Sentence Skills
To swim, to jog, and spinning are my aunt's favorite ways of maintaining her health.
A. Swimming, jogging, and spinning
B. To swim, to jog, and spin
C. Swimming, jogging, and to spin
D. To swim, to jog, and spinning
A. Swimming, jogging, and spinning
Parking her car at the depot, Ms. Jones decided to take the bus to town.
A. (as it is now)
B. decide to take
C. took
D. DELETE THIS
A. (as it is now)
The results were tampered with as a result, we're sending the test back to the lab for further review.
A. (as it is now)
B. with, as a result
C. with; as a result,
D. with, as a result:
C. with; as a result,
[9] I used to clean houses in the summer because the money was good; however, all the people whose houses I cleaned seemed to assume that because I was vacuuming their carpets I did not deserve their respect. [10] One woman came into the bathroom while I was scrubbing the tub. [11] She kept asking me if I had any questions. [12] Did she want me to ask whether to scrub the tub counter-clockwise instead of clockwise ? [13] Her attitude made me angry! [14] Once I read that the jobs people consider important have changed. [15] Carpenters used to be much more admired than doctors. [16] My point is, then, that who I want to be is much more important than what I want to be!
The best place to begin a new paragraph in sentences 9-16 would be with the sentence:
A. 10
B. 11
C. 12
D. 14
E. 15
D. 14
Though rattlesnakes do not bite humans out of a malicious nature, most rattlesnakes will attack if they feel threatened.
Rewrite, beginning with:
Rattlesnakes do not bite humans out of a malicious nature,
The next words will be:
A. they will attack if they feel threatened
B. and they will attack if they feel threatened
C. yet they will attack if they feel threatened
D. because they will attack, however only if they feel threatened
C. yet they will attack if they feel threatened
Although he was quite accomplished in playing the violin, he had some work to do when it came to playing the piano.
A. Although, he was quite accomplished in playing, the violin,
B. Although he was quite accomplished in playing the violin,
C. Quite accomplished was he in playing the violin, although,
D. Although the violin was something he was quite accomplished in playing,
B. Although he was quite accomplished in playing the violin,
Mrs. Clement, my English teacher, said that I could of improved my reading comprehension score if I had spent more time reading great literature. No error.
A. (as it is now)
B. could have
C. could
D. DELETE THIS
B. could have
Even though I have a cold: I will go to school and basketball practice.
A. (as it is now)
B. cold, I
C. cold; I
D. cold I
B. cold, I
[1] I was so excited I could barely pack. [2] That all changed the summer after my sophomore year of high school. [3] My dad announced that we were going to Singapore for vacation! [4] Today I've been all over the world, but until I was 15 I had never left the United States.
What is the most logical order for these sentences?
4, 2, 3, 1
Which of the following is the best way to revise and combine the underlined portions of the sentences below?
I know firsthand how frustrating it can be. They think of you only in terms of your job.
A. be; they--people, that is--think of you
B. be when they are thinking of one
C. be how people think of you
D. be when people think of you
E. be; having people think of you
D. be when people think of you
Mount Kilimanjaro is a dormant volcano in Tanzania, being the highest mountain in Africa.
A. being the highest
B. higher than any
C. and is the highest
D. the most high
C. and is the highest
Birds fly south in the winter threw an instinct not completely understood by scientists.
A. (as it is now)
B. DELETE THIS
C. through
D. by
C. through
He was planning to study four subjects: politics; philosophy, sociology; and economics.
A. (as it is now)
B. four subjects, politics, philosophy, sociology, and economics.
C. four subjects politics, philosophy, sociology, and economics.
D. four subjects: politics, philosophy, sociology, and economics.
D. four subjects: politics, philosophy, sociology, and economics.
[5] You would think that a trained art historian could take one look at a painting and tell who painted it and when. [6] In 1937 an art expert referred to a newly discovered painting they said was painted in the 17th century as "the masterpiece of Jan Vermeer." [7] But in fact the painting was by a skilled Dutch forger named Hans van Meegeren. [8] Van Meegeren actually purchased a real 17th-century painting, and then he cleaned the paint off the canvas, and painted a new picture with a special paint he made himself. [9] The truth emerged when van Meegeren was arrested for trying to sell the painting to a foreign buyer. [10] There were many talented forgers in Germany. [11] Van Meegeren had to admit that the painting was fake to avoid going to jail for smuggling!
Which sentence should be deleted from the passage because it is unnecessary?
A. Sentence 5
B. Sentence 7
C. Sentence 10
D. Sentence 9
E. Sentence 11
C. Sentence 10
Of the following, which is the best way to phrase the sentence below?
People today have placed emphasis on the kinds of work that others do, it is wrong.
A. (As it is now)
B. People today place too much emphasis on the kinds of work that others do.
C. What kinds of work others do is being placed too much emphasis on by people today.
D. The wrong kind of emphasis had been placed on the kinds of work others do today.
E. The wrong emphasis is being placed today on people and what kind of work they do.
B. People today place too much emphasis on the kinds of work that others do.
I was alarmed by the noise looking through the window to see who was outside.
A. I was alarmed by the noise looking
B. The noise alarmed me, looking
C. I was alarmed by the noise, looked
D. Alarmed by the noise, I looked
D. Alarmed by the noise, I looked
What should I do when the computer says, “Sorry, try again?”
A. (as it is now)
B. again"?
C. again?".
D. again."
B. again"?
As an engineering assistant, I had a variety of duties: participating in pressure ventilation surveys; drafting, surveying, and data compilation; and acting as a company representative during a roof-bolt pull test.
A. (as it is now)
B. duties: participating in pressure ventilation surveys, drafting, surveying, and data compilation, and acting as a company representative during a roof-bolt pull test.
C. duties; participating in pressure ventilation surveys: drafting, surveying, and data compilation, and acting as a company representative during a roof-bolt pull test.
D. duties: participating in pressure ventilation surveys: drafting, surveying, and data compilation: and acting as a company representative during a roof-bolt pull test.
A. (as it is now)
[1] Ariana Grande’s newest song, “7 rings,” epitomizes the entitlement of White America to adopt any tradition without acknowledging its history. [2] Spencer Kornhaber discusses this phenomenon in his article, “How Ariana Grande Fell Off the Cultural-Appropriation Tightrope.” [3] He states that in the pop song with rap and R&B influences, “7 rings,” Grande wears "black culture as a costume." [4] An "average, non-black listener" would not be able to see the gap between Grande’s experiences and the culture she decides to exploit.
Should the following sentence be added after sentence 3?
Throughout the song, she brags about her wealth by singing, “whoever said money can’t solve your problems must not have had enough money to solve ‘em.”
A. Yes, the sentence gives background to Grande's history with appropriating black culture.
B. No, the sentence adds redundant information the reader already knows.
C. Yes, the sentence provides an example of how Grande's song epitomizes her interchangeable costume of black culture.
D. No, the sentence does nothing to persuade the reader about the statement made in sentence 3.
A. Yes, the sentence provides an example of how Grande's song epitomizes her interchangeable costume of black culture.
Although the horse is easily startled by sudden noises, it can be trained to ignore distractions and remain calm even in parades.
Rewrite, beginning with:
The horse is easily startled by sudden noises,
The next words will be:
A. and it will be trained
B. but it can be trained
C. even if it were trained
D. nevertheless being trained
B. but it can be trained
Scientists have been finding evidence that acid rain is being a major cause of the largest extinction on Earth 250 million years ago.
A. Scientists have found evidence that acid rain was a major cause of the largest extinction
B. The largest extinction, caused by acid rain, was found by scientists to have happened
C. Scientists have been finding evidence that acid rain is being a major cause of the largest extinction
D. The largest extinction, which was found by scientists happening, could have been a major cause
A. Scientists have found evidence that acid rain was a major cause of the largest extinction
Without saying a word, the teacher smiled and gave a nod of ascent.
A. (as it is now)
B. accent
C. disagreement
D. assent
D. assent
Relatives at the reunion included my older brother, Bob, my cousin, Art, and my great-aunt, Mattie.
A. (as it is now)
B. my older brother, Bob; my cousin, Art; and my great-aunt, Mattie.
C. my older brother Bob; my cousin Art; and my great-aunt Mattie.
D. my older brother, Bob: my cousin, Art: and my great-aunt, Mattie.
B. my older brother, Bob; my cousin, Art; and my great-aunt, Mattie.
The following is an excerpt from an analysis describing linguistics.
In linguistics, it means that words have concrete definitions and some require more attention than others. Jacques Derrida criticizes this restricting belief with his own semiotic theory, Deconstruction. He believes that by destabilizing the meaning of words, we free ourselves to read literary texts in more ways than one.
What would be the best introduction sentence to the paragraph above?
A. Platonism theorizes that a hierarchy of opposites structure existence itself.
B. Jacques Derrida uses philosophical concepts to understand poetry.
C. Deconstruction allows the reader to dig deeper into seemingly shallow text.
D. The first sentence is a topic sentence.
A. Platonism theorizes that a hierarchy of opposites structure existence itself.
(1) Not many children leave elementary school and they have not heard of Pocahontas' heroic rescue of John Smith from her own people, the Powhatans. (2) Generations of Americans have learned the story of a courageous Indian princess who threw herself between the Virginia colonist and the clubs raised to end his life. (3) The captive himself reported the incident. (4) According to that report, Pocahontas held his head in her arms and laid her own upon his to save him from death.
What is the best way to deal with sentence 1 (reproduced below) ?
Not many children leave elementary school and they have not heard of Pocahontas' heroic rescue of John Smith from her own people, the Powhatans.
A. Leave it as it is
B. Switch its position with that of sentence 2
C. Change "leave" to "have left"
D. Change "and they have not heard" to "without having heard"
E. Remove the comma and insert "known as the"
D. Change "and they have not heard" to "without having heard"