Past Perfect Tense
Complete the sentence:
“By the time firefighters arrived, the fire ______ already ______ several rooms.”
had / destroyed
Which sentence is written in the passive voice?
A. Police arrested the suspect.
B. The suspect was arrested by police.
C. Police are arresting the suspect.
D. The suspect ran away.
B. The suspect was arrested by police.
Identify the appositive:
“President Joko Widodo, Indonesia's former president, attended the ceremony.”
“Indonesia's former president”
What is a comma splice?
A. Using a comma between two words
B. Using a comma to separate items in a list
C. Joining two independent clauses with only a comma
D. Using a comma after an introductory phrase
C. Joining two independent clauses with only a comma.
Which phrase is an adverbial?
“After the storm, residents returned to their homes.”
A. residents
B. returned
C. After the storm
D. their homes
C. After the storm.
Which sentence correctly uses the past perfect?
A. The suspect escaped before the police arrived.
B. The suspect has escaped before the police arrived.
C. The suspect had escaped before the police arrived.
D. The suspect was escaped before the police arrived.
C. The suspect had escaped before the police arrived.
Complete the sentence:
“Several buildings ______ damaged during the storm.”
A. were
B. was
C. did
D. had
A. were
Which sentence correctly uses an appositive?
A. The journalist Maria interviewed witnesses.
B. The journalist, Maria, interviewed witnesses.
C. The journalist Maria, interviewed witnesses.
D. The journalist, Maria interviewed witnesses.
B. The journalist, Maria, interviewed witnesses.
What is wrong with this news report sentence?
“The storm caused severe flooding, hundreds of residents were evacuated.”
It contains a comma splice because two independent clauses are joined only by a comma.
What does an adverbial usually tell the reader?
A. When, where, why, or how something happens
B. Only who performed an action
C. The definition of a noun
D. The subject of a sentence
A. When, where, why, or how something happens.
In a news report, why might a writer use the past perfect?
A. To show that one past event happened before another past event
B. To describe something that will happen
C. To describe something happening right now
D. To make the report informal
A. To show that one past event happened before another past event.
Change this sentence into the passive voice:
“Police evacuated the residents.”
“The residents were evacuated by police.”
Add an appropriate appositive to this sentence:
“Mr. Lee spoke to reporters after the incident.”
Possible answer:
“Mr. Lee, the school's principal, spoke to reporters after the incident.”
“The fire spread rapidly through the building, firefighters evacuated the surrounding area.”
Identify the error and rewrite the sentence in a grammatically correct way using a coordinating conjunction.
The error is a comma splice because two independent clauses are joined only by a comma.
“The fire spread rapidly through the building, so firefighters evacuated the surrounding area.”
Identify the adverbial in this sentence:
“Early on Tuesday morning, police discovered the damaged building.”
“Early on Tuesday morning”
Correct this sentence:
“When police arrived at the scene, the suspect already left the building.”
“When police arrived at the scene, the suspect had already left the building.”
A news report says:
“The school’s main entrance was damaged during the incident.”
Why might the journalist use passive voice here instead of writing, “Someone damaged the school’s main entrance”?
The passive voice is appropriate because the person who caused the damage is unknown, unclear, or not important to the report. It allows the journalist to focus on the damage and its effect rather than the person responsible.
Combine these sentences using an appositive:
“Dr. Sarah Chen spoke at the press conference. She is the head of the emergency response team.”
“Dr. Sarah Chen, the head of the emergency response team, spoke at the press conference.”
Please tell me if this is correct and explain why.
“Police arrived at the scene; the suspect's house.”
No, the sentence after the semicolon is not an independent clause.
“Following the announcement, thousands of residents gathered outside the government building in protest.”
Identify the adverbial phrase and explain what information it adds to the sentence.
The adverbial phrase is “Following the announcement.” It tells the reader when/under what circumstances the residents gathered. It provides context for the event and helps establish the sequence of events in the news report.
Rewrite this sentence using the past perfect to clearly establish the sequence of events:
“The storm damaged several houses. Before this, residents received a warning from local officials.”
“Before the storm damaged several houses, residents had received a warning from local officials.”
A journalist does not know who caused the damage to a government building. Give me a formal news-report sentence using passive voice to report the incident. Then explain why passive voice is preferable in this situation.
“The government building was damaged overnight.”
Passive voice is preferable because the person responsible is unknown, so the sentence can focus on the building and the event without inventing or speculating about an agent.
Combine the following two sentences into one formal news-report sentence by using an appositive:
“Maria Santos is the city’s mayor. She announced the new safety measures on Monday.”
Then explain what information the appositive adds.
“Maria Santos, the city’s mayor, announced the new safety measures on Monday.”
The appositive “the city’s mayor” provides additional information identifying Maria Santos and allows the journalist to give the reader relevant background information without creating a separate sentence.
“The protest continued for several hours, police eventually closed the surrounding roads, traffic was severely disrupted.”
Identify the grammatical problem and rewrite the sentence so that it is grammatically correct while preserving all three ideas and maintaining a formal news-report style.
“The protest continued for several hours; police eventually closed the surrounding roads, causing significant traffic disruption.”
“The protesters blocked the main road.”
Rewrite the sentence by adding two different adverbials that provide important information about when, where, why, or how the event occurred.
Then explain how each adverbial changes or improves the information provided to the reader.
“During Monday’s demonstration, the protesters deliberately blocked the main road outside the city hall.”
“During Monday’s demonstration” — tells the reader when/under what circumstances the action occurred.