Grammar Final Exam - Quizzes

Identify the FORM of each sentence slot in the sentence below: The discussion | was | over my head.

Noun phrase, be verb, prepositional phrase

He COULD BE in big trouble.

Past + can + be

The police are at the door.

Pattern I

What is the pattern of the following sentence: There will be beautiful decorations in the downtown area during December. Hint: Undo any transformations first; then identify the pattern.

Pattern I

Climate conditions in 1987 made the fall pumpkins smaller.

Pattern IX

During rush hour my car sputtered and stalled in the middle of a busy intersection.

Pattern VI

What is the pattern of the following sentence: There he goes. Hint: Undo any transformations first; then identify the pattern.

Pattern VI

You nearly sideswiped that squad car across the street.

Pattern VII

The pumpkin won its grower a cash prize and a trip to San Francisco.

Pattern VIII

Give my regards to Broadway. [George M. Cohan]

Pattern VIII Original: Give my regards to Broadway. Undo imperative transformation: YOU give my regards to Broadway.

Many cultural historians consider Isadora Duncan the creator of modern dance.

Pattern X

The rule that "Whom do I ask?" is more correct in formal situations than "Who do I ask?"

Prescriptive

The rule that "between you and I" is incorrect because a preposition should be followed by objective pronouns.

Prescriptive

The rule that "less" is used with noncount nouns, like "rice", and "fewer" is used with count nouns, like "items".

Prescriptive

The rule that you shouldn't use the word "hopefully" to describe the attitude of the speaker, as in, "Hopefully, we'll all do well on this first quiz".

Prescriptive

The statement that the English words "Mary," "merry," and "marry" should be pronounced differently because they are spelled differently.

Prescriptive

Are the following rules descriptive or prescriptive? Do not use unnecessary words.

Prescriptive: Gives advice about style.

You may use "It's me" in speech but not in formal writing.

Prescriptive: gives permission to use an informal expression.

I HAVE finally FOUND my lost scarf.

Present + have + -en + find

Identify the FORM of each sentence slot in the sentence below: You | look | a mess!

Pronoun, verb, noun phrase

pres + have + -en + work

has worked

Directions: Fill in the boxes with the correct forms of the base verb given below. If you have a problem figuring out the -ed form, use the verb in a sentence with yesterday: "Yesterday I _______." If you have trouble figuring out the -en form, use the verb in a sentence with have: "I have _______." Be sure to spell your answers correctly. Base: have

1. -s form: has 2. -ed form: had 3. -ing form: having 4. -en form: had

Base: move

1. -s form: moves 2. -ed form: moved 3. -ing form: moving 4. -en form: moved

Base: think

1. -s form: thinks 2. -ed form: thought 3. -ing form: thinking 4. -en form: thought

Is the voice of this sentence active or passive? The employees in my department really appreciate their yearly bonus.

Active

Identify the capitalized prepositional phrase as either adjectival or adverbial: Some residents OF THE COMMUNITY spoke passionately for the ordinance.

Adjectival

A huge crowd lined the streets FOR THE BIG PARADE.

Adverbial

I googled his blog ON MY iPHONE.

Adverbial

Some residents of the community spoke passionately FOR THE ORDINANCE.

Adverbial

The fact that English has some irregular past tenses, such as "slept", "ate", and "flew".

Descriptive

The fact that in the sentence "Shauna really thought up the idea", the sequence "thought up" is a phrase, but "up the" is not.

Descriptive

The fact that the suffix "-ment" is used in English to form nouns, such as achievement, government, judgment.

Descriptive

The fact that there is no limit on how long a grammatical English sentence can be.

Descriptive

The rule that, in English, articles precede the nouns they modify.

Descriptive

Adverbs such as "however" can be moved around in sentences.

Descriptive: describes a structural feature of adverbs.

Ch. 3: Sentence Patterns

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Chapter 1: The Study of Grammar

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Chapter 2: An Intro to Words and Phrases

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Chapter 4 Quiz: Expanding the Main Verb

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Chapter 5: Changing Sentence Focus

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Sentence Pattern Practice

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Sentence Pattern Test

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I gave a book my sister

I gave my sister a book. I gave my sister a book

I knowed you wasn't from New Jersey.

I knew you weren't from New Jersey.

The softball team is on a roll.

II

Brevity is the soul of wit. (Shakespeare)

III

Professor Pyle is my math teacher.

III

The Tituses were noisy neighbors.

III

She seemed wise beyond her years.

IV

That stew smells wonderful.

IV

The guitar sounds out of tune.

IV

The soup smells awful.

IV

The test looks hard.

IV

Without embarrassment, he made himself at home in her apartment.

IX

This new law prohibits billboards on major highways.

It

Rewrite the following sentence using an it-cleft to emphasize the subject: Negative political ads turned off a great many voters in the last election.

It was negative political ads that turned off a great many voters in the last election.

Sir Humphrey Davy invented the carbon arc lamp seventy years before Edison's first light bulb.

It was seventy years before Edison's first light bulb that Sir Humphrey Davy invented the carbon arc lamp.

I LOST it on my first day of classes.

None of the above

Directions: For each sentence (in bold) below, choose the correct verb expansion string. Remember that in every case the first component is either present or past tense. Note: Adverbs, such as "finally," should not appear in your verb string. The students WERE STUDYING in the library.

Past + be + -ing + study

The barista at the new Starbucks in town was once a contestant on Deal or No Deal.

Pattern III

What is the pattern of this sentence: What a jerk I am sometimes! Hint: Undo any transformations first; then identify the pattern.

Pattern III Original: What a jerk I am sometimes! Undo the exclamative transformation: I am a jerk sometimes. Cross out adverbials/prepositional phrases: I am a jerk sometimes.

The air always seems fresh and clean after a spring rain.

Pattern IV

Rearrange the following words to form a sentence that is grammatical in standard written English. Use only the words given, and make only one sentence. It might be possible to make more than one grammatical arrangement. Be sure to spell and punctuate correctly. Ring bells loudly the.

Ring the bells loudly. The bells ring loudly. Loudly ring the bells. Loudly, the bells ring. The bells loudly ring.

Bach composed some of our most intricate fugues.

Some of our most intricate fugues were composed by Bach.

Identify the FUNCTION of the sentence slots in the sentence below. The workers | are | on the roof.

Subject, predicating verb, adverbial of time or place

Identify the FUNCTION of the sentence slots in the sentence below. Brevity | is | the soul of wit. [Shakespeare]

Subject, predicating verb, subject complement

Mary should stop smoking is clear that.

That Mary should stop smoking is clear That Mary should stop smoking is clear. Mary should stop smoking, that is clear. Mary should stop smoking; that is clear. That is clear; Mary should stop smoking. Mary is clear that smoking should stop.

Transform the voice of the following sentence from active into passive, retaining the same verb tense, mood, and aspect. My roommate wrote the lead article in today's Collegian.

The lead article in today's Collegian was written by my roommate.

In the answer box, write the pronoun that can substitute for the subject in the following sentence: The merchants in town are unhappy.

They

Some residents of the community spoke passionately for the ordinance.

They

Alaska became the forty-ninth state in 1959.

V

Despite her kiss, the frog remained a frog.

V

Identify the sentence pattern of the following sentence: Men have become the tools of their tools. [Henry David Thoreau]

V

Lynching's popularity became America's lasting shame.

V

You look a mess!

V

Hector's party broke up at midnight.

VI

The grammar students smiled.

VI

Identify the sentence pattern of the following italicized sentence: The defense wrapped up its case.

VII

Identify the sentence pattern of the following italicized sentence: The judge threw out the verdict.

VII

Our team won the championship.

VII

The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation. (Thoreau)

VII

Yesterday Luis bought himself an expensive leather coat on Park Avenue.

VIII

Rewrite the following sentences in standard American English. Be sure to spell and punctuate your sentences correctly; otherwise, the computer might grade your quiz incorrectly. We didn't do nothing but listen to records.

We didn't do anything but listen to records. We did nothing but listen to records. We did not do anything but listen to records. We didn't do anything except listen to records. We did nothing except listen to records. We did not do anything except listen to records.

Wherefore rejoice? What conquests brings he home?

Why do you rejoice? What conquests does he bring home?

By 1900, younger reporters considered Nellie Bly a curiosity.

X

Despite the low score, Mike believed himself the winner.

X

Her son considered her the most beautiful woman in the world.

X

She considered him the best thing that ever happened to her.

X

The Saturn dealer considered the car a great buy.

X

The students consider the grammar course a breeze.

X

Translate these passages from Shakespeare's Julius Caesar into modern English. Thou art a cobbler, art thou?

You're a cobbler, aren't you? You are a cobbler, aren't you? You're a cobbler, are you? You are a cobbler, are you not? You're a cobbler, right? You're a shoemaker, aren't you?

Jessica made her new boyfriend some cookies.

[ JESSICA] made [*her* new BOYFRIEND] [*some* COOKIES].

The sentence below includes multiple noun phrases. Put [square brackets] around each noun phrase, *asterisks* around each determiner, and put the HEADWORD in all caps, as in this example: [*The* STUDENT] smiled happily. A huge crowd lined the streets for the big parade.

[*A* huge CROWD] lined [*the* STREETS] for [*the* big PARADE].

Mickey's roommate studies in the library every evening.

[*Mickey's* ROOMMATE] studies in [*the* LIBRARY] [*every* EVENING].

Which of these letters mark the slot boundaries for the following sentence? She (a) calls (b) them (c) a (d) menace (e) to (f) the (g) neighborhood.

a, b, c

Is the capitalized word "around" in the sentence below an adverb or a particle or a preposition? Try both the movability test and the meaning test to help you determine the answer. The students turned AROUND in their seats.

adverb

pres + be + -ing + have

is having

Is the "there" in the following sentence an expletive or is it the locative adverb? There's Henry across the street.

locative adverb

What is the verb phrase that the following verb string (in bold) will produce? (Assume that the subject is Fred.) past + may + have + -en + be + -ing + try

might have been trying

Is the capitalized word "out" in the sentence below an adverb or a particle or a preposition? Try both the movability test and the meaning test to help you determine the answer. The fighter passed OUT in the first round.

particle