engtest4

Red Oak Academy

English

Diagnostic Test 10

Instructions to the Parents:
This test covers materials typically presented through the end of the 10th grade. It is recommended that you print a copy of this test. Then read each item to your child. Record their responses on paper then submit the student responses when the test is completed. This is not a timed test.

1. Which statement about nonstandard speech is true? ____
a. Nonstandard speech is always ungrammatical speech.
b. Dialect, slang, and jargon are examples of nonstandard English.
c. Nonstandard English is accepted by most educated people today.
d. Colloquial speech is nonstandard English.
2. The sentence, "While running around the track, a turtle was seen," is an example of ____.
a. jargon
b. dialect
c. grammatical error
d. idiomatic expression

3. Standard English should always _______.
a. be stiff and formal
b. use contractions and subject-verb agreement
c. be grammatically correct, humorous, and easy to understand
d. be grammatically correct and logical
a. everyday English, professional English, and literary English
b. dialect, slang, and jargon
c. idiom, technical, and specialized
d. colloquial, formal, and personal

5. The person who would probably use these terms: habeas corpus, plaintiff, deposition, and litigation, is a ______.
a. doctor
b. minister
c. scientist
d. lawyer

6. Colloquial English is _____.
a. the language of technical reports
b. a regional variation of English
c. conversational idiom
d. the language of educated Americans

7. The inverted funnel format should be used for ______.
a. poetry
b. legal forms
c. business reports
d. a medical dictionary

8. Writing formal English means that the writer ______.
a. can write sentence fragments
b. can bend grammar rules
c. can use dialect and sarcasm
d. can use a wide variety of words

9. The key characteristics of poetry are ______.
a. style, language, rhyme, and purpose
b. language, compressed meaning, unique form, and rhythm
c. language, lines, rhythm, and purpose
d. compressed meaning, purpose, and symbols

10. The statement that does not express the purpose of dictionaries is ______.
a. to eliminate the dialect and slang
b. to standardize the language
c. to provide information
d. to be a tool for language study

11. The most reliable method of research in lexicography is the ______.
a. etymological method, first used by Daniel Webster
b. annotated method used by the OED
c. the historical method, first used by Dr. Samuel Johnson
d. the thesaurus method, introduced by Noah Compendious
a. The Oxford English Dictionary
b. A Compendious Dictionary of the English Language
c. An American Dictionary of the English Language
d. A Dictionary of Modern English Usage

13. The dictionary abbreviation that does not stand for a level of usage is ______.
a. sl.
b. Sp.
c. colloq.
d. dial.

14. The word etymology means ______.
a. pronunciation
b. part of speech
c. derivation
d. definition

15. The source that would not be useful in providing an acceptable synonym for the word aggravate is ______.
a. Roget's Thesaurus
b. the O.E.D.
c. a common dictionary
d. the American Dialect Dictionary

16. The best definition for a clause is that it is ______.
a. independent and can stand alone
b. dependent upon another clause for meaning
c. a group of grammatically related words, having a subject and a predicate, used as a part of a sentence
d. a group of words having either a subject or a predicate and depending on the rest of the sentence for meaning

17. Which sentence contains a subordinate clause?
a. Watching the car closely, Jerry eased his bicycle out of the driveway.
b. Cats make good house pets, but I like dogs better.
c. Have you seen my pet turtle, Mother?
d. Cathy went to the store because we were out of milk.

18. Which statement has two main clauses?
a. John spoke quietly, but the class heard every word.
b. He said that Jerry had gone home..
c. Terry played the piano, Jerry played the guitar, and Larry played the drums.
d. Running quickly was his goal.
a. a subordinate clause modifying the subject
b. a noun clause used as the object of a preposition
c. an adverb clause telling under what condition
d. the main clause in the sentence

20. In the sentence, "Since advertisements are sometimes misleading, a wise shopper should read the label," the italicized words form ______.
a. a noun clause used as the subject of the sentence
b. the main clause
c. an adverb clause telling why
d. an adjective clause modifying shopper

21. In the sentence, "This is the house that was selected for its architectural design," the italicized words form ______.
a. an adjective clause modifying house
b. a noun clause used as the subject
c. an adverb clause telling which one
d. the main clause in the sentence

22. Words that introduce adverb clauses are called _____.
a. coordination conjunctions
b. subordination conjunctions
c. relative pronouns
d. conjunctive adverbs

23. Relative pronouns include ______.
a. who, them those
b. he, she, it
c. that, which, who
d. these, those, them

24. Subordination conjunctions include ______.
a. yet, but, still
b. and, or nor
c. nevertheless, however, thus
d. because, although, unless

25. Which sentence contains a gerund?
a. Shaking his finger at the defendant, the judge warned him about unruly behavior
b. By telling the truth he avoided punishment.
c. He was speaking quietly with his friends.
d. The policeman ordered him to stop.

26. Which sentence contains an infinitive?
a. We are going to town after lunch.
b. Waiting patiently is difficult.
c. By watching slowly, he could keep going
d. I would like to go with you.
27. Which sentence contains a participle?
a. To buy on time is a modern American way of life.
b. Believing firmly that it was his fate, Jimmy went willingly to prison.
c. Melissa has been singing folk music since she was four.
d. The Wall Street Journal contains stock quotes for all who follow the activities of the Stock Market.

28. Which sentence contains an appositive?
a. The dress, pink and pretty, had been designed and made by Carla.
b. My sister, who is a senior at Oregon State University, plans to be a medical technician.
c. I want to introduce you to our pastor, Mr. Greer.
d. Give the package to my sister.

29. Which sentence contains an elliptical clause?
a. While crossing the street, he found a dollar bill.
b. He caught the bus because he ran quickly.
c. If you drive carefully, you may avoid getting tickets.
d. He is ready to go whenever he is called.

30. Which sentence best defines an elliptical clause?
a. A clause that stands alone.
b. A clause that functions as a noun.
c. An incomplete adverb clause.
d. A noun or pronoun used to rename or explain a word in the sentence.

31. The third person plural pronoun in the possessive case is ______.
a. you
b. our
c. them
d. their

32. The first person singular feminine pronoun in the nominative case is _____.
a. she
b. I
c. your
d. we

33. The third person singular masculine pronoun in the objective case is _____.
a. him
b. my
c. you
d. his

34. The words this, that these, and those are _____.
a. demonstrative pronouns
b. reflexive pronouns
c. reciprocal pronouns
d. indefinite pronouns
35. Who, what, which, and whom are _____.
a. personal pronouns
b. intensive pronouns
c. relative pronouns
d. reciprocal pronouns
36. Ourselves, myself, himself, and yourselves are ______.
a. personal pronouns, objective case
b. reflexive pronouns
c. indefinite pronouns
d. relative pronouns
37. The sentence, "They say the economy is in such poor shape that a depression is inevitable," contains _______.
a. a shift in tense
b. a broad pronoun reference
c. compound antecedents
d. lack of pronoun-verb agreement

38. The sentence, "It the country legislature votes to grant $45,000 to the Mental Health Clinic, they will not have to raise taxes," contains _______.
a. compound antecedents
b. a shift in person
c. an ambiguous pronoun reference
d. a shift in tense

39. The sentence, "Take the baby out of the bath water and throw it away," contains ____.
a. a pronoun with no antecedent
b. lack of pronoun-antecedent agreement
c. a shift in tense
d. a remote pronoun reference

40. Which statement about modifiers is correct?
a. Modifiers may be considered misplaced when they are near the word they modify but separate the major sentence parts from each other.
b. Certain common adjectives -- even, hardly, only, and scarcely-- are frequently misplaced.
c. Sentence meaning cannot be changed by moving an adverb within the sentence.
d. Split infinitives should never be allowed.

41. The most common type of dangling construction is the ______.
a. dangling gerund
b. dangling infinitive
c. dangling participle
d. dangling complement

42. Which sentence is an example of a dangling elliptical clause?
a. Odysseus only killed one cyclops.
b. If explored, archaeologist might find the ark on Mount Ararat.
c. The teacher asked the class to immediately line up.
d. The woman wielded the gavel that had called the meeting.

43. Which sentence contains an error in parallel structure?
a. When a young child, my teacher taught me how to count to a hundred.
b. My tooth ached while listening to the speech.
c. A good athlete should exercise, get plenty of rest, and eat well-balanced meals.
d. Reading the Classics regularly strengthens a person's intellect.

a. He told us about a dog in the kennel that never barked.
b. The team lost almost by three points.
c. Listening to the choir, several songs were well known.
d. By studying so hard, the class was missed.

45. Which sentence is correct?
a. While driving to school, the front tire blew out.
b. To write well, practice is essential.
c. Trying to complete the essay test, the class wrote feverishly.
d. Putting the worm on her hook, the fish began to bite.

46. The Greek prefix meaning the opposite of mono- is ______.
a. endo-
b. apo-
c. syn-
d. poly-
47. The Latin prefix meaning the opposite of bene- is ______.
a. mal-
b. sen-
c. post-
d. sub-
a. chrom-
b. astro-
c. iso-
d. micro-

49. The word bibliography comes from two Greek words meaning _____.
a. witness and testimony
b. belief and love
c. book and writing
d. fear and hatred

50. The word auditory comes from the Latin root meaning _______.
a. to know
b. to hear
c. to see
d. to walk

51. The word science comes from a Latin root meaning _____.
a. to tell
b. to wander
c. belief
d. knowledge

52. A person should use a dictionary to look up an unfamiliar word ______.
a. every time he sees one
b. even though its meaning is implied by the content
c. if he needs an exact definition
d. if he knows all the other words in a passage

53. Often an unfamiliar word will be defined by the context clues of ______.
a. direct explanation, or synonym restatement, and mood, or atmosphere
b. personal experience, vicarious reasoning, and summary
c. both a and b
d. dictionary definition

54. Context clues are helpful for all these situations except finding ______.
a. rough, working definitions for words
b. pronunciation of words
c. the general meaning of a passage
d. the general meaning of a word when surrounded by familiar words describing the mood.

55. The words necessary to capture the key thought in a sentence are ______.
a. two to four words, usually the subject, verb, and object or complement
b. three to five words, usually the subject and its modifier, the verb, the indirect object, and the adverb
c. one to two words, usually the subject and the verbal
d. one to two words, usually the pronoun and the preposition
a. choose too few words
b. choose too many words
c. cannot tell details from main ideas
d. cannot read
57. The best short-cut for finding main ideas in history books and other texts is _____.
a. to write a summary of the paragraph
b. to look for an introductory topic statement for each major paragraph
c. to answer the questions at the end of the chapter
d. to find another book

58. The basic parts of a book include the table of contents, the body of the text, _____.
a. the indexes, and the glossaries
b. the indexes, and the editor's notes
c. the comment, and the close
d. the thesis, and the topic

59. The second level of importance, or the main ideas of the book must be its ______.
a. chapters
b. units
c. paragraph headings
d. subdivision of chapters

60. The next level of importance under the main ideas otherwise known as the "first level of subordination" are the ______.
a. units
b. paragraph headings
c. chapters
d. subdivision of chapters