Usage Flashcards

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

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.'

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

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.'

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.'

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

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.'

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.'

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

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.'

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

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.

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

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.'

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

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.'

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.'

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

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.'