OSSLT - Ontario Secondary School Literacy Using Correct Grammar Questions and Answers

Question 1

Which of the following sentences is grammatically correct?

Accepted Answer

They're waiting for their bus over there.

Answer

Option B correctly uses all three words. 'They're' is a contraction for 'they are'. 'Their' is a possessive pronoun indicating the bus belongs to them. 'There' is an adverb indicating a location.

Question 2

Which sentence demonstrates correct subject-verb agreement?

Accepted Answer

The members of the club are planning a fundraiser.

Answer

In option D, the plural subject 'members' correctly pairs with the plural verb 'are planning'. In option A, the singular subject 'list' requires the singular verb 'is'. In option B, the singular subject 'Each' requires the singular verb 'has'. In option C, the singular subject 'dog' requires the singular verb 'needs'.

Question 3

Read the following paragraph and identify the sentence that contains a verb tense error.

(1) Last week, our class went on a field trip to the science centre. (2) We saw many exciting exhibits and performed a cool experiment. (3) A guide explains how the new virtual reality display worked. (4) We all had a fantastic time.

Accepted Answer

Sentence 3

Answer

The paragraph is written in the past tense to describe a past event ('went', 'saw', 'performed', 'had'). Sentence 3 incorrectly uses the present tense verb 'explains' instead of the past tense verb 'explained', which creates an inconsistent verb tense.

Question 4

Which of the following is a complete and correctly punctuated sentence?

Accepted Answer

The coach was proud of the team's effort and dedication.

Answer

Option C is a complete sentence with a subject ('The coach') and a verb ('was') that expresses a complete thought. Option A is a sentence fragment because it's an introductory phrase without a main clause. Option B is a comma splice, incorrectly joining two independent clauses with only a comma. Option D is a sentence fragment because it begins with 'Because' and is a dependent clause.

Question 5

Which of the following sentences uses apostrophes correctly?

Accepted Answer

The dog wagged its tail because it's happy to see its owner's car.

Answer

Option A is correct. 'Its' (no apostrophe) is a possessive pronoun used twice: for the dog's tail and the car's owner. 'It's' (with an apostrophe) is a contraction for 'it is'. 'Owner's' is the correct singular possessive form.

OSSLT - Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test Practice Test

OSSLT - Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test Practice Test

OSSLT - Ontario Secondary School Literacy Using Correct Grammar Questions and Answers