Versant English Proficiency VERSANT Sentence Builds Part 2 3

Question 1

You hear the following phrases: / had she arrived / than the phone rang / no sooner /. Which is the correct sentence?

Accepted Answer

No sooner had she arrived than the phone rang.

Answer

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?

Accepted Answer

Having finished the analysis, the team presented its findings to the board.

Answer

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?

Accepted Answer

His contributions were a key factor in the project's success.

Answer

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?

Accepted Answer

She wanted to know whether or not the policy applied.

Answer

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?

Accepted Answer

The reason he was late was that his car wouldn't start.

Answer

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.

Versant Practice Test

Versant Practice Test

Versant English Proficiency VERSANT Sentence Builds Part 2 3