Which word is used incorrectly in the following sentence? Everybody pretends to do so, but few truly understand the essay.
- A. pretends
- B. truly
- C. understand
- D. essay
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: The word 'understand' should be used instead of 'understands' to maintain subject-verb agreement. In this sentence, 'few' is a plural subject, requiring the plural verb 'understand' rather than 'understands.' The corrected sentence reads, 'but few truly understand the essay.' Choice A, 'pretends,' is used correctly in the sentence. Choice B, 'truly,' is also used appropriately. Choice D, 'essay,' is also correctly used in the sentence.
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Select the phrase that will make the following sentence grammatically correct. Before I had finished supper, James ___________.
- A. is texting me on my cell phone
- B. had texted me on my cell phone
- C. texts me on my cell phone
- D. texting me on my cell phone
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: The sentence starts with 'Before I had finished supper,' indicating that the action of James texting you on your cell phone had occurred before the completion of another past action (finishing supper). The past perfect tense 'had texted' is used to express an action that happened before another action in the past, making the sentence grammatically correct. Choice A is incorrect because it uses the present continuous tense, which is not suitable for indicating an action that occurred before finishing supper. Choice C is incorrect as it uses the simple present tense, which does not convey the sequence of events correctly. Choice D is incorrect as it presents the present continuous tense, which is not appropriate for the context of the sentence.
Select the word that makes the following sentence grammatically correct. Having ___________ one pill at bedtime, the patient was able to sleep for eight hours.
- A. took
- B. take
- C. taking
- D. taken
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: The correct word to use in this sentence is 'taking' to show the continuous aspect of the action. The sentence should read: 'Having taking one pill at bedtime, the patient was able to sleep for eight hours.' 'Taking' is the present participle form of the verb 'take,' which is appropriate in this context to indicate the ongoing action of taking a pill at bedtime. Choice A, 'took,' is incorrect as it is the simple past tense, not suitable for this sentence's structure. Choice B, 'take,' is the base form of the verb, which does not fit the sentence's requirement for a participle. Choice D, 'taken,' is the past participle form, which is also unsuitable for showing the ongoing action required in this context.
What word is best to substitute for the underlined words in the following sentence? The doctor and I went over the doctor's and my notes.
- A. his
- B. their
- C. our
- D. mine
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: The word 'our' is the best substitute for the underlined words 'the doctor's and my' in the sentence. Using 'our' indicates joint possession, making the sentence more concise and natural.
Choice A, 'his', is singular possessive and does not reflect the joint ownership implied by the sentence. Choice B, 'their', is plural possessive and does not align with the singular subjects 'the doctor and I'. Choice D, 'mine', is possessive for the first person singular pronoun and does not convey the shared ownership of the notes by both individuals.
Select the phrase in the following sentence that is not used correctly. Before their hospitalization, the children had rarely eaten three meals a day.
- A. Before their
- B. children had
- C. had rarely
- D. rarely eat
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: The phrase 'had rarely' is not used correctly in the sentence. The correct form should be 'rarely eaten' instead of 'had rarely' to convey the past tense of the children's eating habits before their hospitalization. 'Had rarely' is incorrect because it does not match the structure needed to describe the children's eating habits in the past. Choices A, B, and D are grammatically sound and fit appropriately in the sentence.
What punctuation is needed in the following sentence to make it correct? Because of a major accident on the freeway, the emergency room was overcrowded.
- A. Period
- B. Comma
- C. Exclamation point
- D. Semicolon
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: The correct sentence should be: 'Because of a major accident on the freeway, the emergency room was overcrowded.' A comma is needed after 'freeway' to separate the introductory dependent clause from the independent clause that follows. Choice A (Period) is incorrect as it would create two separate sentences. Choice C (Exclamation point) is incorrect as there is no exclamation in the sentence. Choice D (Semicolon) is incorrect as it is used to separate closely related independent clauses.
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