ELTIS Grammar and Sentence Structure Practice Test Flashcards

Choose the correct word: "Neither the students nor the teacher ___ ready for the fire drill."

Answer: was

With "neither...nor," the verb agrees with the nearer subject, "teacher," which is singular, and the sentence is in the past tense.

Which sentence uses parallel structure correctly?

Answer: In the summer, Maria likes swimming, hiking, and riding her bike.

All three items in the list use the same -ing form, so the structure is parallel.

Which sentence does NOT have a dangling modifier?

Answer: Walking to school, I felt the rain start to fall.

Only "I" can logically do the walking, so the opening phrase correctly describes the subject.

Choose the correct word: "The counselor ___ I spoke with yesterday gave me great advice."

Answer: whom

"Whom" is the object of the preposition "with" and refers to a person.

Choose the best completion: "If I had studied harder last year, I ___ in a higher class now."

Answer: would be

This is a mixed conditional: a past condition ("had studied") with a present result ("now"), so "would be" is correct.

Which choice correctly fixes this run-on sentence: "The library closes at six we need to hurry."

Answer: The library closes at six, so we need to hurry.

A comma followed by the coordinating conjunction "so" correctly joins two independent clauses.

Change to reported speech: Tom said, "I am taking the test tomorrow."

Answer: Tom said that he was taking the test the next day.

In reported speech, "am taking" usually shifts back to "was taking," "I" becomes "he," and "tomorrow" becomes "the next day."