FTCE General Knowledge English Language Skills (826) practice test

An elliptical clause such as "If elected to the city council" leaves out its subject and verb, so readers supply them from the subject of the main clause. Only a person can be elected, and only the sentence with "I" as its subject makes the speaker the one elected. In the other versions the subject is the library's hours, "my goal", or the act of extending the hours, none of which can win a council seat.

A

The passive makes "the library's weekend hours" the subject, so the sentence says the hours will be elected to the council.

B

Attraction trap: "my" points to the speaker, but the subject is "my goal", so the goal seems to be the one elected.

C

Dangling clause: the subject is the gerund "extending", and an action cannot be elected to a city council.

An adjective phrase set off by commas describes the noun it follows, so it must sit next to that noun. The coats are what the children outgrew, so "now too small for our children" belongs right after "the winter coats". After "the shelter" or "Main Street", the phrase describes the shelter, and at the front of the sentence it describes "we".

A

Dangling opener: "we" follows the comma, so the sentence says the writers, not the coats, are too small for the children.

B

Comma fix that leaves the error: the commas set the phrase off, but it still follows "the shelter", so the shelter seems too small.

D

Misplaced phrase: at the end of the sentence the phrase follows "the shelter on Main Street" and describes it instead of the coats.

A phrase that tells when or where an action happened must be placed where it can attach only to the verb it describes; here that means keeping it out of the "that" clause. A gym does not close for repairs at an assembly; the announcement is what happened there, and only the sentence that opens with "At Friday's assembly" attaches the phrase to "announced". In the other versions the phrase falls inside the "that" clause, where it tells when the gym would close.

A

Misplaced phrase: at the end of the "that" clause, the phrase reads as modifying "would close", so the gym seems to close for repairs at the assembly.

B

Misplaced phrase: inside the "that" clause, the phrase tells when the gym would close, not when the principal spoke.

C

Comma fix that leaves the error: the commas set the phrase off, but it is still inside the "that" clause, beside "the gym".

An opening participial phrase needs a subject that can perform its action, and that subject must come right after the comma. Malik is the one opening the oven door, and only the sentence with "Malik" as its subject gives the phrase someone to describe. Openers followed by "there was" or "it was clear" leave the phrase with no doer, and the passive makes the cookies the ones opening the door.

A

Dangling opener: "there was" gives the sentence no subject that can open a door, so the phrase has nothing to describe.

C

Attraction trap: Malik is named, but only after "it was clear to", so the empty subject "it" is left as the one opening the door.

D

The formal-sounding passive makes "the cookies" the subject, so the sentence says the cookies opened the oven door.

Two clues define the blank. "Unlike his talkative older brother" signals that Eli is the opposite of talkative, and "though friendly with everyone" shows that his quietness is not coldness. "Reticent" means inclined to say little and to keep one's thoughts to oneself, which fits both clues.

A

Wrong connotation: "aloof" means cool and distant toward others, which "though friendly with everyone" rules out.

B

Wrong connotation: "brusque" means curt or abrupt in speech, which clashes with "friendly" and says nothing about how seldom Eli talks.

C

Opposite of the clue: "garrulous" means very talkative, the trait that "Unlike" assigns to the brother rather than to Eli.

"Dormant" describes something temporarily inactive, like a sleeping volcano that could become active again. "Although" sets the volcano's long quiet against the scientists' continued watch, and "could erupt again" shows that its inactivity may not be permanent. "Inactive" is therefore the meaning, while "extinct" goes too far.

B

Wrong degree: an extinct volcano is not expected ever to erupt again, but the scientists watch this one for signs that it could.

C

Opposite of the clue: "Although" contrasts the volcano's state with the watch for an eruption, so the volcano cannot already be erupting.

D

Word the topic suggests: instability would be a reason to monitor a volcano, not a fact to contrast with monitoring, as "Although" requires.

Besides its common meanings of amusing an audience and hosting guests, "entertain" can mean to consider an idea. The context selects that meaning: the manager rejected the plan before Imani could finish describing it, so the plan was never even thought over. "Even" marks the smallest step the manager refused to take, which is considering the plan, not approving it.

A

Another sense of the word: "entertain" often means to amuse, as a comedian entertains a crowd, but a plan cannot be amused.

B

Another sense of the word: "entertain" can mean to host guests, which makes no sense with "the plan" as its object.

C

Wrong degree: "even" marks the least the manager could have done, and approving a plan is the last step, not the first.

The past perfect is "had" plus the past participle, and the participle of "fly" is "flown"; "flew" is the simple past. "Came" and "ran" are correct simple past verbs for the landing and for the crowd's rush onto the field.

B

Breaks a correct verb: "come" is the base form and participle, so "he come down" is nonstandard where the simple past "came" is needed.

C

Breaks a correct verb: "run" is the base form and participle, so "a huge crowd run" is nonstandard where the simple past "ran" is needed.

D

Leaves the error: "had flew" pairs the helping verb with the simple past instead of the participle "flown."

"Every Saturday morning" describes a habit, and "walks" and "chats" put that habit in the present tense. The second sentence continues the same routine, so its past-tense "bought" is an inappropriate shift and must be "buys."

A

Consistency trap: "walked" matches the faulty "bought" but now clashes with "chats," so the passage still mixes tenses.

C

Consistency trap: "chatted" matches "bought" but not "walks," so the two sentences still disagree in tense.

D

Leaves the shift: the past "bought" breaks the habitual present set by "walks" and "chats."

A summary of a story's events keeps one tense. "Survives" and "rescues" tell this plot in the present, so the verb joined to "survives" by "and" must also be present: "spends."

B

Another tense: the past perfect "had spent" sets this event in the past while the rest of the plot is told in the present.

C

Another tense: "has spent" stretches up to the present moment, but the island years end when the boat "rescues" him.

D

Leaves the shift: the past "spent" breaks the present tense of "survives" and "rescues."