PTE Vocabulary & Grammar 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Choose the correct form: "The findings ______ that further investigation is needed."
- suggest (Correct answer)
- suggests
- is suggesting
- have been suggested
Correct answer: suggest
"The findings suggest" is correct. "Findings" is plural, so it takes a plural verb. Present simple is used for stating research conclusions. "Suggests" would be used with a singular subject like "The finding suggests..."
Question 2: Which word is an antonym of "deteriorate" as used in academic texts?
- Worsen
- Decline
- Improve (Correct answer)
- Stabilize
Correct answer: Improve
"Deteriorate" means to become progressively worse. Its antonym is "improve" (to become better). "Worsen" and "decline" are synonyms. "Stabilize" means to stop changing, which is different from reversing the deterioration.
Question 3: Identify the correct use of a gerund as a subject in an academic sentence:
- To conduct experiments is important in science.
- Conduct experiments is important in science.
- Conducting experiments is fundamental to scientific inquiry. (Correct answer)
- Experiments conducting is fundamental to science.
Correct answer: Conducting experiments is fundamental to scientific inquiry.
"Conducting experiments" correctly uses a gerund (verb+-ing) as the subject of the sentence. While infinitives can also serve as subjects, gerunds are more natural as subjects in academic writing. The other options are ungrammatical.
Question 4: Which word correctly fills the blank: "The study ______ both qualitative and quantitative methods."
- employed (Correct answer)
- employment
- employing
- employ
Correct answer: employed
"Employed" is the simple past tense verb form needed to complete this sentence. "Employment" is a noun, "employing" is a participle requiring an auxiliary verb, and "employ" is base form not matching the singular past tense context.
Question 5: In academic grammar, what is a "relative clause"?
- A clause that compares two items using "as...as"
- A dependent clause that gives more information about a noun using who, which, or that (Correct answer)
- A clause expressing a condition using "if" or "unless"
- An independent clause joined by a semicolon
Correct answer: A dependent clause that gives more information about a noun using who, which, or that
A relative clause modifies a noun by providing additional information, introduced by relative pronouns (who, whom, whose, which, that). Example: "The researcher who published the study is well respected." PTE Academic grammar questions frequently test relative clause construction.
Question 6: Which option correctly completes the sentence: "______ its limitations, the study provides valuable insights."
- Despite (Correct answer)
- Although
- Because of
- Therefore
Correct answer: Despite
"Despite" is a preposition followed by a noun phrase ("its limitations"), making it grammatically correct. "Although" requires a full clause (subject + verb). "Because of" expresses cause, not concession. "Therefore" expresses result, not concession.
PTE Vocabulary & Grammar 3
Choose the correct form: "The findings ______ that further investigation is needed."