ALCPT - American Language Course Placement Test Grammar and Sentence Correction 6 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Choose the sentence that is grammatically correct.
- The general and his aide was reviewing the orders.
- Each of the soldiers are required to report by dawn.
- The recruits, along with their sergeant, were dismissed. (Correct answer)
- Neither of the officers have signed the document yet.
Correct answer: The recruits, along with their sergeant, were dismissed.
'The recruits, along with their sergeant, were dismissed' is correct. A parenthetical phrase introduced by 'along with' does not change the subject; 'recruits' is plural, so 'were' is correct.
Question 2: Choose the correct word to complete the sentence: 'By the time the reinforcements arrived, the unit _______ the objective.'
- already secured
- has already secured
- had already secured (Correct answer)
- will already secure
Correct answer: had already secured
'Had already secured' is correct. The past perfect tense is used for an action completed before another past action — here, the securing happened before the reinforcements arrived.
Question 3: Identify the error in this sentence: 'The soldier asked his superior that could he leave early.'
- 'asked his superior' should be 'asked to his superior'
- 'that could he leave' should be 'whether he could leave' (Correct answer)
- 'leave early' should be 'leave earlier'
- There is no error in the sentence.
Correct answer: 'that could he leave' should be 'whether he could leave'
Indirect questions must follow statement word order. 'That could he leave' incorrectly uses question word order; the correct form is 'whether he could leave.'
Question 4: Select the correct sentence.
- He has been working on the report since three hours.
- He has been working on the report for three hours. (Correct answer)
- He is working on the report since three hours.
- He was working on the report since three hours ago.
Correct answer: He has been working on the report for three hours.
'For three hours' is correct when referring to a duration of time. 'Since' is used with a specific point in time (e.g., since noon), while 'for' is used with a length of time.
Question 5: Choose the correct word to complete the sentence: 'The equipment must be checked _______ it is deployed in the field.'
- since
- although
- before (Correct answer)
- despite
Correct answer: before
'Before' correctly expresses that the equipment check must happen prior to deployment. The other conjunctions — since, although, and despite — do not convey the necessary time sequence.
Question 6: Identify the error in this sentence: 'The briefing was so long that many of the officers loosed their concentration.'
- 'so long that' should be 'so long which'
- 'many of the officers' should be 'much of the officers'
- 'loosed' should be 'lost' (Correct answer)
- There is no error in the sentence.
Correct answer: 'loosed' should be 'lost'
'Lost' is the past tense of 'lose,' meaning to no longer have something. 'Loosed' means to release or untie, which is a different word entirely and does not fit the context.
ALCPT - American Language Course Placement Test Grammar and Sentence Correction 6
Choose the sentence that is grammatically correct.