Grammar Flashcards

1. The word boycott derives from the name of Charles C. Boycott, an English land agent in Ireland that was ostracized for refusing to reduce rent.

Answer: who was ostracized for refusing

The original sentence incorrectly uses the relative pronoun 'that' to refer to a person, Charles C. Boycott. When referring to people, the correct relative pronoun to use is 'who' or 'whom.' The corrected option properly uses 'who,' ensuring correct pronoun usage and grammatical accuracy.

2. As a result of his method for early music education, Shinichi Suzuki has been known as one of the world's great violin teachers.

Answer: is seen as one

The original sentence uses the present perfect tense 'has been known as one,' which implies a continuous state from the past to the present. However, the simple present tense 'is seen as one' is more appropriate to describe a current, widely accepted reputation or status. This choice conveys that Suzuki is presently recognized as a great teacher, rather than emphasizing the duration of that recognition.

3. Last night the weather forecaster announced that this is the most rainy season the area has had in the past decade.

Answer: this is the rainiest season the

The original sentence incorrectly forms the superlative of 'rainy' as 'most rainy.' For most one- or two-syllable adjectives ending in 'y', the superlative form is created by changing the 'y' to 'i' and adding '-est.' Therefore, 'rainiest' is the correct superlative form of 'rainy,' making the sentence grammatically sound.

4. Although Mandy is younger than her sister, Mandy is the tallest of the two.

Answer: is the taller of the

When comparing only two items or people, the comparative form of an adjective should be used, not the superlative. The original sentence incorrectly uses 'tallest,' which is the superlative form. Since Mandy is being compared to only her sister, 'taller' is the correct comparative adjective to use.

5. When Katherine Hepburn's play came to town, all the tickets had sold out far in advance.

Answer: had been sold out far

The original sentence uses the active voice 'had sold out,' implying the tickets performed the action of selling themselves. However, tickets are passive objects that are sold by someone. The correct answer uses the past perfect passive voice, 'had been sold out,' which accurately reflects that the tickets were the recipients of the action, making the sentence grammatically correct.

6. The origins of most sports is unknown.

Answer: sports are unknown

The subject of the sentence is 'origins,' which is a plural noun. The original sentence incorrectly uses the singular verb 'is,' violating subject-verb agreement. The corrected option properly uses the plural verb 'are' to match the plural subject 'origins,' ensuring grammatical correctness.

7. Neither of the Smith brothers expect to be drafted by a major league team this year.

Answer: expects to be drafted

The indefinite pronoun 'neither' is always singular, even when followed by a plural noun phrase like 'of the Smith brothers.' Therefore, it requires a singular verb for subject-verb agreement. The original sentence incorrectly uses the plural verb 'expect,' while the corrected option properly uses the singular verb 'expects.'

8. Has any of the witnesses been sworn in yet?

Answer: Have any of the

The indefinite pronoun 'any' takes a plural verb when it refers to a plural noun and implies a quantity or selection from a group, as in 'any of the witnesses.' The original sentence incorrectly uses the singular auxiliary verb 'Has.' The corrected option properly uses the plural auxiliary verb 'Have' to maintain subject-verb agreement.

9. TheLusitania sunk on May 7, 1915.

Answer: sank

The verb 'to sink' is an irregular verb with the principal parts: sink (present), sank (past), and sunk (past participle). The original sentence incorrectly uses the past participle 'sunk' as the simple past tense. Since the sentence describes a completed action in the past, the simple past tense form 'sank' is the correct choice.

10. Whos in the office now?

Answer: Who's in

The original sentence incorrectly uses 'Whos.' 'Who's' is a contraction for 'who is' or 'who has,' which is grammatically appropriate for the sentence 'Who is in the office now?' 'Whose' is a possessive pronoun and would be incorrect in this context.

11. There are now many kinds of dictionaries, such as a dictionary of synonyms and antonyms, a biographical dictionary, and a geographical dictionary with pronunciations given.

Answer: with pronunciations given

The original sentence is grammatically correct and requires no changes. The phrase 'with pronunciations given' is a concise and effective prepositional phrase that clearly describes a feature of the geographical dictionary. It functions correctly as a modifier, making the sentence clear and well-structured.

12. Towering 700 feet above the valley floor, Mount Rushmore National Memorial was an impressive site.

Answer: is an impressive sight

The original sentence contains two errors: incorrect verb tense and incorrect word choice. Mount Rushmore still exists, so the present tense 'is' is appropriate to describe its current state, not 'was.' Furthermore, 'site' refers to a location, while 'sight' refers to something seen or visible, making 'sight' the correct word to describe an impressive view.

13. San Francisco lays southwest of Sacramento.

Answer: lies southwest

The original sentence incorrectly uses the verb 'lays.' The verb 'to lay' means to place something down and requires a direct object, while 'to lie' means to recline or to be situated and does not take a direct object. Since San Francisco is situated southwest of Sacramento, the intransitive verb 'lies' is the correct choice.

14. Did they know that Labor Day always came on the first Monday in September?

Answer: comes on

The sentence describes a habitual action or a universal truth—Labor Day always occurs on the first Monday in September. Such facts, even when embedded in a past tense question, should be expressed in the simple present tense. Therefore, 'comes on' is the correct verb form to reflect this ongoing truth.

15. Eating, drinking, and to stay up late at night were among her pleasures.

Answer: staying up late

The sentence requires parallel structure for the list of pleasures: 'Eating, drinking, and...' Since 'eating' and 'drinking' are gerunds (verb forms ending in -ing used as nouns), the third item in the list must also be a gerund. 'Staying up late' maintains this parallel structure, ensuring grammatical consistency and clarity.

16. Each night when night came and the temperature fell, my parents lit the fire in the bedroom.

Answer: and the temperature fell,

The original sentence uses "when night came" to introduce a temporal clause. The phrase "and the temperature fell" is parallel to "night came," describing a simultaneous event. Option A maintains this parallelism and conciseness, effectively linking the two events without introducing unnecessary words or changing the grammatical structure.

17. Frances promised to bring the Papago basket that she bought in Arizona.

Answer: had bought in

The sentence describes two past actions: Frances "promised" (simple past) and she "bought" the basket. The act of buying the basket occurred *before* she made the promise. The past perfect tense ("had bought") is correctly used to indicate an action completed before another past action, clearly showing the sequence of events.

18. He has lain his racquetball glove on the beach.

Answer: has laid

The verb "lay" means "to place something," and it requires a direct object, which "his racquetball glove" serves as in this sentence. The past participle of "lay" is "laid." In contrast, "lie" means "to recline" and is an intransitive verb (does not take a direct object), with its past participle being "lain." Therefore, "has laid" is the correct form for placing an object.

19. I would have lent you my notes if you would have asked me.

Answer: had asked

This sentence uses the third conditional, which describes a hypothetical situation in the past that did not happen. The correct structure for the "if" clause in the third conditional is the past perfect tense ("had asked"). The main clause correctly uses "would have lent," so "had asked" completes the proper grammatical construction for this type of conditional sentence.

20. Many scientists are still hoping to have found life on another planet.

Answer: to find

The phrase "hoping to find" correctly expresses a future aspiration or goal. The infinitive "to find" indicates an action that scientists are currently hoping to accomplish. Using "to have found" would imply that they are hoping for an action that has already been completed, which contradicts the ongoing nature of their hope.