”

And in option B, it’s written as:

> “There’s only one thing I still need to pack for my trip- sunscreen.”

It’s missing a space before the dash, but perhaps in this context, it’s accepted.

Alternatively — maybe the correct answer is not listed perfectly, but since we must choose, B is intended to be correct.

Wait — let’s think differently. Maybe the dash is meant to replace a colon or comma to add emphasis.

Actually, looking back — perhaps C is trying to do:
“There’s only one thing — I still need to pack for my trip: sunscreen.” But it’s written poorly.

I think there’s a typo in the options. But based on standard usage, the dash should come right before “sunscreen” to introduce it.

So B is the best choice.

✔ Answer: B

*(Note: In real life, you’d write “trip — sunscreen” with spaces, but for this quiz, B is likely the intended answer.)*

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Question 6: Which sentence uses dashes correctly?

This question is cut off in your image — it just says “Which sentence uses dashes correctly?” but no options are shown below it. So I can’t answer #6 yet.

But since you asked to solve the problem accurately, and only questions 1–5 are fully visible, I’ll stop at 5.

If you provide question 6’s options, I’ll solve it too!

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Final Answer:
1. A
2. C
3. B
4. A
5. B