Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Tests your ability to correct faults in usage and sentence structure, and recognize effective
sentences that follow the conventions of Standard Written English.
1. Scenes from the everyday lives of African Americans, which are realistically depicted in the
paintings of Henry Ossawa Tanner.
2. Looking up from the base of the mountain, the trail seemed more treacherous than it really
was.
3. One of the most common types of mistakes that inexperienced physicians make is misreading
symptoms, another that occurs about as frequently is recommending inappropriate treatment.
5. Certain shipwrecks have a particular fascination for those people which have a belief in
finding the treasure in them.
6. The revolt against Victorianism was perhaps even more marked in poetry than either fiction or
drama.
7. Many of the instruments used in early operations of the United States Army Signal Corps were
adaptations of equipment used by the Plains Indians, particularly that of the heliograph.
8. The problem of antibiotic resistance, frequently compounded in certain countries because the
sale and use of antibiotics are not tightly controlled.
Improving Sentences: Practice Answers
1. The paintings of Henry Ossawa Tanner realistically depict scenes from the everyday lives of
African Americans.
For a sentence to be grammatically complete, it must include both a subject and a main verb.
When a sentence lacks either a subject or a main verb, the result is a sentence fragment. In this
example all options but (C) are sentence fragments.
In (A), the phrase "Scenes ... Americans " is modified by the dependent clause "which ...
Tanner," but there is no main verb.
In (B), the phrase "Scenes ... Tanner" contains no main verb.
In (D), the noun "Henry Ossawa Tanner" is modified by "depicting" but is not combined
with a main verb.
And in (E), the noun "Henry Ossawa Tanner" is modified by the dependent clause
"whose ... Americans" but not combined with a main verb.
(C) is correct. It is the only choice in which a subject ("The paintings of Henry Ossawa
Tanner") is combined with a verb ("depict") to express a complete thought
2. Viewed
When a modifying phrase begins a sentence, it must logically modify the sentence's subject;
otherwise, it is a dangling modifier. In this example, every option except (E) is a dangling
modifier.
In (A), the phrase "Looking up from the base of the mountain" does not logically modify
the subject "the trail." A person might stand at the base of a mountain and look up at a
trail, but it is illogical to suggest that a trail looks up from the base of a mountain.
(B), (C), and (D) are simply variations of the error found in (A). Each results in a
sentence that illogically suggests that a trail was looking up from the base of a mountain.
(E) is correct. Although a trail cannot itself look up from the base of a mountain, a trail
can be viewed by someone looking up from the base of a mountain, so the phrase
"Viewed from the base of the mountain" logically modifies the subject "the trail."
United States Army Signal Corps, and in particular the heliograph, were adaptations of
equipment used by the Plains Indians.
8. resistance is frequently compounded in certain countries where
This sentence is a fragment as written; there is no verb in the main clause. Of the choices offered,
only (C) and (D) correct this problem. (D) is the best choice because the adverb "where"
connects the second part of the sentence in a way that clarifies the relationship between the two
parts of the sentence. The correct sentence reads: The problem of antibiotic resistance is
frequently compounded in certain countries where the sale and use of antibiotics are not
tightly controlled.