ALCPT Identifying Grammatical Errors 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Identify the grammatical error: 'Him and his partner completed the mission successfully.'
- Him and his partner (Correct answer)
- completed
- the mission
- successfully
Correct answer: Him and his partner
Object pronouns like 'him' cannot be used as subjects; the correct form is 'He and his partner.'
Question 2: Which sentence has an incorrect use of apostrophes?
- The soldier's equipment was inspected.
- The soldiers' barracks were cleaned.
- Its engine failed during the test.
- The team lost it's motivation. (Correct answer)
Correct answer: The team lost it's motivation.
'It's' is a contraction for 'it is'; the possessive form has no apostrophe: 'its.'
Question 3: Find the error in verb tense: 'Yesterday, she goes to the supply depot and picked up the equipment.'
- Yesterday
- goes (Correct answer)
- picked up
- the equipment
Correct answer: goes
The time marker 'yesterday' requires past tense; 'goes' should be 'went.'
Question 4: Which sentence contains a double negative error?
- He never disobeys orders.
- She doesn't have any complaints.
- They couldn't find no supplies in the depot. (Correct answer)
- We hardly noticed the delay.
Correct answer: They couldn't find no supplies in the depot.
'Couldn't' and 'no' create a double negative; correct versions include 'couldn't find any' or 'could find no.'
Question 5: Select the sentence with incorrect pronoun-antecedent agreement.
- Every recruit must pass their fitness test. (Correct answer)
- The committee made its decision.
- Each officer submitted his or her report.
- The team celebrated their victory.
Correct answer: Every recruit must pass their fitness test.
'Every recruit' is singular, so 'his or her' is the grammatically correct pronoun in formal usage, not 'their.'
Question 6: Which sentence has a misplaced modifier?
- She only drinks coffee in the morning.
- He nearly drove 400 miles yesterday.
- I almost finished the entire report.
- She served the cake to the guests on paper plates. (Correct answer)
Correct answer: She served the cake to the guests on paper plates.
The phrase 'on paper plates' is misplaced and appears to modify 'guests' rather than 'cake'; it should follow 'cake.'
Question 7: Identify the error in this sentence: 'The soldiers, who had trained rigorous, performed well under pressure.'
- who had trained
- rigorous (Correct answer)
- performed well
- under pressure
Correct answer: rigorous
'Rigorous' is an adjective but is used here to modify the verb 'trained'; the correct adverb form is 'rigorously.'
ALCPT Identifying Grammatical Errors 5
Identify the grammatical error: 'Him and his partner completed the mission successfully.'