Stanford Achievement Test Stanford Achievement (Language Arts) 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is the correct way to write this sentence with a direct quotation: She said I am very tired?
- She said, "I am very tired." (Correct answer)
- She said "I am very tired".
- She said; "I am very tired."
- She said: I am very tired.
Correct answer: She said, "I am very tired."
A direct quotation requires a comma after the attribution, opening and closing quotation marks, and a period inside the closing quotation mark.
Question 2: Which word best replaces 'very big' to make the writing more precise?
- somewhat large
- enormous (Correct answer)
- kind of big
- moderately large
Correct answer: enormous
'Enormous' is a strong, specific word that conveys great size without using a weak intensifier like 'very.'
Question 3: Which part of speech is the underlined word in: 'She spoke SOFTLY to the frightened child.'?
- Adjective
- Adverb (Correct answer)
- Verb
- Preposition
Correct answer: Adverb
'Softly' is an adverb because it modifies the verb 'spoke' and tells how she spoke.
Question 4: Which sentence demonstrates parallel structure?
- She likes hiking, to swim, and riding bikes.
- She likes hiking, swimming, and to ride bikes.
- She likes hiking, swimming, and riding bikes. (Correct answer)
- She likes to hike, swimming, and to ride bikes.
Correct answer: She likes hiking, swimming, and riding bikes.
Parallel structure requires all items in a series to use the same grammatical form; here all three use the gerund (-ing) form.
Question 5: Which transition word best shows a contrast between two ideas?
- Furthermore
- Therefore
- However (Correct answer)
- Additionally
Correct answer: However
'However' signals a contrast or contradiction between the idea before it and the idea that follows.
Question 6: The word 'benevolent' comes from the Latin roots 'bene' (well) and 'vol' (wish). What does 'benevolent' mean?
- Extremely powerful
- Wishing others well; kind and generous (Correct answer)
- Feeling sorry for others
- Seeking personal gain
Correct answer: Wishing others well; kind and generous
Combining 'bene' (well) and 'vol' (wish), 'benevolent' means wishing or doing good for others.
Question 7: Which of the following sentences is a complex sentence?
- The cat slept, and the dog played.
- The cat slept on the warm rug.
- Although it was raining, we played outside. (Correct answer)
- We played outside; we got wet.
Correct answer: Although it was raining, we played outside.
A complex sentence contains one independent clause and at least one dependent clause; 'Although it was raining' is a dependent clause.
Stanford Achievement Test Stanford Achievement (Language Arts) 4
What is the correct way to write this sentence with a direct quotation: She said I am very tired?