CAEL - Canadian Academic English Language Grammar and Sentence Structure Questions and Answers Flashcards

Which sentence demonstrates correct subject-verb agreement in academic English?

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.'

Which of the following correctly uses the passive voice in academic writing?

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.

Identify the error in this sentence: 'Each of the students have submitted their assignment.'

Answer: 'have' should be 'has' because 'each' is singular

'Each' is a singular pronoun and requires the singular verb 'has,' not 'have.'

Which sentence correctly uses a relative clause?

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.

What is a dangling modifier in academic writing?

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.

Choose the sentence with correct parallel structure:

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.