English Expert Q&A

For the following sentences, select the letter of the incorrect past tense verb in each group. In May 2007, a Russian reindeer herder named Yuri Khudi finded the remains of a woolly mammoth calf that roamed the snowy Arctic over 40,000 years ago.

A) finded
B) roamed

The following sentences form a passage. For each sentence, select "correct" if the sentence is punctuated correctly, "fragment" if it is a fragment, "run-on" if it is a run-on, and "comma splice" if it is a comma splice. All his life, however, McLurkin has enjoyed building things.

A) correct
B) fragment
C) run-on
D) comma splice

In each set below, choose the sentence that uses the correct coordinating or subordinating conjunction and that is punctuated correctly. Then select the letter of the correct answer. Which sentence uses the correct coordinating or subordinating conjunction and is correctly punctuated?

A) Alpert Construction could not put up the tool shed for another two months; therefore, we decided to build it ourselves.
B) Alpert Construction could not put up the tool shed for another two months, therefore, we decided to build it ourselves.
C) Alpert Construction could not put up the tool shed for another two months, therefore; we decided to build it ourselves.

The topic sentence below is followed by a brainstormed list of possible ideas for a paragraph. Decide which ideas support the topic sentence and should be kept and which ideas should be dropped. Select "keep" or "drop" for each idea. Topic sentence: Gilberto learned how to play the trumpet, but it took a long time.
Wynton Marsalis is one of the finest trumpet players alive today.

A) Keep
B) Drop

For each of the questions below, what kind of paragraph or essay is required? Select the letter of the correct answer. What is the concept of "realism"?

A) summarize
B) compare
C) define

In each of the following sentences, a blank space appears where a verb should be. Select the letter of the verb that agrees with the subject of the sentence. The candidate's view on health-care reform is what ____ Moira.

A) impress
B) impresses

In each of the following sentences, a blank space appears where a verb should be. Select the letter of the correct helping verb and past participle form. Marina's mother ____ her diary more than once.

A) has readed
B) has read
C) have read

For each sentence below, choose the correct preposition to insert. Select the letter of the correct answer. I left the sheet music ____ top of the piano.

A) in
B) on
C) for

Select the letter of the correct pronoun for the blank in each of the following sentences. Elon and ____ majored in economics because ____ are fascinated with world finance.

A) me, I
B) me, we
C) I, we

Select the letter of the correct answer. Which prewriting technique involves writing without stopping or worrying about grammar and spelling?

A) brainstorming
B) writing in a journal
C) freewriting
D) clustering
E) asking questions

Select the letter of the correct definition of the word. Summarize

A) state the meaning of a word or term
B) give the main ideas of a longer work in a condensed form
C) argue for a particular position

Select the correct past participle for each blank. The bulb has ____ only three times over the years, during moves between fire stations.

A) dimmed
B) dim

Find the complete subject and the complete verb in each sentence. Then select the answer that contains both the subject and the verb. The river water contains alkaline substances.

A) river water, contains
B) river, substances
C) river water, alkaline

In each of the following sentences, a blank space appears where the verb should be. Select the letter of the correct past tense verb. Michele ____ several cartons of books to the pickup truck.

A) take
B) taken
C) took

Read the following sentence(s) carefully. Then select the correct adjective or adverb in parentheses. I'll have two ( largely , large ) sodas and two ( smaller , small ) orders of French fries.

A) largely, smaller
B) large, small

The following sentences form a paragraph. Select the answer that correctly identifies the underlined portion of the sentence as wordy or trite. Clearly, then, stars are not cool and distant as they seem at first glance, but dynamic, evolving spheres of energy that never stop changing .

A) wordy
B) trite

Read the following paragraph. For each set of sentences below the paragraph, select the letter of the sentence that provides the best revision for consistency; parallel structure; sentence variety; and fresh, concise language.
On December 4, 1872, the crew of the Dei Gratia discovered a ship named the Mary Celeste drifting in the Atlantic. Some of them rowed out to investigate. According to their account, the ship was seaworthy, but a lifeboat was missing, and not one single, solitary person was on board. It seemed that the Mary Celeste 's crew simply vanished into thin air without a trace, leaving their oilskin boots and pipes behind. The Mary Celeste 's captain recorded his last entry in the ship's log book on November 25 when the ship lands on an island in the Azores. An Admiral Court inquiry found no evidence of foul play or piracy, and praise for the crew of the Dei Gratia for safely bringing both vessels to harbor. The public didn't give a hoot about the incident until young Arthur Conan Doyle's fictional version of the event made them chomp at the bit to learn more in 1884. Conan Doyle described untouched breakfasts and still-warm cups of tea on the captain's table. The public began to confuse fiction with the facts. Obsessed with the mystery, many people developed theories about what happened; some suggested, for example, that the ship experienced a "seaquake," and others wondering if the Dei Gratia 's men slaughtered everyone.
Which sentence provides the best revision for consistency; parallel structure; sentence variety; and fresh, concise language?

A) An Admiral Court inquiry found no evidence of foul play or piracy, and it praised the crew of the Dei Gratia for safely bringing both vessels to harbor.
B) An Admiral Court inquiry found no evidence of foul play or piracy and praises the crew of the Dei Gratia for safely bringing both vessels to harbor.
C) An Admiral Court inquiry found no evidence of foul play or piracy. It praised the crew of the Dei Gratia for safely bringing both vessels to harbor.

Select the answer that joins each pair of simple sentences with conjunctions or conjunctive adverbs correctly and is punctuated correctly. I couldn't bring the clients both to and from the conference.
Betty offered to drive one way.

A) Betty offered to drive one way so I couldn't bring the clients both to and from the conference.
B) I couldn't bring the clients both to and from the conference, therefore Betty offered to drive one way.
C) Because I couldn't bring the clients both to and from the conference, Betty offered to drive one way.

Select True if the statement is true or False if the statement is false.
Your classmates are the best source of information about your personal error patterns.

For each pair of sentences below, select the letter of the option that provides the best sentence variety. Which answer choice provides the best sentence variety?

A) Because Gordy had an uncanny ability to spot talent, he signed many future stars, including the Temptations, the Supremes, the Jackson Five, Diana Ross, and Stevie Wonder.
B) Gordy had an uncanny ability to spot talent. He signed many future stars. These included the Temptations, the Supremes, the Jackson Five, Diana Ross, and Stevie Wonder.