CAEL CAEL - Canadian Academic English Language Grammar and Sentence Structure Questions and Answers 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which sentence demonstrates correct subject-verb agreement in academic English?
- The number of students are increasing.
- The number of students is increasing. (Correct answer)
- The number of students were increasing.
- The number of students have increased.
Correct answer: The number of students is increasing.
'The number of' is treated as a singular subject in academic English, so it takes the singular verb 'is.'
Question 2: Which of the following correctly uses the passive voice in academic writing?
- The researcher conducted the experiment.
- The experiment was conducted by the researcher. (Correct answer)
- The researcher has been conducting the experiment.
- The experiment conducts itself.
Correct answer: The experiment was conducted by the researcher.
The passive voice ('was conducted by') is commonly used in academic writing to emphasize the action rather than the agent.
Question 3: Identify the error in this sentence: 'Each of the students have submitted their assignment.'
- 'submitted' should be 'submits'
- 'have' should be 'has' because 'each' is singular (Correct answer)
- 'their' should be 'his or her'
- There is no error
Correct answer: 'have' should be 'has' because 'each' is singular
'Each' is a singular pronoun and requires the singular verb 'has,' not 'have.'
Question 4: Which sentence correctly uses a relative clause?
- The study, that was published in 2020, had major findings.
- The study, which was published in 2020, had major findings. (Correct answer)
- The study, who was published in 2020, had major findings.
- The study, what was published in 2020, had major findings.
Correct answer: The study, which was published in 2020, had major findings.
For non-restrictive relative clauses modifying a non-human noun, 'which' (not 'that' or 'who') is used with commas.
Question 5: What is a dangling modifier in academic writing?
- A modifier that correctly follows the noun it describes
- A modifier placed too far from the word it modifies, creating ambiguity (Correct answer)
- A modifier that is used excessively in a paragraph
- A modifier that is spelled incorrectly
Correct answer: A modifier placed too far from the word it modifies, creating ambiguity
A dangling modifier is a phrase that does not logically connect to the noun it is intended to modify, creating confusion in meaning.
Question 6: Choose the sentence with correct parallel structure:
- She enjoys reading, to write, and research.
- She enjoys reading, writing, and researching. (Correct answer)
- She enjoys to read, writing, and to research.
- She enjoys read, write, and research.
Correct answer: She enjoys reading, writing, and researching.
Parallel structure requires that all items in a list use the same grammatical form; here, all three verbs must be in the gerund (-ing) form.
CAEL CAEL - Canadian Academic English Language Grammar and Sentence Structure Questions and Answers 1
Which sentence demonstrates correct subject-verb agreement in academic English?