MLAT Grammatical Structure & Syntax Recognition 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: In the sentence 'The data suggest different conclusions,' why is 'suggest' plural?
- 'Data' is the plural form of 'datum' and takes a plural verb in formal usage. (Correct answer)
- 'Data' is always treated as singular in American English.
- The plural verb is an error; 'suggests' is correct.
- 'Conclusions' drives the plural agreement.
Correct answer: 'Data' is the plural form of 'datum' and takes a plural verb in formal usage.
'Data' is formally the plural of 'datum,' so in academic and formal contexts it takes a plural verb.
Question 2: Which construction illustrates an absolute phrase?
- The storm having passed, we resumed the hike. (Correct answer)
- Because the storm passed, we resumed the hike.
- After the storm, we resumed the hike.
- The storm passed, so we resumed the hike.
Correct answer: The storm having passed, we resumed the hike.
An absolute phrase has a noun plus a participle ('having passed') and is grammatically independent of the main clause.
Question 3: What does 'cleft sentence' mean, as in 'It was Maria who solved the problem'?
- A construction that splits a clause to emphasize one element (Correct answer)
- A sentence containing two independent clauses joined by a semicolon
- A sentence with an embedded question
- A compound-complex sentence structure
Correct answer: A construction that splits a clause to emphasize one element
A cleft sentence uses 'it + be' to foreground a specific constituent (here, 'Maria') for emphasis.
Question 4: Identify the passive construction: 'The report will have been submitted by Friday.'
- Future perfect passive (Correct answer)
- Future perfect active
- Past perfect passive
- Simple future passive
Correct answer: Future perfect passive
'Will have been submitted' combines the future perfect auxiliary ('will have') with the passive participle ('been submitted').
Question 5: Which sentence uses a restrictive relative clause correctly?
- The car that has the red bumper belongs to my neighbor. (Correct answer)
- The car, that has the red bumper, belongs to my neighbor.
- The car which has the red bumper, belongs to my neighbor.
- The car, which has the red bumper belongs to my neighbor.
Correct answer: The car that has the red bumper belongs to my neighbor.
Restrictive relative clauses use 'that' (no commas) to identify which specific car is meant.
Question 6: In 'No sooner had she arrived than the meeting started,' what syntactic feature appears?
- Negative inversion with auxiliary fronting (Correct answer)
- Conditional inversion without 'if'
- Comparative correlative construction
- Emphatic do-support inversion
Correct answer: Negative inversion with auxiliary fronting
Negative adverbials like 'no sooner' trigger subject-auxiliary inversion ('had she' rather than 'she had').
Question 7: What is the term for the relationship between 'The dog chased the cat' (active) and 'The cat was chased by the dog' (passive)?
- Voice alternation (Correct answer)
- Mood shift
- Aspect change
- Tense sequence
Correct answer: Voice alternation
Changing from active to passive voice is called voice alternation—it shifts the grammatical roles of subject and object.
MLAT Grammatical Structure & Syntax Recognition 4
In the sentence 'The data suggest different conclusions,' why is 'suggest' plural?