English Grammar Test Advanced Topics 3

Question 1

Which sentence contains a misplaced modifier?

Accepted Answer

He nearly drove his kids to school every day.

Answer

'Nearly' should modify 'every day,' but its placement implies he almost drove (rather than drove almost every day).

Question 2

Which sentence uses the past perfect tense correctly?

Accepted Answer

She had already left when he called.

Answer

The past perfect 'had already left' correctly expresses an action completed before another past action.

Question 3

Which of the following is a correctly punctuated compound-complex sentence?

Accepted Answer

Although it rained, we continued hiking, and we enjoyed ourselves.

Answer

This sentence has a subordinate clause ('Although it rained'), two independent clauses joined by 'and,' and correct punctuation throughout.

Question 4

In transformational grammar, what does a 'deep structure' refer to?

Accepted Answer

The abstract underlying meaning of a sentence before transformation.

Answer

Chomsky's deep structure represents the abstract, underlying semantic representation before surface transformations are applied.

Question 5

Which sentence correctly uses a colon?

Accepted Answer

The rule is simple: always proofread your work.

Answer

A colon correctly introduces an explanation or elaboration when preceded by a complete independent clause.

English Grammar Test Practice Test