NCDAP Sentence Skills 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which sentence uses correct subordination to combine these two ideas? 'The bridge was old. It was still safe.'
- The bridge was old, but it was still safe.
- Although the bridge was old, it was still safe. (Correct answer)
- The bridge was old; it was still safe.
- Because the bridge was old, it was still safe.
Correct answer: Although the bridge was old, it was still safe.
'Although' correctly signals a concessive relationship, showing that the bridge's age did not prevent it from being safe.
Question 2: Which sentence is written in the most appropriate style for an academic paper?
- You can see that climate change is a big deal for everyone.
- Climate change poses significant risks to global ecosystems and human populations. (Correct answer)
- Climate change is like super bad and we all gotta worry about it.
- Everybody knows climate change is something we should all be worried about.
Correct answer: Climate change poses significant risks to global ecosystems and human populations.
Option B uses precise, formal language without second-person pronouns or colloquial expressions, appropriate for academic writing.
Question 3: Which is the correct way to fix this sentence? 'The professor, along with his students, are going to the conference.'
- The professor, along with his students, is going to the conference. (Correct answer)
- The professor along with his students are going to the conference.
- The professor and his students is going to the conference.
- The professor, along with his students, were going to the conference.
Correct answer: The professor, along with his students, is going to the conference.
The true subject is 'professor' (singular), so the verb should be 'is'; phrases beginning with 'along with' do not change the subject.
Question 4: Choose the sentence that correctly places the only modifier:
- She only told him that she loved him.
- She told him only that she loved him.
- Only she told him that she loved him.
- She told him that she loved only him. (Correct answer)
Correct answer: She told him that she loved only him.
If the intended meaning is that her love is exclusive to him, 'only' must be placed directly before 'him' to modify it correctly.
Question 5: Which revision best improves the coherence of this passage? 'I love cooking. My sister plays soccer. Our house has three floors.'
- I love cooking, my sister plays soccer, and our house has three floors.
- Although I love cooking and my sister plays soccer, our house has three floors.
- My family is full of different interests: I love cooking, and my sister loves soccer. (Correct answer)
- I love cooking, but my sister plays soccer while our house has three floors.
Correct answer: My family is full of different interests: I love cooking, and my sister loves soccer.
Option C adds a topic sentence that unifies the otherwise unrelated details under a coherent idea about family interests.
Question 6: Identify the sentence with a verb tense error:
- She had finished the report before the meeting started.
- By the time he arrived, everyone already leaves. (Correct answer)
- They were watching a movie when the power went out.
- He will have completed the project by Friday.
Correct answer: By the time he arrived, everyone already leaves.
'Already leaves' should be 'had already left' to match the past time frame established by 'by the time he arrived.'
Question 7: Which sentence best uses a colon correctly?
- She needs: milk, eggs, and bread.
- The recipe requires the following ingredients: milk, eggs, and bread. (Correct answer)
- The store sells: milk, eggs, and bread.
- She bought: milk, eggs, and bread at the store.
Correct answer: The recipe requires the following ingredients: milk, eggs, and bread.
A colon is correctly used after a complete independent clause to introduce a list; the other options interrupt verbs or prepositions with a colon.
NCDAP Sentence Skills 5
Which sentence uses correct subordination to combine these two ideas? 'The bridge was old.
It was still safe.'