English Grammar error corrections questions with answers
Model paper of English grammar error correction exercises.
Q1. Extensive excavations of archeological sites in Alberta reveal that dinosaur bones there are nearly twenty thousand years older than any of their supposed South American predecessors' bones.
- older than any of their supposed
- older than any of their supposedly
- as old as any of their supposed
- as old as their supposed
- as old as their supposedly
Answer: A
Explanation: In this sentence, the comparison is between dinosaur bones in Alberta, and dinosaur bones of South American predecessors. As old as is an equal comparison - Martha is as tall as Mary. We are not looking for an equal comparison because the bones found in Alberta are not the same age as those found in South America, thus choices C, D, and E are eliminated. Older than correctly compares the older Albertan dinosaur bones with the younger South American dinosaur bones. Supposedly is an adverb and cannot modify a noun (predecessors' bones). Supposed is an adjective, making choice A the correct answer.
Q2. Biologists at Northern Laboratory have found an ancient microscopic plant parasite, one that they assume of a type previously unknown to threaten plants.
- that they assume of
- that they assume is
- that they assume it to be
- they assume that it is of
- they assume to be of
Answer: E
Explanation:In this example that is unnecessary, the pronoun one adequately refers to a microscopic plant parasite. Because the sentence refers to something that existed a long time ago, but has only been documented of late, to be is more appropriate than is. Is is in the present tense, and it is best to find an answer choice that encompasses both the past and present - the infinitive to be does this better. After eliminating that and is, we are left with choice E. This question has an assumption,(they assume), in effect it is not a fact. If we follow this reasoning through, to be a type is stating fact, whereas to be of a type is not quite as emphatic, it is an assumption
Q3. Nowhere in Colombia is the influence of French ideas more apparent than in its political institutions.
- more apparent than in its
- as apparent as it is in its
- so apparent than in their
- more apparent than their
- as apparent than in its
Answer: A
Explanation:A is the correct answer. Part of the problem here is the Pronoun. We have a choice between their and its. Since the singular noun is Colombia, we can then eliminate C and D for the incorrect pronoun their. B has as...as, which is an inappropriate equal comparison. E gives us as...than, which is also incorrect. More ...than is the proper form of the comparison, which is only found in the correct answer, A.
Q4. Though dogged by criticism for his domestic policies, President Millhaven was considered to be an excellent foreign policy strategist.
- to be an
- as an
- like an
- an
- as being
Answer: D
Explanation:This is an Idiomatic Expression Problem. The correct Idiomatic Expression is considered X Y. No as, to be, or like. The correct answer is D.
Q5. Like Arnold Toynbee did , who saw cycles and patterns as intrinsically woven into the skein of history, Fernand Braudel perceives a 'deep structure' lurking under the surface of modern European history.
- Like Arnold Toynbee did
- Like Arnold Toynbee
- As did Arnold Toynbee
- As Arnold Toynbee
- Not unlike Arnold Toynbee did
Answer: B
Explanation:This is a Comparison problem. We know it is because of the word like and as. Since we are comparing someone/something with Fernand Braudel, it will be most likely a person (i.e. Arnold Toynbee), and so we will use the word like rather than as. The did in A is superfluous, so the correct answer is B
Q6.The American architect John Edgar Cooper modeled one of his most famous homes on Cheop's Pyramid.
- on
- after
- through
- on being
- like
Answer: B
Explanation:This is an Idiomatic Expression problem. The correct Idiomatic expression is modeled after. B is the only correct possibility.
Q7. As Ursula K. LeGuin did it, Kurt Vonnegut has written "soft" science fiction (emphasizing political and social issues rather than science and technology), but he has received more acceptance from mainstream critics than LeGuin has.
- As Ursula K. LeGuin did it, Kurt Vonnegut
- As Ursula K. LeGuin, Kurt Vonnegut
- As has Ursula K. LeGuin, Kurt Vonnegut also
- Like Ursula K. LeGuin, Kurt Vonnegut
- Like Ursula K. LeGuin, Kurt Vonnegut also
Answer: D
Explanation:D is the correct answer. From the Like and the As we know immediately that this is a Comparison problem. We are comparing two people, so Like is better than As. Eliminate A,B, and C. As well, the also in E is redundant: the Like has already established the similarity between the two authors.
Q8. Most historians now concede that the different ways in which the European nation-states colonized the New World was determined more by local conditions than by their various national cultures.
- was determined more by local conditions than by their
- was determined more by local conditions than by its
- has been determined more by local conditions than by its
- were determined more by local conditions than by their
- were determined more by local conditions than by its
Answer: D
Explanation:D is the correct answer. If we look at the changes among the answer choices, we see that there is a difference between was and were, and its and their. Therefore this is both a Subject-Verb and a Pronoun problem. First, we must determine if the subject is either singular or plural. Since the subject of the sentence is ways, the verb must take the plural form. Therefore we can eliminate A,B, and C for having the singular was or has. Since the pronoun at the end of the sentence clearly refers to nation-states, we must eliminate the singular its in E, and accept D as our correct answer.
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