U.S. English Sentence Structure Test (For Writing Professionals)
Analyze the following sentence, and then choose the correct statement from the options below. Her boyfriend and she strolled leisurely on the beach and admired the sand castles left behind by lo...
Analyze the following sentence, and then choose the correct statement from the options below. My husband was worried that the kids were staying up too late every night.
Analyze the following sentence, and then choose the correct statement from the options below. The boss told me to stay late and clear my desk before I leave for vacation.
Choose from the parallel phrases that best complete the following sentence. Imagine my _______________ when the man I admire most in the world told me that my ideas were _______________ .
Choose the phrase that best completes the following sentence. Coordinating conjunctions, conjunctive adverbs, and subordinating conjunctions are all types of ______________________ that are used t...
Choose the phrase that best completes the following sentence. The principle of ___________________ requires that the word or phrase patterns in a sentence be similar in order to create symmetry an...
Choose the phrase that best completes the following sentence. The principle of ___________________ states that, in proper sentence structure, a pronoun usually refers to something earlier in the t...
Choose the phrase that best completes the following sentence. The principle of ___________________ states that, in proper sentence structure, singular subjects must take singular verbs and plural ...
Choose the phrase that best completes the sentence below. A complex sentence contains ________________________________.
Choose the phrase that best completes the sentence below. Dependent, or subordinate, clauses _____________________.
Choose the phrase that best completes the sentence below. Good sentence structure dictates that single-word modifiers and modifying phrases and clauses be placed ___________________.
Choose the series of phrases that best completes the following sentence. A ______________________ comes at the beginning of ___________________ and establishes the relationship between that clause...
Choose the series of phrases that best completes the following sentence. When used to join two ____________________ , a ______________________ is usually preceded by a ___________________ .
Complete the following sentence by choosing the adjective clause from the options below. "But how ugly you are!" said my neighbor, _________________________ .
Complete the following sentence by choosing the adverb clause from the options below. __________________________ the bride leaned over and whispered to me that she was having second thoughts.
Complete the following sentence by choosing the adverb clause from the options below. I have deep respect and admiration for Texas rattlesnakes, _____________________ .
How would the following sentence be categorized? Because Joe is a tennis instructor, some of our weekend guests expected him to give free lessons, while others simply pestered him for free advice.
How would the following sentence be categorized? Being an algebra teacher with a penchant for numerical complexities, I love to decipher challenging equations after my morning shower and before go...
How would the following sentence be categorized? Mr. Dillon met with his new employees and tried to instill in them the drive to succeed that had characterized his sales teams in the past.
How would the following sentence be categorized? Sally can name all of the states in alphabetical order; consequently, her friends are impressed.
Identify the function of the underlined noun phrase in the following sentence. At long last, the silent and snowy road led us to our snug home in the mountains.
Identify the function of the underlined noun phrase in the following sentence. The committee gave our marketing department an award for excellence.
Identify the indirect object in the following sentence. Will you make the children some play clothes out of those old drapes, please?
Identify the predicate in the following sentence. The image of my wife working quietly in her studio overwhelms me with a contented sense of peace and coziness that is difficult to fully express.
Identify the simple subject in the following sentence. Here, then, is the crux of the matter.
Identify the subject in the following sentence. Because of the abundant use of insecticides and pesticides in the world today, my embarrassing dandruff problem has improved considerably.
Identify the subject in the following sentence. Sitting in a tree at the top of the garden was a huge bluebird with long, yellow tail feathers.
Identify the type and function of the underlined clause in the following sentence. Alexandra turned and sprinted down the driveway because she could not tolerate Jude's presence even one second lo...
Identify the type and function of the underlined clause in the following sentence. Charles, who is insufferably immature for his age, is only interested in trivial subjects and stupid jokes.
Identify the type and function of the underlined clause in the following sentence. I didn't lie to my mother; I merely participated in a campaign of misinformation that was started by my brother.
Identify the type and function of the underlined clause in the following sentence. That is the town where George Sand and Frederic Chopin spent their winter in Mallorca.
Identify the type and function of the underlined clause in the following sentence. Unless you plan on leaving with a black eye, I suggest you stop taunting Judith.
Identify the type and function of the underlined clause in the following sentence. What she did last summer surprised just about everyone.
Identify the type and function of the underlined modifier in the following sentence. After a whole day of careening around on that bumpy road beside the railroad tracks, I can barely keep my hands...
Identify the type and function of the underlined modifier in the following sentence. Dazed and disheveled, her brow furrowed with anxiety, Helen emerged from the mountain cave.
Identify the type and function of the underlined modifier in the following sentence. The cat burglar, cunningly disguised as a mouse, was able to squeak through the fence undetected.
Identify the type and function of the underlined modifier in the following sentence. To quell the rise in the theft of paperclips, management placed a deadbolt on the door of the supply room.
Identify the type and function of the underlined phrase in the following sentence. After gathering nectar and cleaning up the hive, the bees took a well-deserved break.
Identify the type and function of the underlined phrase in the following sentence. After the onslaught of bad publicity, the starlet decided to travel incognito.
Identify the type and function of the underlined phrase in the following sentence. Fido, perplexed by his inability to catch his own tail, looked at us quizzically and harrumphed.
Identify the type and function of the underlined phrase in the following sentence. For more than eight years, Waldo has been trying to worm his way into our secret society.
Identify the type and function of the underlined phrase in the following sentence. Trying to sell that lemon of a car has become a lesson in futility.
Identify the type of phrase underlined in the following sentence. That man doing a jig in the town square is my uncle the philosopher.
Identify the type of phrase underlined in the following sentence. The cat ran herself ragged chasing that cricket around the yard all day.
Identify the type of phrase underlined in the following sentence. The police stood guard over the smoking ruins of the town, their senses alert to any sign of looters.
Identify the underlined part of the sentence below. Even though the stinging cold isn't exactly what I would wish for in a climate, I intend to spend a good three years of my life at the North P...
Identify the underlined part of the sentence below. People whose wisdom is indisputable are usually the most feared by those who knowingly wallow in ignorance.
Identify, in order as they appear, the types of connecting and transitional words underlined in the following sentence. Because I forgot to exercise, I became weak and lethargic; however, I soon r...
Identify, in order as they appear, the types of connecting and transitional words underlined in the following sentence. I couldn't understand, since she'd always seemed to love me, why Samantha re...
Identify, in order as they appear, the types of connecting and transitional words underlined in the following sentence. Marta had a strong Argentine accent, even though her father was Macedonian a...
Identify, in order as they appear, the types of modifiers underlined in the following sentence. Hands clasped in my lap, I would sit for hours and watch that silly pigeon as he nestled on my windo...
Identify, in order as they appear, the types of modifiers underlined in the following sentence. My neighbor, a tall man with knobby knees, had a bad habit of chasing his dog as the dog chased the ...
Identify, in order as they appear, the types of phrases underlined in the following sentence. Before Ms. Allman became head of plastics for the toy company, she was a cosmetic surgeon.
Identify, in order as they appear, the types of phrases underlined in the following sentence. To hear Martha tell it, living with her in-laws is a complete nightmare.
Identify, in order as they appear, the underlined parts of speech in the sentence below. After the blond model wobbled precariously, she hit the runway with a thud and died.
Identify, in order as they appear, the underlined parts of speech in the sentence below. Everybody on that soccer team should ask himself a few important questions and set his own goals before the...
Identify, in order as they appear, the underlined parts of the sentence below. I bought the little boy with the lopsided grin a lollipop.
Identify, in order as they appear, the underlined parts of the sentence below. I saw the cat creeping out of the bag.
Identify, in order as they appear, the underlined parts of the sentence below. She was a lawyer before she became a full-time belly-dancing instructor.
Identify, in order as they appear, the underlined parts of the sentence below. That small box contains only the tiniest parts of the remote-controlled airplane.
Identify, in order as they appear, the underlined parts of the sentence below. The cupcakes you baked for Harry smell delicious; unfortunately, he can't smell anything himself with that stuffy nos...
Identify, in order as they appear, the underlined parts of the sentence below. The girl with the long brown hair tumbled down the steps.
Read the following statement and choose the correct answer from the options below. A clause is a group of grammatically related words that contains a subject and predicate; a phrase is a group of ...
Read the following statement and choose the correct answer from the options below. A modifier, which can be an adjective or adverb, or a phrase or clause acting as an adjective or adverb, should b...
Read the following statement and choose the correct answer from the options below. A phrase may function in a sentence as a noun, verb, adjective, or adverb.
The following sentence contains an appositive phrase. Analyze the sentence, and then choose the correct statement from the options below. Their bird, an affectionate but mischievous white cockatoo...
The underlined phrase in the following sentence is a misplaced modifier. Analyze the sentence, and then identify the type of modifier error it contains. "One morning I shot an elephant in my pajam...
The underlined phrase in the following sentence is a misplaced modifier. Analyze the sentence, and then identify the type of modifier error it contains. After being tossed on the barbecue, Malcolm...
The underlined phrase in the following sentence is a misplaced modifier. Analyze the sentence, and then identify the type of modifier error it contains. The girl who bought the pearl earrings rece...
Which of the following groups of words is a phrase?
Which of the following sentences illustrates correct pronoun-antecedent agreement?
Which of the following sentences illustrates correct subject-verb agreement?
Which of the following sentences illustrates the correct use of parallel construction?
Which of the following statements about absolute phrases is false?
Which of the following statements about phrases is false?
Which of the following statements about subject-verb agreement is false?