PARCC Advanced Grammar Practice Questions 2 — Questions and Answers

Question 1: Which sentence uses the subjunctive mood correctly?

I wish I was taller.
If I were you, I would study harder. (Correct answer)
She acts as if she was the boss.
He insisted that she comes early.

Correct answer: If I were you, I would study harder.

The subjunctive mood uses 'were' (not 'was') for hypothetical or contrary-to-fact situations. 'If I were you' correctly uses the subjunctive.

The subjunctive mood is a verb form used to express wishes, hypothetical situations, or conditions contrary to fact. In modern English, the subjunctive is most commonly seen in two contexts: the past subjunctive (using 'were' for all persons) and the present subjunctive (using the base form of the verb). The sentence 'If I were you, I would study harder' correctly uses the past subjunctive 'were' in a hypothetical or contrary-to-fact clause. Although 'was' might sound natural in casual speech, formal and standard written English requires 'were' in such constructions. The other options are incorrect: 'I wish I was taller' should use 'were'; 'She acts as if she was the boss' should use 'were'; and 'He insisted that she comes early' should use the present subjunctive 'come' (not 'comes'), since 'insist' triggers the subjunctive. Recognizing subjunctive triggers (words like 'if,' 'wish,' 'as if,' 'insist,' 'suggest,' 'recommend') is an important grammar skill tested on the PARCC exam.

Question 2: Identify the dangling modifier in this sentence: 'Walking to the store, the rain began to fall.'

Walking to the store (Correct answer)
the rain
began to fall
There is no dangling modifier

Correct answer: Walking to the store

'Walking to the store' is a dangling modifier because the implied subject (a person walking) does not match the sentence's actual subject, 'the rain.'

A dangling modifier is a phrase or clause that does not clearly and logically relate to the word it is supposed to modify. It 'dangles' because the word it should modify is either absent from the sentence or in the wrong position. In 'Walking to the store, the rain began to fall,' the participial phrase 'Walking to the store' implies that someone is walking. However, the grammatical subject of the main clause is 'the rain'—and rain cannot walk to a store. This creates a logical mismatch known as a dangling modifier. To correct this sentence, you must either name the actual person walking or restructure the sentence: 'As I was walking to the store, the rain began to fall' or 'Walking to the store, I noticed the rain beginning to fall.' Dangling modifiers are a common error tested on standardized exams like the PARCC because they require students to understand the logical relationship between a modifying phrase and the subject of the main clause. Careful revision involves asking: Who or what is performing the action in the modifier?

Question 3: Which option correctly uses a colon?

She bought: apples, oranges, and bananas.
He had one goal: to win the championship. (Correct answer)
The team: worked hard all season.
They arrived: at noon.

Correct answer: He had one goal: to win the championship.

A colon should follow an independent clause and introduce a list, explanation, or elaboration. 'He had one goal: to win the championship' correctly places the colon after a complete independent clause.

The colon is a punctuation mark used to introduce information that follows naturally from what precedes it. The key rule is that a colon must be preceded by a complete independent clause—a group of words that can stand alone as a sentence. In 'He had one goal: to win the championship,' the phrase before the colon ('He had one goal') is a complete independent clause. The colon then introduces the specific elaboration of what that goal is. The other options violate this rule: 'She bought: apples, oranges, and bananas' places the colon after a verb, interrupting the clause; 'The team: worked hard all season' places the colon after the subject, separating it from its predicate; 'They arrived: at noon' similarly interrupts the predicate. On the PARCC exam, students must distinguish between correct and incorrect colon usage, understanding that the colon signals 'here comes the specifics' and must follow a grammatically complete statement.

Question 4: In which sentence are parallel structures used correctly?

She likes running, to swim, and hiking.
He enjoys reading books, writing essays, and to play chess.
They decided to study, to practice, and to succeed. (Correct answer)
The plan was quick, effective, and it was simple.

Correct answer: They decided to study, to practice, and to succeed.

Parallel structure requires that items in a series use the same grammatical form. 'To study, to practice, and to succeed' consistently uses the infinitive form.

Parallel structure (also called parallelism) is the use of the same grammatical form for elements that are paired or listed together. Parallelism creates balance and clarity in writing and is an important concept tested on standardized exams. In the correct answer, 'They decided to study, to practice, and to succeed,' all three items in the series use the infinitive form (to + base verb), making them grammatically parallel. The other options mix grammatical forms: 'running, to swim, and hiking' mixes gerunds and an infinitive; 'reading books, writing essays, and to play chess' mixes gerunds and an infinitive; 'quick, effective, and it was simple' mixes adjectives with a full clause. To fix faulty parallelism, identify the pattern established by the first item in the series and apply it consistently to all subsequent items. PARCC test-takers should check lists, comparisons, and compound structures for consistent grammatical form.

Question 5: Which sentence contains an absolute phrase?

Running quickly, she made it to class on time.
The storm having passed, we went outside to play. (Correct answer)
Because he was tired, he went to bed early.
She finished her homework, which took two hours.

Correct answer: The storm having passed, we went outside to play.

An absolute phrase consists of a noun and a participle (and any modifiers) and modifies the entire sentence. 'The storm having passed' is a noun ('the storm') + participle ('having passed') modifying the whole main clause.

An absolute phrase is a group of words that modifies an entire sentence rather than a single word in it. It consists of a noun (or pronoun) plus a participial phrase and is set off from the main clause by a comma. Unlike participial phrases, absolute phrases have their own subject. In 'The storm having passed, we went outside to play,' the absolute phrase 'The storm having passed' has its own subject ('the storm') combined with the present perfect participle ('having passed'). This phrase modifies the entire main clause rather than any single word in it. The other options are different structures: 'Running quickly' is a participial phrase (no separate subject); 'Because he was tired' is a subordinate adverbial clause (introduced by a subordinating conjunction); 'which took two hours' is a relative clause. Absolute phrases are a sophisticated grammatical structure that advanced writers use to add detail and variety. Recognizing them requires understanding that they have their own nominal subject distinct from the subject of the main clause.

Question 6: Which sentence correctly uses a semicolon?

I went to the store; because I needed milk.
She studied all night; however, she still failed the test. (Correct answer)
He likes dogs; cats, and fish.
They left early; to catch the train.

Correct answer: She studied all night; however, she still failed the test.

Semicolons can join two independent clauses, especially when a conjunctive adverb like 'however' follows. The semicolon before 'however' and the comma after it are both correctly placed.

The semicolon has two main uses in English: (1) to join two closely related independent clauses without a coordinating conjunction, and (2) to join two independent clauses with a conjunctive adverb (such as 'however,' 'therefore,' 'moreover,' 'nevertheless'). In 'She studied all night; however, she still failed the test,' the semicolon correctly separates two independent clauses. The conjunctive adverb 'however' is placed after the semicolon and followed by a comma, which is the correct punctuation pattern. The other options are incorrect: 'I went to the store; because I needed milk' incorrectly places a semicolon before a subordinating conjunction ('because'), which cannot introduce an independent clause; 'He likes dogs; cats, and fish' incorrectly uses a semicolon in a simple list; 'They left early; to catch the train' places a semicolon before an infinitive phrase, not an independent clause. Mastering semicolon usage is essential for PARCC writing tasks, as it demonstrates command of sophisticated sentence structure and punctuation.

PARCC Advanced Grammar Practice Questions 2

Which sentence uses the subjunctive mood correctly?