ALCPT - American Language Course Placement Test Grammar and Sentence Correction 9 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Select the sentence that is grammatically correct.
- The soldier don't understand the orders given to him.
- Neither of the recruits were prepared for the exercise.
- The lieutenant and her team has completed the assignment.
- The lieutenant and her team have completed the assignment. (Correct answer)
Correct answer: The lieutenant and her team have completed the assignment.
A compound subject joined by 'and' requires a plural verb. 'The lieutenant and her team' is plural, so 'have' is correct. Options A and C have subject-verb agreement errors, and B incorrectly treats 'neither of' as plural.
Question 2: Choose the correct word to complete the sentence: 'The soldiers were ordered _______ their weapons before departure.'
- cleaning
- cleaned
- to clean (Correct answer)
- to cleaning
Correct answer: to clean
The verb 'order' follows the pattern 'order + someone + to + base verb.' The infinitive 'to clean' is required here. 'To cleaning' is never correct because a gerund cannot follow 'to' in an infinitive construction.
Question 3: Identify the error in this sentence: 'The report was written quick and submitted to the commander before noon.'
- 'report was' — should be 'report were'
- 'quick' — should be 'quickly' (Correct answer)
- 'submitted to' — should be 'submitted for'
- 'before noon' — should be 'by noon'
Correct answer: 'quick' — should be 'quickly'
'Quick' is an adjective, but it is used here to modify the verb 'written,' which requires the adverb form 'quickly.' Adverbs, not adjectives, describe how an action is performed.
Question 4: Select the correct sentence.
- The troops marched through the desert for three days before they reaching their destination.
- The troops marching through the desert for three days before they reached their destination.
- The troops marched through the desert for three days before they reached their destination. (Correct answer)
- The troops marched through the desert for three days before they have reached their destination.
Correct answer: The troops marched through the desert for three days before they reached their destination.
Both actions occurred in the past and should use the simple past tense: 'marched' and 'reached.' Option A has a missing auxiliary, B lacks a main finite verb, and D incorrectly uses the present perfect in a completed past sequence.
Question 5: Choose the correct word to complete the sentence: 'She has been studying English _______ five years.'
- since
- during
- from
- for (Correct answer)
Correct answer: for
'For' is used with a duration or length of time (five years, two months). 'Since' is used with a specific point in time (since 2019). 'During' and 'from' do not fit this grammatical pattern with the present perfect continuous.
Question 6: Identify the error in this sentence: 'The commanding officer, along with his staff, were present at the ceremony.'
- 'commanding officer' — should be 'commanding officers'
- 'along with' — should be 'together with only'
- 'were present' — should be 'was present' (Correct answer)
- 'at the ceremony' — should be 'in the ceremony'
Correct answer: 'were present' — should be 'was present'
The grammatical subject is 'The commanding officer,' which is singular. The phrase 'along with his staff' is parenthetical and does not change the subject. A singular subject requires the singular verb 'was,' not 'were.'
ALCPT - American Language Course Placement Test Grammar and Sentence Correction 9
Select the sentence that is grammatically correct.