1. The following sentence is an example of which primary English sentence pattern?
The toddler tossed his father the ball.
A. Pronoun+ subject+ interrogative verb
B. Subject+ action verb + direct object
C. Subject+ action verb+ indirect object+ direct object
D. Subject+ verb +object +object complement
2. Which of the following is a complex sentence that contains a dependent adverbial clause?
A. Mark expects the photo to arrive in damaged condition.
B. Mark expects the photo to arrive late.
C. Mark expects the photo to arrive on Tuesday.
D. Mark expects the photo to arrive when the letter arrives.
3. What is the simple subject in this sentence?
The Saturn rocket made travel to the moon possible.
A. travel
B. rocket
C. moon
D. Saturn
4. A split infinitive is an infinitive that
A. has a word between "to" and the verb.
B. must have a subject.
C. is used as an adjective or a noun.
D. is used without the word "to."
5. One of the following sentences contains an independent clause and a dependent clause, which makes it a complex sentence. Which is the complex sentence?
A. After the rain ended, the sky became blue.
B. I hesitated a moment, but her smile gave me courage.
C. I came home; I saw an envelope in the mailbox.
D. Jenny was the largest elephant in the circus.
6. Which sentence uses correct parallel construction?
A. Most people enjoy ice cream and the plant grows.
B. The painter wore glasses, gloves, and boots.
C. You can either talk to the manager about your problem or writing a letter to the president of the company.
D. Anyone who is going to work here will have to be athletic, an intelligent person, and have a good sense of humor.
7. What is the simple predicate of the following sentence?
The Saturn rocket made travel to the moon possible.
A. Made
B. Travel
C. Possible
D. Moon
8. Which of the following is a fragment?
A. The truth can be unpleasant.
B. The rams locked horns, and the tourists watched them from far away.
C. The dancer floated across the stage.
D. The canoe with the blue stripes.
9. Which of the following pairs of ideas could be combined into a compound sentence? (Remember that only related ideas should be joined into a compound sentence.)
A. The days became longer. The children could play outside later.
B. The street lights were dim. The play was a success.
C. The weather had changed. The house seemed deserted.
D. We watched the news on television. The girls walked quickly to school.
10. In the sentence "I want to sleep when I'm tired," the words "to sleep" are a/an
A. prepositional phrase.
B. predicate adjective.
C. indirect object.
D. infinitive phrase.
11. In which sentence are the italicized words a dependent clause? (A dependent clause can't stand as a sentence on its own.)
A. She went swimming, and her brother went boating.
B. She wanted to leave early, or she wanted to stay overnight.
C. She became angry, but she would not leave without her brother.
D. The diving board broke when she jumped into the pool.
12. In which sentence are the italicized words a dangling modifier? (A dangling modifier is a phrase that has no word in the sentence to modify.)
A. Resting on the sea bottom, the old trunk held many coins.
B. Not knowing the danger, the soldiers marched into the trap.
C. Arriving ten minutes late, the store was closed for the night.
D. Flying beneath the cloud, the pilot could see the airport.
13. Which of the following statements is true?
A. A phrase is a group of related words; a clause is not.
B. A phrase has a subject and a verb; a clause does not.
C. A clause has a subject and a verb; a phrase does not.
D. A clause is a group of related words; a phrase is not.
14. Which sentence contains repetitious words that should be left out?
A. The bright star is visible to the eye.
B. The star will soon disappear.
C. The star was visible centuries ago.
D. The bright star is visible.
15. How could you combine the following two sentences into a complex sentence with a dependent adjectival clause?
The boy wore a green coat. He carried his sister home.
A. The boy carried home his sister's green coat.
B. The boy wore a green coat; he carried his sister home.
C. The boy wore a green coat, and he carried his sister home.
D. The boy who wore a green coat carried his sister home.
16. Which of the following choices best describes the error in this sentence?
The man is a scientist with a keen sense of observation and who dedicates long hours in the lab.
A. Uneven parallelism
B. Misplaced modifier
C. Fragment
D. Dangling modifier
17. Which one of the following statements is an example of a complex sentence?
A. The crescent moon is a symbol of Islam.
B. The earth was spinning when Lucas first saw Lucille.
C. Neap tide is the best time for digging clams.
D. Sparrows at the bird feeder compete for seeds.
18. Which sentence contains words in italics that form a gerund phrase? (A gerund is a verb form used the same way as a noun.)
A. Winning the race demanded speed and endurance.
B. The laughing boy sat down.
C. I am going home.
D. An interesting novel provides good entertainment.
19. Which of the following is true regarding a restrictive adjectival clause?
A. It will be set off by commas.
B. It will follow a proper noun.
C. It will follow a general noun and is not set off by commas.
D. It will typically include the relative pronoun which.
20. Which one of the following sentences is punctuated correctly?
A. The sea calmed but no boats left shore.
B. The sea calmed, but no boats left shore.
C. The sea calmed; but no boats, left shore.
D. The sea, calmed, but no boats, left shore.