Grammar Practice Questions

Select the best word for the blank in the following sentence. Neither of the flower bouquets ____ as full as the one we ordered last year. A. are B. is C. were D. being

is -The verb in a "neither/nor" sentence agrees with the noun or pronoun closest to it. However, since "nor" is missing from this sentence, that makes "neither" the subject. It is singular and should take the singular verb "is."

Select the best word for the blank in the following sentence. The mountaineering group _____ looking forward to climbing K2 next year. A. is B. are C. be D. were

is -The word "group" is a collective noun so it takes a singular verb. In context, the phrase "next year" shows that they are currently looking forward to the climb, so a present-tense verb is required. "Is" is singular and present-tense.

Select the best words for the blanks in the following sentence. The clock shows ____ almost nine o'clock, so the bridal shop will soon be opening ____ doors. A. it's, its B. its, its C. it's, it's D. its, it's

it's, its -The first blank needs to encompass the meaning of "it is" - the contraction "it's" is correct. The second blank needs the possessive form "its."

In the following sentence, what is the indirect object? The mountain climber tossed the Sherpa the rope.

the Sherpa -The indirect object is the recipient of the direct object. The direct object receives the action of the verb. Here, the verb is "tossed." What is being tossed? The rope. So, "the rope" is the direct object. Who is the recipient of the rope? The answer: the Sherpa. This is the indirect object.

Which word from the following sentence is a noun? The dog jumped into the air to catch the Frisbee.

Air -There are several nouns in this sentence: "dog," "air," and "Frisbee." The word "jumped" is a verb as is "catch." The word "into" is a preposition.

Select the best punctuation mark for the blank in the following sentence. Follow these directions to get to the church__ make a left at the next intersection, drive three miles to the third stop sign, then turn left, and continue another two miles until you see the parking lot on the right-hand side. A. comma B. semicolon C. colon D. dash

Colon -A colon introduces items in a list or a definition. Since the meaning of this sentence is offering a list of directions, a colon is the correct piece of punctuation.

Select the best word for the blank in the following sentence. Germany has _____ bluebells than does England. A. the least B. less C. fewer D. lesser

Fewer -The word "fewer" is used to describe a countable noun that decreases. "Bluebells" is countable, so we would use "fewer." "Less" is used for uncountable amounts. "Least" is superlative and is used to relate three or more items in a group.

Which of the following sentences is grammatically correct? A. He could accept anything from her, accept a lie. B. He could except anything from her, accept a lie. C. He could accept anything from her, except a lie. D. He could except anything from her, except a lie.

He could accept anything from her, except a lie. -The word, "accept" means "to receive." "Except" is usually a preposition meaning "but" or "leaving out." The correct answer is the only one that uses both these words correctly.

Which of the following is an example of a simple sentence? A. The movie about the comic book superhero B. The movie about the comic book superhero that I watched last Friday night was vey entertaining. C. The movie about the comic book superhero had never interested me until last week. D. The movie about the comic superhero fascinated me, but it bored my best friend.

The movie about the comic book superhero had never interested me until last week. -A simple sentence contains one subject and one verb.

Which of the following sentences is grammatically correct? A. The soccer player ran quick to the ball. B. The soccer player did run quickly to the goal. C. The soccer player did ran quickly to the goal. D. The soccer player ran quickly to the goal.

The soccer player ran quickly to the goal. -Since "ran" is a verb, we need the adverb form, "quickly," to modify it. "Quick" is an adjective and describes nouns not verbs.

Which word or phrase in the following sentence is the simple predicate? Due to her stingy nature, the famous actress was not generous with her friends and family.

Was generous -The simple predicate is the verb of a sentence. In this sentence it is the helping verb "was" and the main verb "generous."

Which sentence is the clearest? A. At the age of twelve, my parents sent me to boarding school. B. When I was twelve, my parents sent me to boarding school. C. At the age of twelve, I sent my parents to boarding school. D. My parents, at the age of twelve, sent me to boarding school.

When I was twelve, my parents sent me to boarding school. -This option has the clearest, most logical meaning. The others options make it sound like the were age 12 or that the parents were sent to boarding school.

Select the phrase that makes this sentence grammatically correct. Next year, I __________. A. completed my college degree B. did complete my college degree C. will complete my college degree D. completing my college degree

will complete my college degree. -The phrase "next year" indicates the future tense is needed. The verb "will complete" is correctly in the future-tense.

In the following sentence, which is the dependent clause? The World War II soldier was a hero, especially because of his actions during the invasion of Normandy.

especially because of his actions during the invasion of Normandy. -A dependent clause is a group of words with a noun and a verb. It does not express a complete thought so it is not a sentence and can't stand alone. The independent clause here is, "The World War II soldier was a hero," since that could stand on its own as a complete thought. The rest of the sentence, separated by a comma, is a dependent clause.

Which word from the following sentence is a noun? The medical examiner was called in to perform a post-mortem examination.

examination -The nouns in the sentence are "examiner" and "examination." The word "medical" is an adjective. "Was" and "perform" are verbs.

Select the best word for the blank in the following sentence. The ______ late student was reprimanded by the teacher. A. habitualy B. habitually C. habituel D. habituelly

habitually -The word "habitually" means repeatedly or often

Select the best word for the blank in the following sentence. The United States has _____ states than Europe has countries; there are only 47 European countries, but there are 50 states in America. A. the more B. most C. more D. many

more -Based on the context of the second clause, we know that there must be MORE states than European countries. When comparing two items, we use the comparative word, "more." If we were comparing three or more items, we'd use the superlative form "most."

Which of the following phrases follows the rules of capitalization? A. Meredith's Uncle B. my sister Cheryl C. her Great-Aunt D. grandma Beth

my sister Cheryl -Unless it is being used as a title, the familial adjective should be in lowercase, so it is correct to write "sister" in lowercase. "Grandma" is being used as a title so should be capitalized. "Uncle" and "Great-Aunt: should be lowercase because they are not being used as titles.

Which word or phrase in the following sentence is the simple predicate? So many types of birthday cake put Cynthia at a loss. A. put B. put at a loss C. put Cynthia D. put Cynthia at a loss.

put -A simple predicate is the word that describes the verb in a sentence. In this case, the word "put."

Select the best word for the blank in the following sentence. When the gymnastic athletes travel for a competition, a chaperone must accompany ____. A. it B. them C. all of it D. their

them -Since the antecedent is the plural "athletes," we need a pronoun that is also plural to replace it at the end of the sentence. "Them" is the correct object pronoun.

Select the best words for the blanks in the following sentence. It's important _____ research your essay topic thoroughly so you do not include _____ much irrelevant information. A. too, to B. to, two C. to, too D. too, two

to, too -In front of an infinitive verb (such as "research") we need the article "to." The phrase "too much" is correctly completed in this option as well.

Which word in the following sentence is grammatically incorrect? The admissions consultant outlined what makes a thorough application package, unrespective of financial hardship.

unrespective -In this sentence "unrespective" is incorrect. The correct word is "irrespective."

Select the word or phrase that makes this sentence grammatically correct. The child ____ to ride all the roller coasters at Disneyland. A. wants B. want C. does want D. has the want

wants -The singular subject "child" needs a singular verb. The simplest version is the word "wants."

Which word from the following sentence is a noun? The real Ichabod Crane was a military officer who met Washington Irving in 1814 at Fort Pike. A. was B. who C. met D. Pike

Pike -The word "Pike" is a noun since it is a place. The words "was" and "met" are verbs. The word "who" is a pronoun.

Which of the following is an example of a correctly punctuated sentence? A. "What would you prefer to do on vacation - visit a museum or go on a walking tour?" asked my father. B. "What would you prefer to do on vacation - visit a museum or go on a walking tour," asked my father. C. "What would you prefer to do on vacation: visit a museum or go on a walking tour?," asked my father. D. "What would you prefer to do on vacation: visit a museum or go on a walking tour," asked my father?

"What would you prefer to do on vacation - visit a museum or go on a walking tour?" asked my father. -When a question mark or exclamation point is part of a quotation, then it should stay inside the quotation marks. The quotation in this example is a question, so the question mark should stay inside the quotation marks. There is no need to have a comma following the question mark. In this context, either the colon or the dash would be acceptable.

Which of the following sentences is grammatically correct? A. The professor sought advise from a colleague. B. To advice the President, the Joint Chiefs of Staff must be well-informed. C. A good advicer is essential in order to have a successful academic career. D. My parents give me excellent advice when I am making a difficult decision.

My parents give me excellent advice when I am making a difficult decision. -Advice is a noun meaning "an opinion given with the intention of helping." Advise is a verb meaning "to give counsel or advice."

Which of the following sentences is grammatically correct? A. Before I lie down to go to sleep, I lay down my book on the nightstand. B. I lay down my book on the nightstand before I lay down to go to sleep. C. I lie my book down on the nightstand before I lie down to go to sleep. D. Before I lay down my book on the nightstand, I lie down to go to sleep

Before I lie down to go to sleep, I lay down my book on the nightstand. -Lay means to put something down. It always takes an object. Lie means to recline or to be sedentary and does not take an object. Answer choice (A) is the only one that uses the correct verbs in the correct logical order.

Which of the following sentences has correct subject-verb agreement? A. The ambulance, which had flashing red lights on top, were letting other vehicles on the road know to pull over. B. Either kale or spinach is a healthy vegetable to eat with dinner. C. One of the soccer players kick the ball farther than his other teammates. D. Several of the pieces of art was sold for above-average prices.

Either kale or spinach is a healthy vegetable to eat with dinner. -This answer has proper subject-verb agreement. In the other choices, the singular "ambulance" disagrees with the plural "were." The singular "kick" does not agree with the singular "one." It should be "kicks." And the plural "several" does not agree with the singular "was."

Which of the following sentences is grammatically correct? A. My favorite outdoor activities include camping fly-fishing, and river-rafting. B. My favorite outdoor activities include camping and fly-fishing, and also river-rafting. C. My favorite outdoor activities include camping, fly-fishing, and river-rafting. D. My favorite outdoor activities include camping and fly-fishing and river-rafting.

Items in a list should be separated by commas. Only choice (C)correctly separates all of the items with commas, giving them equal weight.

She was _____ exhausted than her sister after they ran the marathon. A. Most. B. More C. increasingly D. the more

More -Since we are only comparing two individuals: the subject, "she," and "her sister" we need to use the correct comparative form, "more." The word "most" is used when we're discussing three or more people. There is no need to use the article "the" in front of "more."

Which of the following sentences is grammatically correct? A. Since the professor was excessively boring; many of his students fell asleep. B. Since the professor was excessively boring, many of his students fell asleep. C. Since the professor was excessively boring many of his students fell asleep. D. Since the professor was, excessively boring, many of his students fell asleep.

Since the professor was excessively boring, many of his students fell asleep. -This sentence is made up of an independent clause and a dependent clause. There should be a comma separating the two clauses. No other punctuation is necessary.

Which word in the following sentence is the subject? The opera singer's solo had a profound impact on the audience.

Solo -The subject of a sentence is the person, place, thing, or idea that is doing or being something. Ask yourself: what "had" an impact? The answer is the "solo." That must be the subject.

Which of the following sentences is grammatically correct? A. The nervous student tapped his foot impatiently under his desk. B. The nervous student did tap his foot with impatience under his desk. C. The nervous student tapped his foot impatient under the desk. D. The nervous student impatient did tap his foot under the desk.

The nervous student tapped his foot impatiently under his desk. -Since "tapped" is a verb, we need the adverb "impatiently" to correctly modify it.

Which of the following sentences is grammatically correct? A. They're concern is that their may not be enough appetizers for everyone there expecting at the cocktail party. B. Their concern is that they're may not be enough appetizers for everyone there expecting at the cocktail party. C. Their concern is that there may not be enough appetizers for everyone they're expecting at the cocktail party. D. There concern is that they're may not be enough appetizers for everyone their expecting at the cocktail party.

Their concern is that there may not be enough appetizers for everyone they're expecting at the cocktail party. -"Their" is a pronoun used to refer to a group of people. Since the "concern" belongs to a group of people, we'd use the word "their" to explain the possessive meaning. The word "they're" is a contraction of "they are." "There," is a word describing location. The correct answer is the only one that uses all three words properly.

Select the best word or words for the blank in the following sentence. _______ confident that with enough study they can easily pass the final exam. A. They have B. There C. Their D. They're

They're -The contraction "They're" has the same meaning as "They are" and is the correct phrase to complete the sentence.

Select the best words for the blank in the following sentence. To ______ should I address the postcard?

Whom -The word "who" is a subject pronoun and the word "whom" is the object pronoun. Since we're discussing a human being, we would not use the word "which." Since the blank is preceded by the article "to," we need the object pronoun "whom."

Which word in the following sentence is a preposition? The Vikings travelled in wooden boats across the Atlantic Ocean.

across -There are two prepositions in this sentence: "in" and "across." The word "Vikings" is a noun, and "boats" is also a noun. The word "travelled" is a verb.

Select the best word for the blank in the following sentence. The actors' performances powerfully _____ the audience. A. effected B. affected C. were effecting D. were affecting

affected -"Effected" means executed, produced, or brought about. "Affected" means made an impact on. It is the past tense of the verb form of affect, which means to impact.

In the following sentence, which is the dependent clause? Sofia won't be able to compete in the race because she wrecked her car.

because she wrecked her car -A clause is a group of words containing a subject and a verb or verb phrase. An independent clause expresses a complete thought while a dependent clause does not. -Dependent clauses begin with words like: after, although, because, before, if, since, that, until, what, when, where, who, which, and why. -The dependent clause, "because she wrecked her car," contains the subject "she" and the verb "wrecked." It does not express a complete thought.

Which word in the following sentence is a conjunction? In 1994, Dan Manion set the current record for a deep dive on air at 509 feet, but reported feeling strong effects of narcosis at such a depth.

but -A "conjunction" is a word that joins together sentences, clauses, phrases, or words. The only conjunction in this sentence is the word, "but." "For" can be a conjunction, but in this sentence it is used as a preposition. "On" and "at" are prepositions.