PARCC Usage Practice Questions 3 — Questions and Answers

Question 1: 1. Her novel is an American classic about a young girl who she called Billie Joe. No error.

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Correct answer: C

The pronoun 'who' is used incorrectly in the phrase 'who she called Billie Joe.' 'Who' is a subjective pronoun, but in this clause, the pronoun functions as the direct object of the verb 'called' (she called *whom*). Therefore, the objective pronoun 'whom' should be used instead, making the correct phrase 'whom she called Billie Joe.'

Question 2: 2. Hours of driving laid ahead of us before we could complete the trip. No error.

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Correct answer: A

The verb 'laid' is the past tense of 'to lay,' which means to place something down and requires a direct object. However, the sentence requires the past tense of 'to lie,' meaning to recline or be situated, which does not take a direct object. The correct verb should be 'lay,' as in 'Hours of driving lay ahead of us.'

Question 3: 3. Both Thoreau and Emerson were abolitionists; they had spoken out against the evils of slavery. No error.

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Correct answer: E

The sentence is grammatically correct as written. The semicolon appropriately connects two independent clauses that are closely related in meaning. The past perfect tense 'had spoken' is correctly used to describe an action completed before another past event or point in time, and all other elements are properly used.

Question 4: 4. Yesterday our classroom computer was acting rather strangely. No error.

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Correct answer: E

The sentence contains no grammatical errors. The adverb 'strangely' correctly modifies the verb 'acting,' describing how the computer was behaving. All other words and phrases are used appropriately, and the sentence structure is sound.

Question 5: 5. We decided against medical careers because science had always given Sue and I trouble. No error.

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Correct answer: D

The pronoun 'I' is used incorrectly in the phrase 'given Sue and I trouble.' 'I' is a subjective pronoun, but here it functions as part of a compound indirect object of the verb 'given' (given trouble to *whom*). The objective pronoun 'me' should be used instead, making the correct phrase 'given Sue and me trouble.'

Question 6: 6. After a whole afternoon of playing basketball, I sleep very sound at night. No error.

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Correct answer: D

The word 'sound' is an adjective, but it is used here to modify the verb 'sleep.' To describe *how* someone sleeps, an adverb is required. The correct word should be 'soundly,' which is the adverbial form, making the phrase 'I sleep very soundly at night.'

Question 7: 7. In the winter I usually like skiing and to skate. No error.

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Correct answer: D

This sentence contains a parallelism error. When listing items or actions, they should be in the same grammatical form. Since 'skiing' is a gerund, the second item should also be a gerund. The correct phrasing would be 'skiing and skating' to maintain consistent grammatical structure.

Question 8: 8. The judge showed early signs of genius; for example, she began law school when she was only 19 years old. No error.

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Correct answer: E

The sentence is grammatically correct. The semicolon properly connects two independent clauses that are closely related, and 'for example' is correctly used as a transitional phrase to introduce an illustration. All other elements, including punctuation and word choice, are used appropriately.

Question 9: 9. The general greeted his former mess sergeant, whom he had not seen in many years. No error.

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Correct answer: E

The sentence is grammatically correct. The pronoun 'whom' is correctly used as the object of the verb 'had not seen' within the dependent clause (he had not seen *whom*). The comma before 'whom' is also appropriate as it introduces a non-restrictive clause.

Question 10: 10. Lately, many of the committee's suggestions has been rejected. No error.

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Correct answer: C

This sentence has a subject-verb agreement error. The subject of the sentence is 'suggestions,' which is plural, but the verb 'has been' is singular. The verb must agree with its plural subject. The correct phrasing should be 'have been rejected.'

Question 11: 11. The Supreme Court decision, along with discussions of the Justices' opinions are printed in today's newspaper. No error.

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Correct answer: C

This sentence contains a subject-verb agreement error. The true subject is 'decision' (singular), while the phrase 'along with discussions of the Justices' opinions' is an additive phrase that does not change the subject's number. Therefore, the singular verb 'is printed' should be used instead of 'are printed' to agree with 'decision.'

Question 12: 12. Neither Sue nor Carol thinks she is ready to write the final draft. No error.

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Correct answer: E

The sentence is grammatically correct. When 'neither...nor' connects two singular subjects ('Sue' and 'Carol'), the verb agrees with the subject closer to it ('Carol thinks'). The singular pronoun 'she' correctly refers to either Sue or Carol individually, maintaining proper agreement.

Question 13: 13. These notebooks have laid on the desk all week; please put them away. No error.

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Correct answer: A

The verb 'have laid' is used incorrectly here. 'Laid' is the past tense of 'to lay' (to place something), which requires a direct object. The sentence requires the past participle of 'to lie' (to recline or be situated), which is 'lain.' The correct phrasing should be 'These notebooks have lain on the desk.'

Question 14: 14. You had better leave for home quick if you want to avoid the storm. No error.

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Correct answer: C

The word 'quick' is an adjective, but it is used here to modify the verb 'leave.' To describe *how* you should leave, an adverb is needed. The correct word should be 'quickly,' which is the adverbial form, making the phrase 'leave for home quickly.'

Question 15: 15. Monet used short brush strokes to create the allusion of moving water. No error.

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Correct answer: D

The word 'allusion' means an indirect reference. However, the sentence intends to convey the idea of a deceptive appearance or impression of moving water. The correct word for this meaning is 'illusion,' which refers to something that appears to be real but is not.

Question 16: 16. Did Mr. Smith infer that our research paper had to be about an American author? No error.

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Correct answer: A

The verb 'infer' means to deduce or conclude something from evidence. In this context, the sentence implies that Mr. Smith *suggested* or *hinted* something. The correct verb to use when a speaker suggests something indirectly is 'imply.' Mr. Smith would *imply* the requirement, and the students would *infer* it.

Question 17: 17. A spoonerism is a slip of a tongue in which the beginning sounds of two words are switched. No error.

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Correct answer: E

The sentence is grammatically correct. It provides a clear and accurate definition of a spoonerism, using appropriate vocabulary and sentence structure. All words are used correctly, and there are no punctuation or grammatical errors.

Question 18: 18. Being that I was sick, I missed a whole week of classes; luckily I copied all the lecture notes from Linda. No error.

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Correct answer: D

While 'luckily' is a grammatically acceptable adverb often used to modify an entire clause, some prescriptive style guides might consider it less formal than 'fortunately' in academic or formal writing. In such contexts, a more formal adverb or a different sentence structure might be preferred to maintain a formal tone.

Question 19: 19. In 1912 Congress set a limit on the total amount of representatives in the House of Representatives. No error.

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Correct answer: B

The word 'amount' is used for uncountable nouns (e.g., amount of water, amount of time). 'Representatives' are countable nouns, meaning they can be individually counted. For countable nouns, the word 'number' should be used. The correct phrasing would be 'the total number of representatives.'

Question 20: 20. In science class we learned about digestion, respiration, circulation, and etc. No error.

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Correct answer: D

The phrase 'and etc.' is redundant. 'Etc.' is an abbreviation for 'et cetera,' which already means 'and so forth' or 'and other things.' Therefore, adding 'and' before 'etc.' creates an unnecessary repetition. The correct phrasing would simply be 'digestion, respiration, circulation, etc.'

Question 21: 21. Clean air, as well as clean lakes and rivers, concern all of the citizens of the United States. No error.

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Correct answer: B

This sentence contains a subject-verb agreement error. The true subject of the sentence is 'Clean air,' which is singular. The phrase 'as well as clean lakes and rivers' is an additive phrase and does not change the number of the main subject. Therefore, the singular verb 'concerns' should be used instead of 'concern.'

Question 22: 22. A school handbook is given to everyone who enrolls in our school. No error.

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Correct answer: E

The sentence is grammatically correct. The singular subject 'handbook' correctly takes the singular verb 'is given.' The pronoun 'who' correctly refers to 'everyone' and acts as the subject of the verb 'enrolls.' All parts of the sentence are used appropriately.

Question 23: 23. Yes, records and compact discs have the same sound in my opinion. No error.

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Correct answer: E

The sentence is grammatically correct. The plural subject 'records and compact discs' correctly takes the plural verb 'have.' The rest of the sentence uses appropriate vocabulary and follows standard grammatical rules without any errors.

Question 24: 24. Today the talent committee will audition Joe, Steve, and myself. No error.

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Correct answer: D

The pronoun 'myself' is used incorrectly here. 'Myself' is a reflexive or intensive pronoun and should not be used as a direct object when the subject is not also the object. In this sentence, 'Joe, Steve, and' are the direct objects of 'audition,' so the objective pronoun 'me' should be used. The correct phrasing would be 'audition Joe, Steve, and me.'

PARCC Usage Practice Questions 3

1.
Her novel is an American classic about a young girl who she called Billie Joe.
No error.