Versant English Proficiency VERSANT Sentence Builds Part 2 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: You hear the following phrases: / had she arrived / than the phone rang / no sooner /. Which is the correct sentence?
- No sooner she had arrived than the phone rang.
- Than the phone rang no sooner had she arrived.
- No sooner had she arrived than the phone rang. (Correct answer)
- She had arrived no sooner than the phone rang.
Correct answer: No sooner had she arrived than the phone rang.
This sentence requires a specific grammatical structure known as inversion. When a sentence begins with a negative adverbial like 'No sooner', the auxiliary verb ('had') must come before the subject ('she'). The correct structure is 'No sooner + had + subject + past participle + than + second event'.
Question 2: You hear the following phrases: / having finished the analysis / the team presented / its findings to the board /. Which is the correct sentence?
- Having finished the analysis, the team presented its findings to the board. (Correct answer)
- The team presented its findings to the board having finished the analysis.
- Its findings to the board, the team presented having finished the analysis.
- Having finished the analysis to the board, the team presented its findings.
Correct answer: Having finished the analysis, the team presented its findings to the board.
The correct answer uses a perfect participle phrase ('Having finished the analysis') to describe an action that was completed before the main action ('the team presented'). This phrase acts as an adverbial, modifying the entire main clause and clearly indicating the sequence of events.
Question 3: You hear the following phrases: / were a key factor / the project's success / his contributions /. Which is the correct sentence?
- The project's success his contributions were a key factor.
- A key factor were his contributions the project's success.
- Were a key factor his contributions in the project's success.
- His contributions were a key factor in the project's success. (Correct answer)
Correct answer: His contributions were a key factor in the project's success.
This sentence is a straightforward subject-verb-object construction, but the phrases can be misleading. 'His contributions' is the subject, 'were' is the verb, and 'a key factor in the project's success' is the complement. The preposition 'in' is crucial for connecting 'key factor' to 'the project's success' logically.
Question 4: You hear the following phrases: / she wanted to know / the policy applied / whether or not /. Which is the correct sentence?
- The policy applied she wanted to know whether or not.
- She wanted to know whether or not the policy applied. (Correct answer)
- Whether or not she wanted to know the policy applied.
- She wanted to know the policy applied whether or not.
Correct answer: She wanted to know whether or not the policy applied.
This sentence involves reported speech, specifically reporting a yes/no question. The phrase 'whether or not' is used to introduce the clause. The correct structure is [main clause] + 'whether or not' + [subordinate clause in statement order (subject + verb)].
Question 5: You hear the following phrases: / the reason he was late / was that his car / wouldn't start /. Which is the correct sentence?
- The reason he was late was that his car wouldn't start. (Correct answer)
- Was that his car wouldn't start the reason he was late.
- His car wouldn't start was that the reason he was late.
- The reason he was late his car wouldn't start was that.
Correct answer: The reason he was late was that his car wouldn't start.
This sentence structure uses a noun clause beginning with 'that' to explain the 'reason'. The main clause is 'The reason he was late was...' and the noun clause 'that his car wouldn't start' functions as the predicate nominative, completing the meaning of the main clause.
Question 6: You hear the following phrases: / despite the technical issues / went ahead as planned / the presentation /. Which is the correct sentence?
- Went ahead as planned the presentation despite the technical issues.
- The presentation despite the technical issues went ahead as planned.
- Despite the technical issues, the presentation went ahead as planned. (Correct answer)
- As planned, despite the technical issues the presentation went ahead.
Correct answer: Despite the technical issues, the presentation went ahead as planned.
The phrase 'Despite the technical issues' is a prepositional phrase that acts as an adverb, indicating concession. Placing it at the beginning of the sentence, followed by a comma, clearly and correctly modifies the main clause 'the presentation went ahead as planned'.
Versant English Proficiency VERSANT Sentence Builds Part 2 3
You hear the following phrases: / had she arrived / than the phone rang / no sooner /.
Which is the correct sentence?