ALCPT Sentence and Clause Structure 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which sentence contains a dangling modifier?
- Walking to school, Maria saw a rainbow.
- After finishing the report, the meeting began. (Correct answer)
- Exhausted from the hike, he went to bed early.
- Looking through the telescope, she spotted a comet.
Correct answer: After finishing the report, the meeting began.
In option B, the participial phrase 'After finishing the report' dangles because 'the meeting' cannot finish a report.
Question 2: Choose the sentence with correct parallel structure.
- She likes to swim, running, and to cycle.
- He enjoys reading, to write, and drawing.
- They plan to travel, to study, and to relax. (Correct answer)
- We tried singing, to dance, and play games.
Correct answer: They plan to travel, to study, and to relax.
Option C uses the infinitive form ('to travel, to study, to relax') consistently, maintaining parallel structure.
Question 3: In which sentence is the independent clause correctly identified?
- 'because she forgot her keys' — independent clause
- 'when the storm arrived' — independent clause
- 'the children played outside' — independent clause (Correct answer)
- 'although the test was hard' — independent clause
Correct answer: 'the children played outside' — independent clause
'The children played outside' can stand alone as a complete thought, making it an independent clause.
Question 4: Which sentence uses a correlative conjunction correctly?
- Both the manager or the assistant will attend.
- Either the manager nor the assistant will attend.
- Neither the manager or the assistant attended.
- Both the manager and the assistant will attend. (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Both the manager and the assistant will attend.
'Both…and' is a correlative conjunction pair; 'both…or' and 'either…nor' are incorrect pairings.
Question 5: What kind of clause is 'that the project was delayed' in: 'The team discovered that the project was delayed.'?
- Adjective clause
- Adverb clause
- Noun clause (Correct answer)
- Participial clause
Correct answer: Noun clause
'That the project was delayed' serves as the direct object of 'discovered,' making it a noun clause.
Question 6: Which sentence is a complex-compound sentence?
- She sang, and he danced.
- Because it rained, the game was postponed.
- Although he was tired, he finished the report, and she reviewed it. (Correct answer)
- The dog barked loudly at the stranger.
Correct answer: Although he was tired, he finished the report, and she reviewed it.
A compound-complex sentence has at least two independent clauses and one dependent clause, as in option C.
Question 7: Identify the sentence with a correctly placed only modifier.
- She only told me that she was leaving.
- Only she told me that she was leaving. (Correct answer)
- She told only me that only she was leaving.
- She told me only that she was only leaving.
Correct answer: Only she told me that she was leaving.
Placing 'only' before 'she' correctly limits who told the information, reflecting the intended meaning.
ALCPT Sentence and Clause Structure 5
Which sentence contains a dangling modifier?