Syntax Quiz

Which of the following sentence is/are correct?

• You and he should go to the store.

• You and him should go to the store.

• Stan and him should go to the store.

• Both B and C are written correctly.

Answer explanation

You and he are subject pronouns and thus are correct.

Which sentence uses the present perfect verb tense?

• He's been there a few times already.

• Ben thinks the present is perfect for his mother.

• Juliet is going to drive home tomorrow.

• Sean leaves at 7:00 a.m. every day.

Answer explanation

A. Present perfect tense

B. Simple present tense

C. Future tense

D. Simple present tense

A student writes the following sentence on the board: I am going to beach tomorrow. What is the sentence mistakenly missing?

• future verb tense

• adverb

• determiner

• a subject

Answer explanation

A determiner is needed before the noun beach.

Which example is a fragment?

• This is a wonderful movie.

• My sister's cat.

• People talked.

• My dog is cute, his name is George.

Answer explanation

A. sentence

B. fragment

C. sentence

D. run-on sentence

What is the syntax?

• The study of vocabulary in context in a sentence.

• The arrangement of words and clauses in a sentence.

• The enhancement of meaning in a sentence with punctuation.

• The use of variation of verb tenses in a sentence.

What grammatical element is contained in the following sentence? The dog is hiding under the porch.

• Infinitive phrase

• Dependent clause

• Gerund phrase

• Prepositional phrase

Answer explanation

Under the porch is a prepositional phrase.

What grammatical element is repeated in the following sentence? When I am too tired to get up in the morning, when I have forgotten to do my homework, and when I have nothing to wear, I usually ask my mom if I can stay home from school.

• Dependent clause

• Infinitive phrase

• Noun phrase

• Independent clause

What is the structure of the following sentence? John went to school today, but Jane remained at home.

• Simple sentence

• Complex sentence

• Compound sentence

• Compound-complex sentence

Answer explanation

FANBOYS (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, ad so) are used to connect two independent clauses.

Which example is a run-on sentence?

• Do you like football my dad loves it.

• They need to indicate their preference.

• The results of the study were inconclusive.

• Shows no improvement in any of the vital signs.

Answer explanation

A. Run-on sentence

B. Complete sentence

C. Complete sentence

D. Fragment

"When I arrive in the United States, the first three months for me here were the most difficult experience in my life..." The verb arrive in the first line is incorrect with respect to

• tense

• gender

• person

• number

Answer explanation

In the transcription of the recorded excerpt, the verb “arrive” is in the present tense. The context is the student’s experience, and the rest of the sentence is in the past (“the first three months were”). “Arrive” should be in the past tense (“arrived”).