GRAMMAR MIDTERM – Practice

Part 1: Identifying Parts of Speech (10 questions)

Read each sentence below carefully, and then identify the part of speech of the underlined word.

1. Ray sold his car and bought a brand-new, candy-apple red Corvette.

a. noun b. pronoun c. adjective d. adverb e. verb

“Ray” is the name of a person. Nouns name persons, places, or things.

2. When Michael Vick was sentenced to prison for dog fighting, many Falcons fans were very disappointed.

a. noun b. pronoun c. adjective d. adverb e. verb

“Very” modifies the adjective “disappointed”—telling us how disappointed the Falcons fans were.
Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs.

3. Anything he can do, I can do better.

a. noun b. pronoun c. adjective d. adverb e. verb

“He” is a pronoun.

4. Global warming is causing harsh droughts and stronger tropical storms across the globe.

a. noun b. pronoun c. adjective d. adverb e. verb

“Harsh” describes the noun “droughts”—telling us what kind of droughts. Adjectives describe
nouns or pronouns.

5. Once Wanda had decided to quit her job, she felt relieved that the decision had been made.

a. noun b. pronoun c. adjective d. adverb e. verb

“Felt” expresses the action that “she” was accomplishing. Verbs express actions or states of being.

6. The desire to complete a job is frequently the key to completing it.

a. noun b. pronoun c. adjective d. adverb e. verb

“Frequently” modifies the verb “is”—telling us how often/when the desire to complete a job is the
key to completing it. Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs.

7. Every year, Sarah and Aaron Watson vacation at the Outer Banks of North Carolina.

a. noun b. pronoun c. adjective d. adverb e. verb

“Vacation” expresses the action that “Sarah and Aaron Watson” are accomplishing. True,
“vacation” can also be a noun, but not in this context. Verbs express actions or states of being.

8. Many computer users are learning to design their own websites, and many are finding the experience
frustrating.

a. preposition b. conjunction c. interjection

“And” is a conjunction that joins together two independent clauses.

9. Ugh! Crack a window next time!

 a. preposition b. conjunction c. interjection
“Ugh!” (note the exclamation point) is an interjection, which is used to convey strong emotion.

10. Barack Obama, former senator from Illinois, is the first African-American to be elected as President of the
United States.

a. preposition b. conjunction c. interjection

“From” begins the prepositional phrase “from Illinois.”

Part 2: Subjects, Direct Objects, and Complements (5 questions)

Read the following sentences carefully, and identify the grammatical function performed by each
underlined noun or pronoun.

11. Ms. Seymour is the person for the job

a. subject b. direct object c. complement d. none of the above

The linking verb “is” links “person” back to “Ms. Seymour”—they’re the same individual—
so “person” is a complement.

12. I didn’t think for a second that the Steelers would lose in the Super Bowl.

a. subject b. direct object c. complement d. none of the above

“I” is the person doing the thinking, so it is the subject.

13. As the old saying goes, you can never judge a book by its cover.

a. subject b. direct object c. complement d. none of the above

“Book” is the thing that “you” “can never judge”—it’s receiving the action rather than
performing it, so it is a direct object.

14. Mr. Torres has been the office manager for nine years.

a. subject b. direct object c. complement d. none of the above

The linking verb “has been” links “manager” back to “Mr. Torres”—they’re the same person
—so “manager” is a complement.

15. I am running out of patience with your tardiness.

a. subject b. direct object c. complement d. none of the above

“Tardiness” is the object of the preposition “with”—so it cannot be a subject, direct object, or
complement.

Part 3: Subject/Verb Agreement (5 questions)

Read the following sentences carefully. Mark the letter of the verb that correctly completes each
sentence.

16. Horror movies (a. contains b. contain) many grotesque and disturbing images.
“Movies” is plural, so choose the plural verb.
17. Neither Joanna nor her parents (a. was b. were) at the dance recital.
A “neither…nor” construction, so choose the possible subject that’s closest to the verb. In this
case, it is “parents,” which is plural, so choose the plural verb.

18. Statistics (a. is b. are) the most difficult part of my math class.
“Statistics” is one thing, a single field of study/topic, so choose the singular verb.

19. Like it or not, everybody in ENG 1101 (a. is b. are) required to take this grammar exam.
The indefinite pronoun “everybody” is always singular, so choose the singular verb.

20. Emilio and his cousins (a. is b. are) going to the family reunion.
A compound subject here—“Emilio” AND “cousins,” so choose the plural verb.

Part 4: Pronoun Agreement (5 questions)

Read the following sentences carefully. Mark the letter of the pronoun that correctly completes each
sentence.

21. Each of the students is required to wear ________ uniform to school.

a. his b. his or her c. their

“Each” is singular, so choose the singular pronoun “his or her.”

22. Many students improved ________ test scores.

a. his or her b. their c. its

“Students” is plural, so choose the plural pronoun “their.”

23. Anybody who wants to register for teacher education classes must first talk to ________ counselors.

a. his or her b. her c. their

“Anybody” is singular, so choose the singular pronoun “his or her.”

24. When someone tells a lie, ________ usually looks up and to the right

a. he or she b. they c. you

“Someone” is singular, so choose the singular pronoun “he or she.”

25. Each of the boys sent _________ his mother a card on Mother’s Day.

a. his b. their c. his or her

“Each” is singular and “boys” is masculine, so choose the singular, masculine pronoun “his.”

Part 5: Recognizing Sentences and Sentence Errors (5 questions)

Read the groups of words below carefully. If they form a complete sentence, mark A. If they form a
fragment, mark B. If they form a comma splice, mark C. If they form a run-on, mark D.

A=complete sentence B=fragment

C=comma splice D=run-on

26. Many computer users are learning to design their own websites, many are finding the experience frustrating.
 C=comma splice – two independent clauses, joined together (or “spliced”) with just a
comma.

27. Every year Sarah and Aaron Watson vacation at the Outer Banks they could not afford to go this year.
D=run-on – two independent clauses wedged together with nothing at all in between.

28. I wish that I could go and visit my grandparents over spring break, but I am really busy with schoolwork.
A=complete sentence – two independent clauses joined together with a comma AND the
coordinating conjunction “but.”

29. Because the witness provided excellent information about the crime to detectives, the bank robber was
caught two days after the incident.
A=complete sentence – a dependent clause, followed by a comma and an independent clause.

30. But only five students passed the exam.

B=fragment – a dependent clause just floating there, which doesn’t make sense all by itself.