A10
Diagnostic Grammar/Usage Test Key
A. Choose the correct word. (12 points)
1. Near her teddy bears is/are a catcher’s mitt.
2. At the party, she talked to whoever/whomever she found interesting.
Whoever refers to the subject while whomever refers to the object of the subject.
3. My family generally eat/eats at six o’clock.
My family is a single unit because they are doing the action as a single unit.
4. Another of the Smiths enter/enters college this year. Another is singular.
5. Among his favorite positions was/were catcher and first base.
6. A strong introduction is real/really important.
Really is an adverb that modifies the adjective.
7. The professor agreed to accept/except our final essay on Friday.
8. I’m going to lie/lay down.
When you place yourself down, it is lie. When you place something else down, it is lay.
9. I have went/gone there three times.
Use the past participle with have.
10. Their/There/They’re going to put their/there/they’re new stereo system over their/there/they’re in
the corner.
B. Identify the underlined parts of speech (or parts of sentences) in the spaces provided below. (9 points)
Parts of speech or parts of sentences may include (some may be more than once):
Noun
Adverb
Verb
Adjective
Appositive
Pronoun
Conjunction
Infinitive
Prepositional Phrase
Participle
Antecedent
(1) Josey lost her wallet, (2) but (3) she later recovered her identification cards.
1. Noun
2. Conjunction
3. Pronoun
I’ll (4) meet you (5) in the parking lot after the movie.
4. Verb
5. Prepositional phrase
The clock on the wall (6) clearly shows the (7) exact time.
6. Adverb
7. Adjective
(8) Hoping that I would get Elvis’ autograph, I followed the crowd into the Holiday Inn.
8. (Introductory) participial phrase Participles are verb forms that are used as adjectives.
(9) To write well is a skill, not a talent.
9. Infinitive. To + basic verb form
C. Spell the incomplete word. (5 points)
Example: Dictionary
Look that word up in the diction ry.
1. __________ What benefits do you expect from a college education?
2. __________ College students may be separated into two broad groups.
3. __________ If you receive word from the university, call me.
4. __________ The thief put up little resistance when apprehended.
5. __________ The newspapers were prejudiced against one candidate.
D. After each sentence, correct the grammar mistakes and briefly identify the error(s). (3 points each, 27
points total)
Example: Billowing from every window, we saw clouds of smoke.
Correction: We saw clouds of smoke billowing from every window.
Identification of problem:
The sentence contains a misplaced modifier. (Acceptable)
People cannot billow from windows. (Acceptable)
The sentence needs to be rephrased. (Unacceptable)
Possible types or errors mar (or may not) include:
Fused sentence
Subject/verb agr error
Wrong verb tense
Wrong verb form
Fragment
Comma splice
Faulty pronoun case Possessive error
Lack of punctuation/unnecessary punctuation
Dangling modifier
Apostrophe
1. John was not a good student in math; science was his best subject. Or
John was not a good student in math. Science was his best subject. Or
subject, but he was not a good student in math.
Science was his best
Run-on/fused sentence
2. Marvin, formerly my best friend, believinged he could rely on me to do the job well.
Fragment because the
ing form of the verb (present participle) cannot be used as the main verb of a sentence w/o a helping verb
3. As a young boy, his grandmother told stories to all the children.
As a young boy, he listened to his grandmother tell stories to all the children. Or When he was a young boy,
his grandmother told stories to all the children.
Dangling modifier – refers to an unknown subject
4. There is a stand up roller coaster called, The King Cobra, which goes upside down in the first loop.
There is a stand up roller coaster called The King Cobra, which goes upside down in the first loop.
Unnecessary punctuation
Even better – The stand up roller coaster called The King Cobra, goes upside down in the first loop.
5. Many people complain that a large part of their mail is advertisements; most of the rest is are bills.
Subject-verb agreement
6. The foreman, not the workers, are is to blame for the accident.
Subject-verb agreement
7. After deciding to begin their college careers, many students are faced with face the predicament of where to
live.
Lack of punctuation. Passive voice is not incorrect here, just not as direct
8. The child had rang rung the bell ten times before I could stop him.
Wrong verb tense
9. The computer’s we were supposed to fix are in Mr. Smith’s office.
The computers we were supposed to fix are in Mr. Smith’s office.
Apostrophe usage - Plural, not possessive, is needed
Center for Transformative Learning
Peer Consultation
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