IDAT Grammar and Sentence Structure 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which sentence correctly uses a restrictive clause?
- The car, that I bought last year, needs repairs.
- The car that I bought last year needs repairs. (Correct answer)
- The car which, I bought last year, needs repairs.
- The car, which I bought last year needs repairs.
Correct answer: The car that I bought last year needs repairs.
Restrictive clauses use 'that' without commas because they define which specific noun is meant.
Question 2: Identify the sentence with a dangling modifier: which is incorrect?
- Running down the street, the dog chased me. (Correct answer)
- Running down the street, I was chased by the dog.
- The dog chased me as I ran down the street.
- While I ran down the street, the dog chased me.
Correct answer: Running down the street, the dog chased me.
In option A, 'Running down the street' modifies 'the dog,' but logically the person was running, making it a dangling modifier.
Question 3: Which option correctly completes the sentence? 'Neither the manager nor the employees ___ aware of the policy change.'
- was
- were (Correct answer)
- is
- has been
Correct answer: were
With 'neither/nor,' the verb agrees with the subject closest to it; since 'employees' is plural, 'were' is correct.
Question 4: Which sentence avoids a comma splice?
- She studied all night, she passed the exam.
- She studied all night; she passed the exam. (Correct answer)
- She studied all night, and, she passed the exam.
- She studied all night she passed the exam.
Correct answer: She studied all night; she passed the exam.
A semicolon correctly joins two independent clauses without creating a comma splice.
Question 5: Which word correctly fills the blank? 'The committee made ___ decision after hours of debate.'
- its (Correct answer)
- their
- it's
- there
Correct answer: its
'Committee' is a collective noun treated as singular in American English, so the possessive pronoun 'its' is correct.
Question 6: Which sentence uses parallel structure correctly?
- She likes hiking, to swim, and runs.
- She likes hiking, swimming, and running. (Correct answer)
- She likes to hike, swimming, and to run.
- She likes hike, swim, and running.
Correct answer: She likes hiking, swimming, and running.
Parallel structure requires that all items in a series share the same grammatical form; here all are gerunds (-ing).
Question 7: Which sentence correctly places the adverb?
- She almost drove her children to school every day.
- She drove her children to school almost every day. (Correct answer)
- She drove almost her children to school every day.
- Almost she drove her children to school every day.
Correct answer: She drove her children to school almost every day.
'Almost' should be placed directly before 'every day' since it modifies the frequency, not the act of driving.
IDAT Grammar and Sentence Structure 2
Which sentence correctly uses a restrictive clause?