STEP Grammar and Structure 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which sentence demonstrates correct subject-verb agreement?
- The news are shocking.
- The team are playing well.
- Neither the teacher nor the students were absent. (Correct answer)
- The committee have made their decision.
Correct answer: Neither the teacher nor the students were absent.
With 'neither...nor,' the verb agrees with the nearer subject: 'students' (plural) → 'were.' 'News' is uncountable singular (the news is). In American English, collective nouns like 'team' and 'committee' typically take singular verbs.
Question 2: Select the correct sentence with a gerund:
- I enjoy to swim in the sea.
- I enjoy swimming in the sea. (Correct answer)
- I enjoy swim in the sea.
- I enjoy swam in the sea.
Correct answer: I enjoy swimming in the sea.
'Enjoy' is followed by a gerund (verb + -ing), not an infinitive. 'Enjoy swimming' is correct. Other verbs that require gerunds: avoid, consider, finish, keep, mind, practice, suggest. Compare with verbs requiring infinitives: want, need, decide, hope.
Question 3: Choose the correct preposition: 'She is interested _____ learning about Saudi history.'
- for
- to
- in (Correct answer)
- at
Correct answer: in
'Interested in' is a fixed collocation (adjective + preposition combination) in English. Other examples: 'good at,' 'responsible for,' 'different from,' 'afraid of.' Learning these fixed combinations is essential for the STEP exam.
Question 4: Which sentence correctly uses a comparative form?
- This book is more better than that one.
- This book is better than that one. (Correct answer)
- This book is more good than that one.
- This book is gooder than that one.
Correct answer: This book is better than that one.
'Better' is the irregular comparative form of 'good.' Using 'more better' is a double comparative error. Irregular comparatives: good→better, bad→worse, far→farther/further, little→less, much/many→more.
Question 5: Identify the correct use of reported speech: 'He said, "I am going to Jeddah."'
- He said that he is going to Jeddah.
- He said that he was going to Jeddah. (Correct answer)
- He said that I am going to Jeddah.
- He said that he am going to Jeddah.
Correct answer: He said that he was going to Jeddah.
In reported speech, tenses shift back: 'am going' (present continuous) becomes 'was going' (past continuous). Pronouns also change: 'I' becomes 'he.' The reporting verb 'said' triggers these changes in indirect/reported speech.
Question 6: Choose the correct article usage: '_____ Riyadh is _____ capital of _____ Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.'
- The, the, the
- —, the, the (Correct answer)
- A, a, a
- The, a, the
Correct answer: —, the, the
City names (Riyadh) generally don't take articles (no article). 'The capital' uses 'the' because it's a specific, unique reference. 'The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia' uses 'the' because it's part of the official name with a descriptor. Article rules are heavily tested on STEP.
STEP Grammar and Structure 2
Which sentence demonstrates correct subject-verb agreement?