TAP Grammar and Usage 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: On the TAP Grammar section, which sentence uses the correct subject-verb agreement?
- The team are winning the game.
- The team is winning the game. (Correct answer)
- The team were winning the game.
- The team have won the game.
Correct answer: The team is winning the game.
'Team' is a collective noun treated as singular in American English, so 'is' is the correct verb form.
Question 2: Which of the following is a correctly punctuated compound sentence as tested on the TAP?
- I wanted to go however she said no.
- I wanted to go, however, she said no.
- I wanted to go, but she said no. (Correct answer)
- I wanted to go but, she said no.
Correct answer: I wanted to go, but she said no.
A compound sentence joins two independent clauses with a coordinating conjunction preceded by a comma.
Question 3: On the TAP, which sentence correctly uses a possessive apostrophe?
- The dogs' bowl was empty. (Correct answer)
- The dogs bowl was empty.
- The dogs's bowl was empty.
- The dog's were hungry.
Correct answer: The dogs' bowl was empty.
'Dogs'' with the apostrophe after the 's' shows plural possessive — the bowl belonging to multiple dogs.
Question 4: Which sentence contains a dangling modifier, a common TAP Grammar error type?
- Running quickly, she caught the bus.
- Running quickly, the bus was caught. (Correct answer)
- She ran quickly to catch the bus.
- She quickly caught the bus.
Correct answer: Running quickly, the bus was caught.
In 'Running quickly, the bus was caught,' the modifier 'running quickly' incorrectly modifies 'the bus.'
Question 5: On the TAP, which pronoun correctly completes this sentence: 'Between you and ___, the answer is obvious'?
- I
- me (Correct answer)
- myself
- we
Correct answer: me
After a preposition like 'between,' use an object pronoun — 'me,' not 'I.'
Question 6: Which of the following sentences is in the active voice, as distinguished on the TAP?
- The report was written by Maria.
- The cake was eaten by the children.
- Maria wrote the report. (Correct answer)
- A goal was scored by the striker.
Correct answer: Maria wrote the report.
In the active voice, the subject (Maria) performs the action (wrote), making the sentence direct and clear.
TAP Grammar and Usage 1
On the TAP Grammar section, which sentence uses the correct subject-verb agreement?