iTEP - International Test of English Proficiency iTEP Grammar Section Structures Questions and Answers — Questions and Answers
Question 1: The university's board of trustees, after a lengthy debate, __________ to approve the new budget for the upcoming fiscal year.
- is finally agreeing
- have finally agreed
- has finally agreed (Correct answer)
- are finally agreeing
Correct answer: has finally agreed
The correct answer is 'has finally agreed'. The subject of the sentence is 'board of trustees', which is a collective noun. In American English, collective nouns are typically treated as singular, requiring a singular verb. 'Has agreed' is the present perfect singular form that correctly fits the sentence context.
Question 2: Which of the following sentences contains a grammatical error?
- The manager, as well as the employees, was happy with the result.
- Neither the students nor the teacher were prepared for the fire drill. (Correct answer)
- Each of the participants is required to sign a waiver.
- A number of solutions have been proposed.
Correct answer: Neither the students nor the teacher were prepared for the fire drill.
The sentence 'Neither the students nor the teacher were prepared for the fire drill' is incorrect. When using 'neither/nor' or 'either/or', the verb should agree with the noun that is closer to it. In this case, 'teacher' is a singular noun, so the verb should be 'was', not 'were'.
Question 3: If the marketing team __________ more time to analyze the data, they would have identified the trend earlier.
- had had (Correct answer)
- would have
- has
- had
Correct answer: had had
This sentence is a third conditional, which describes a hypothetical situation in the past. The structure for the 'if' clause in a third conditional is 'if + past perfect'. The past perfect form of 'to have' is 'had had'.
Question 4: The consultant advised the company __________ its internal communication policies to improve employee morale.
- to revising
- revising
- that it revises
- to revise (Correct answer)
Correct answer: to revise
The verb 'advise' is followed by an object ('the company') and then an infinitive with 'to'. The correct structure is 'advise someone to do something'. Therefore, 'to revise' is the correct form.
Question 5: __________ the project was challenging, the team felt a great sense of accomplishment upon its completion.
- Despite
- In spite of
- Although (Correct answer)
- However
Correct answer: Although
'Although' is a subordinating conjunction used to introduce a clause that contrasts with the main clause. It correctly connects the two ideas in the sentence. 'Despite' and 'In spite of' are prepositions and would need to be followed by a noun or gerund. 'However' is a conjunctive adverb and would typically be set off by a comma.
Question 6: The report, __________ details the quarterly earnings, will be distributed to the shareholders tomorrow morning.
- that
- which (Correct answer)
- it
- who
Correct answer: which
The correct answer is 'which'. The clause 'details the quarterly earnings' is a non-restrictive clause, meaning it provides extra information that is not essential to the sentence's meaning. Non-restrictive clauses are introduced by 'which' (for things) and are set off by commas. 'That' is used for restrictive clauses.
iTEP - International Test of English Proficiency iTEP Grammar Section Structures Questions and Answers
The university's board of trustees, after a lengthy debate, __________ to approve the new budget for the upcoming fiscal year.