Mixed Deck — All OOPT Topics Flashcards

Which sentence contains a relative clause?

Answer: The book that I borrowed was interesting.

'That I borrowed' is a defining relative clause modifying 'the book'.

The film, _______ I had already seen twice, won three awards.

Answer: which

The commas indicate a non-defining clause. 'That' cannot be used in non-defining relative clauses. 'Who' and 'whose' refer to people, not films. 'Which' correctly refers to a thing (the film) in a non-defining clause.

Anonymous online reviews should be taken with a ___ of salt, as many are written by competitors.

Answer: pinch

The British idiom is 'take something with a pinch of salt', meaning to be sceptical about it. American English uses 'a grain of salt'. 'Sprinkle', 'dash' and 'spoonful' are all real ways to measure small amounts in cooking, but the idiom is fixed and does not accept them.

A passage includes: 'Sales figures for Q3 were negligible compared to the previous year.' What does 'negligible' most likely mean?

Answer: Too small to be significant.

'Negligible' describes something so small it can effectively be ignored or dismissed.

You ______ touch that wire; it's extremely dangerous.

Answer: mustn't

'Mustn't' (must not) is used to express strong prohibition – something that is forbidden because it is dangerous or against the rules. 'Should' would be advice, 'might not' expresses a weak possibility, and 'don't have to' indicates a lack of obligation, which is too weak for this dangerous situation.

You read: 'The study was conducted over a period of two decades, lending it considerable credibility.' What does 'lending it considerable credibility' mean?

Answer: The long duration made the study more trustworthy.

'Lending credibility' means adding trustworthiness; the study's length makes its findings more believable.

Despite the initial challenges, he was determined to ______ with his plan to start a new company.

Answer: go ahead

The phrasal verb 'go ahead with' means to proceed with a plan or action, especially after getting permission or despite difficulties. 'Go through' means to experience, 'go against' means to oppose, and 'go for' means to choose.

A hotel guest calls reception: "The couple in the room next door seem to be having a very lively evening." What is the guest most likely doing?

Answer: Complaining indirectly about the noise and hoping staff will do something.

Guests don't usually phone reception to describe their neighbours. Here the phrase "very lively evening" is a polite understatement for "too noisy," and by reporting it the guest is indirectly asking staff to act. The other options take the description literally or misread why the guest is calling.

Which sentence expresses a prohibition?

Answer: You mustn't park here.

'Mustn't' expresses a prohibition — it is forbidden to park here.

Which option correctly completes this conditional: 'If I _____ speak French, I would apply for the job in Paris.'

Answer: could

'Could' is used in second conditional structures to express ability in a hypothetical situation.

What sort of phrase does the following statement contain? JK, my boyfriend, is a great man!

Answer: Textspeak

"JK" is an abbreviation commonly used in text messages and online communication, standing for "Just Kidding." This type of informal, shortened language is characteristic of textspeak, which is designed for quick and efficient digital communication. It is distinct from euphemism (a milder word for something unpleasant), doublespeak (ambiguous language), or general slang.

Someone says: 'That's certainly one way of doing it.' What does this likely mean?

Answer: They think there is a better method and are subtly critical.

This phrase often implies that the speaker doesn't agree with or approve of the method but is being polite about it.

Read the passage: "The museum's decision to remove the labels from its paintings was intended to encourage visitors to look rather than read. In practice, however, most visitors simply walked faster." What does the second sentence suggest?

Answer: The change did not have the effect the museum hoped for

'In practice, however' sets the real result against the intention. The museum wanted visitors to look more closely, but they spent less time in front of each painting, so the policy failed in its purpose. Option D is a plausible next step, but the passage never says it happened. Option A turns walking faster into enjoyment without any evidence.

After a difficult exam, a student says, 'That wasn't the easiest test I've ever taken.' Which of the following best describes the implied meaning?

Answer: The student found the test to be extremely difficult.

This sentence is an example of understatement, specifically litotes (an assertion of the affirmative by negating its contrary). By saying it 'wasn't the easiest,' the speaker strongly implies the opposite: that it was very hard.

Which sentence correctly uses the zero article in a generic statement?

Answer: Gold is a precious metal used in jewelry.

Uncountable nouns used in generic statements (to speak about something in general) take the zero article. 'Gold' as a material/substance in a generalizing context requires no article. 'The gold' would imply a specific quantity of gold, and 'a gold' is ungrammatical since gold is uncountable.

A lecturer ends her talk: "So yes, the evidence for the diet's short-term benefits is fairly robust. Whether those benefits last beyond a year, though, is something we simply can't say yet, and I'd be wary of anyone who claims otherwise." What is the overall message of this conclusion?

Answer: The diet works short-term, but claims about long-term effects are not yet supported

The lecturer accepts the short-term evidence and says long-term effects are unknown, not negative. Option A confuses "we can't say" with "harmful". Option B ignores the acknowledged short-term evidence. Option D adds an endorsement she never gives.

A reviewer writes: 'The author clearly worked hard on this book.' What might this imply about the book?

Answer: The effort is acknowledged but the quality may be lacking.

Praising effort rather than result often implies the result doesn't merit direct praise — 'hard work' is a consolation compliment.

Which sentence uses correlative conjunctions with correct parallel structure?

Answer: She speaks not only French but also Arabic and Farsi.

In 'not only... but also', the words after each part must be the same type of structure. In D, both parts are followed by noun objects: 'French' and 'Arabic and Farsi'. In A, 'not only' comes before a verb ('speaks') but 'but also' comes before nouns, so the pair is unbalanced. B puts 'Not only' at the start without the inversion that position requires ('Not only does she speak...'). C pairs a noun with a full clause.

A text states: 'Her argument was compelling, but it lacked empirical evidence.' What does 'empirical' mean here?

Answer: Based on observation or experiment.

'Empirical evidence' refers to data gathered through direct observation, measurement, or experimentation.

Select the grammatically correct option for formal written English: "The auditors recommended that the finance director ___ from all decisions involving the subsidiary."

Answer: recuse himself

Verbs of demand or suggestion, such as 'recommend', 'insist', 'require' and 'propose', take the mandative subjunctive in the 'that' clause. This uses the base form of the verb for every subject and every tense: 'that the finance director recuse himself'. Option A adds third-person '-s'. Option D backshifts the tense as if this were reported speech. Option C uses 'would', which is not the standard mandative structure. British English also accepts 'should recuse', but that is not one of the choices.