Directions: Correct the following sentences (if necessary) and give reasons for your corrections.
Question 1: Unlike the children of a century ago, compulsory education today caters for every child up to the age of fifteen.
Answer: Unlike the children of a century ago, the children of today are catered for by compulsory education up to the age of fifteen. [Parallelism with Comparative Structures]
Question 2: Our next-door neighbours are extremely noisy, but even more so are they quarrelsome.
Answer: Our next-door neighbours are extremely noisy, but they are even more quarrelsome.
[Parallelism with Clauses]
Question 3: No sooner had he arrived, when he was taken straight up to the stranger.
Answer: No sooner had he arrived, than he was taken straight up to the stranger. [Use of Conjunctions]
Question 4: The new committee arranged everything as it was before, except the weekly meetings were discontinued.
Answer: The new committee arranged everything as it was before, except that the weekly meetings were discontinued. [Use of Relative Pronouns]
Question 5: The recent heat-wave was certainly hotter, or at any rate equal to, any we have experienced in the last ten years.
Answer: The recent heat-wave was certainly hotter than, or at any rate equal to, any we have experienced in the last ten years. [Faulty Ellipsis]
Question 6: He was very disciplined in all his actions, such as in the case of never being late for an appointment.
Answer: He was very disciplined in all his actions, as in never being late for an appointment.
[Parallelism with Comparative Structures]
Question 7: It would be fair to say that William’s work, if you exclude one failed attempt at light comedy, is darkly tragic, even when the textual surface is briefly lightened with verbal wit.
Answer: It would be fair to say that William’s work, if you exclude one failed attempt at light comedy, is darkly tragic, even when the textual surface is briefly lightened up with verbal wit. [Use of Phrasal Verbs]
Question 8: I shall now use an example which I hope you will know what it means.
Answer: I shall now use an example whose meaning I hope you will know. [Use of Relative Pronouns]
Question 9: Between you and I, I must confess the whole arrangement worries me.
Answer: Between you and me, I must confess the whole arrangement worries me. [Pronoun Case]
Question 10: Neither the players nor the trainer were in the locker room when the thief broke in.
Answer: Neither the players were nor the trainer was in the locker room when the thief broke in.
[Subject-Verb Agreement]
Question 11: Despite his opposition to most of Churchill’s domestic policies, Attlee readily consented with almost all of his rival’s military decisions during World War II.
Answer: Despite his opposition to most of Churchill’s domestic policies, Attlee readily consented to almost all of his rival’s military decisions during World War II. [Use of Prepositions]
Question 12: Each one of the dogs in the show require a special kind of diet.
Answer: Each one of the dogs in the show requires a special kind of diet. [Subject-Verb Agreement]
Question 13: I maintain that by accepting this situation it will never improve.
Answer: I maintain that by accepting this situation we shall never improve it. [Dangling Participles]
Question 14: Owing to the dollar’s tendency to rise in value when interest rates soar, it was weakened by last week’s unexpected drop in the prime rate.
Answer: Owing to the its tendency to rise in value when interest rates soar, the dollar was weakened by last week’s unexpected drop in the prime rate. OR
Since the dollar tends to rise in value when interest rates soar, it was weakened by last week’s unexpected drop in the prime rate. [Noun-Pronoun Agreement]
Question 15: Countries where no snake has ever been sighted is rare indeed.
Answer: Countries where no snake has ever been sighted are rare indeed. [Subject-Verb Agreement]
