Select the word that makes the following sentence grammatically correct. The flock huddles against the wind that ruffles ___________ feathers.
- A. its
- B. their
- C. it's
- D. they're
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: In this sentence, the word 'flock' is singular, so the pronoun that follows should also be singular. Therefore, the correct choice is 'its,' which refers back to the singular noun 'flock.'
Choice B ('their') is incorrect because it is a plural pronoun and does not agree in number with the singular noun 'flock.' Choices C ('it's') and D ('they're') are both incorrect contractions that do not fit grammatically in this context.
You may also like to solve these questions
Select the word that makes the following sentence grammatically correct. The committee finished _______ report in time for the annual review.
- A. its
- B. their
- C. it's
- D. they're
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: In this sentence, "committee" is a singular noun, so the correct pronoun to use is "its." The possessive pronoun "its" indicates that the committee is taking ownership of the report it finished. Choice B, "their," is incorrect as it is a plural pronoun and does not agree with the singular noun "committee." Choices C and D are also incorrect as they represent contractions ("it's" for "it is" and "they're" for "they are"), which do not fit in the context of showing possession of the report by the committee.
Select the word in the following sentence that is not used correctly. Try not to lose patience or suffer a drop in morale.
- A. lose
- B. patience
- C. suffer
- D. morale
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: The word 'lose' in the sentence is not used correctly. The correct word should be 'lose,' which means to be deprived of or to fail to maintain possession of something. 'Loose' means not tight or free from restraint. In this context, 'lose' is the appropriate term to convey the idea of not maintaining patience or morale.
Select the phrase or clause that is misplaced in the following sentence: I noticed a number of workers from my car window who were repairing the road alongside the mall.
- A. of workers
- B. from my car window
- C. who were repairing the road
- D. alongside the mall
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: The phrase 'of workers' is misplaced in the sentence because the preposition 'of' is unnecessary and disrupts the flow of the sentence. It creates redundancy as 'a number of workers' can be simplified to 'workers.' Removing this unnecessary prepositional phrase would make the sentence clearer and more concise. Choice B 'from my car window' is correctly placed as it provides context on where the observation was made. Choice C 'who were repairing the road' and Choice D 'alongside the mall' are essential parts of the sentence providing details about the workers' activity and location, respectively.
Select the word that makes the following sentence grammatically correct. The girls have apparently ___________ curfew at least twice this week.
- A. broke
- B. break
- C. breaking
- D. broken
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: The correct answer is 'D: broken.' In this sentence, the word 'broken' is the past participle form of the verb 'break' and is needed to complete the present perfect tense. The correct sentence should be 'The girls have apparently broken curfew at least twice this week.' Choices A, B, and C do not fit grammatically in the sentence because 'broke' is the simple past tense, 'break' is the base form, and 'breaking' is the present participle, whereas the sentence requires the past participle 'broken' for the present perfect tense.
Select the word that makes the following sentence grammatically correct: The centrifuge cannot run by ___________; it requires constant attention.
- A. oneself
- B. itself
- C. herself
- D. themselves
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: The correct answer is 'itself.' The sentence is referring to the centrifuge, which is an object, not a person. Therefore, the word 'itself' is used to indicate that the centrifuge cannot run on its own; it requires constant attention. Choices A, C, and D are incorrect because they refer to a person or people, which is not suitable in the context of the sentence.