IEO Sentence Structure & Syntax 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is a 'dangling modifier'?
- An adjective placed after the noun it describes
- A modifying phrase that does not clearly refer to the right noun (Correct answer)
- A verb used without a subject
- An adverb that modifies another adverb
Correct answer: A modifying phrase that does not clearly refer to the right noun
A dangling modifier is a word or phrase that modifies a word not clearly stated in the sentence, causing confusion.
Question 2: What is the function of a subordinating conjunction?
- To join two independent clauses of equal importance
- To connect a dependent clause to an independent clause (Correct answer)
- To replace a noun in a sentence
- To describe an action more precisely
Correct answer: To connect a dependent clause to an independent clause
A subordinating conjunction (e.g., 'because,' 'although,' 'when') introduces a dependent clause and connects it to the main clause.
Question 3: Identify the object in the sentence: 'Sarah wrote a beautiful poem.'
- Sarah
- Wrote
- Beautiful
- A beautiful poem (Correct answer)
Correct answer: A beautiful poem
The direct object is 'a beautiful poem' — it receives the action of the verb 'wrote.'
Question 4: Which of the following is a compound-complex sentence?
- She runs every day.
- She runs and he swims.
- Although she was tired, she runs every day, and he swims for exercise. (Correct answer)
- Although she was tired, she still ran.
Correct answer: Although she was tired, she runs every day, and he swims for exercise.
A compound-complex sentence has at least two independent clauses and at least one dependent clause.
Question 5: What does 'parallel structure' in a sentence mean?
- Using the same grammatical form for items in a series (Correct answer)
- Writing sentences of equal length
- Placing the subject before the verb always
- Using only simple sentences throughout a passage
Correct answer: Using the same grammatical form for items in a series
Parallel structure means using the same grammatical pattern for words or phrases in a list or comparison.
Question 6: A sentence fragment is:
- A very long sentence with multiple clauses
- An incomplete sentence lacking a subject, verb, or complete thought (Correct answer)
- A sentence that asks a question
- A sentence with too many adjectives
Correct answer: An incomplete sentence lacking a subject, verb, or complete thought
A sentence fragment is an incomplete sentence that is missing a subject, verb, or both, and does not express a complete thought.
IEO Sentence Structure & Syntax 2
What is a 'dangling modifier'?