SKILL 1: BE SURE THE SENTENCE HAS A SUBJECT AND A VERB

SKILL 2: OBJECT OF PREPOSITION

SKILL 3: APPOSITIVES

SKILL 4: PRESENT PARTICIPLE

SKILL 5: PAST PARTICIPLE

SKILL 6: COORDINATE CONNECTOR

SKILL 7: ADVERB TIME AND CAUSE CONNECTOR

SKILL 8: OTHER ADVERB CONNECTOR

SKILL 9: NOUN CLAUSE CONNECTOR

SKILL 10: NOUN CLAUSE CONNECTOR/SUBJECT

SKILL 11: ADJECTIVE CLAUSE CONNECTOR

  The enthusiasm with which he greeted me made me feel welcome
 The men with whom we were having the discussion did not seem very friendly

SKILL 12: ADJECTIVE CLAUSE CONNECTOR/SUBJECT

SKILL 13: REDUCED ADJECTIVE CLAUSES

SKILL 13: REDUCED ADVERB CLAUSES

SKILL 15: INVERT WITH QUESTION WORD

SKILL 16: INVERT WITH PLACE EXPRESSION

 In the cave was a vast treasure of gems and jewels

 Around the corner are the offices that you are trying to find
 At the Italian restaurant the food was too spicy for my taste
 Nowhere in the world can farmers grow such delicious food
 In the apartment next to mine were a man and a woman having a heated discusiion

SKILL 17: INVERT WITH NEGATIVES

  Never did the boy wrote to his sisters
 Steve did not win the prize, nor did he expect to do so
 Only once I my life have I gone to New York City
 He went out of the house at no time
 Seldom has their secretary made such mistakes
 Barely had he finished the exam when the graduate assistant collected the papers

SKILL 20: VERBS AGREE AFTER PREPOSITIONAL PHRASE

SKILL 21: VERBS AGREE AFTER EXPRESSION OF QUANTITY

 Half of the food that we are serving to the guests is still in the refrigerator
 We believe that some of the time of the employees is going to be devoted to quality control
 The witnesses saw that most of the fire in the hills was extinguished

SKILL 22: MAKE INVERTED VERBS AGREE

 John would be studying the chapter were he able to get hold of the book
 This chapter has many more exercise than does the next one
 Seldom in the history of television have two new comedies been so successful
 How many huge mistakes has the teacher actually found in the research?
  The new phone system is able to hold far more messages than was the phone system that had
previously been used

SKILL 23: VERBS AGREE AFTER CERTAIN WORDS

SKILL 24: PARALLEL STRUCTURE WITH COORDINATE CONJUNCTION

SKILL 25: PARALLEL STRUCTURE WITH PAIRED CONJUNCTION

 You can graduate at the end of the fall semester or at the end of the spring semester
 He could correct neither what you said nor what you wrote
 According to the syllabus, you can either write a paper or take an exam
 He not only called the police department but also called the fire department

SKILL 26: PARALLEL STRUCTURE WITH COMPARISONS

  You have less homework than they do
 I want a new secretary who is as efficient as the previous one
 His research for the thesis was more useful than hers
 What you do today should be the same as what you did yesterday

SKILL 27: FORM COMPARATIVES AND SUPERLATIVES

 Fashions this year are shorter and more colorful than they were last year
 She always tries to do the best and most efficient job that she can do
 The workers on the day shift are more rested than the workers on the night shift
 Alaska is the coldest of all the states in the united states

SKILL 28: USE COMPARATIVES AND SUPERLATIVES CORRECTLY

 The graduate assistant informed us that the first exam is more difficult than the second exam
  The food in this restaurant is better than the restaurant we visited last week
 The photocopies are the darkest that they have ever been

SKILL 29: USE IRREGULAR -ER, -ER STRUCTURE CORRECTLY

 The hotter the food is, the harder it is to eat

 The more you say, the worse the situation will be
 The thicker the walls, the less the noise that comes through
 The more people there are at the party, the better time you’ll have
 The faster you run, the earlier you’ll arrive
 The more time they have to play, the happier the children are

SKILL 30: AFTER HAVE, USE THE PAST PARTICIPLE

 Alice in wonderland, first published in 1865, has since been translated into thirty language
 Before she left, she had asked her mother for permission
  The secretary has broken her typewriter
 Having seen the film, he was quite disappointed
 You might have responded more effectively

SKILL 31: AFTER BE, USE PRESENT PARTICIPLE OR PAST PARTICIPLE

 Being heard was extremely important for him

 The report should have been submitted by noon
 He could be taking four courses this semester
 The score information has been duplicated on the back-up disk
 At the start of the American revolution, lanterns were hung in the old north church as a signal
that the British were coming

SKILL 32: AFTER WILL, WOULD, OR OTHER MODALS, USE THA BASE FORM OF THE VERN

Modals: will, would, can, could, may, might, must, shall, should

 The television movie will finish in ad few minutes

 The advisor told himself that a dozen other reporter would have already asked that question
 The machine may click off if it is overused
 Every morning the plants must be watered
 The houses with ocean views could sell for considerably more
 She will work on the project only if she can have a full-time secretary

SKILL 33: USING THE PAST WITH PRESENT

  When he was a child, he always went to the circus
 Steve wakes up early every morning because he goes to work early
 He is telling the teacher why he did not have time to finish his homework

SKILL 34: USE HAVE AND HAD CORRECTLY

 Because her proposal has been rejected, she is depressed

 She has enjoyed herself every time that she has gone to the zoo
 After the votes had been counted, it was determined that Steve was the winner
 Last night all the waiters and waitresses worked overtimed

SKILL 35: USE CORRECT TENSE WITH TIME EXPRESSIONS

  All the votes were counted last week
 By the time the main course was served, all the guests had arrived and been seated
 The students have been writing many compositions lately

SKILL 36: USE THE CORRECT TENSE WITH WILL AND WOULD

 Students will often study in the library before they go to classes or before they go home
 The police officer indicated that he would write a ticket if he had time

SKILL 37: CORRECT FORM OF PASSIVE

SKILL 38: RECOGNIZE ACTIVE AND PASSIVE MEANING

 When the roads are icy, the buses are not driven
 The soccer game was won in the closing minutes
 Everything to organize the picnic has already been done

SKILL 39: USE CORRECT SINGULAR & PLURAL NOUNS

SKILL 40: DISTINGUISH COUNTABLE AND UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS

  A few soldiers who had been in heavy combats were brought back for a little rest
 It is better to go shopping in the late evening because there are fewer people in the market and
you can accomplish a number of tasks in a short period of time
 The less time you take on the assignment, the fewer pages you will complete
 You will have fewer problems with your income taxes if you get professional help

SKILL 41: IRREGULAR PLURAL OF NOUNS

SKILL 42: DISTINGUISH PERSON FROM THE THING

 Authorization vs authority
 Accounting vs accountant
 Criticism vs critics
 Engineering vs engineer
 Sculpture vs sculptor
 Statistic vs statistician
 Poem vs poetry

SKILL 43: SUBJECT AND OBJECT PRONOUN

  I did not know that you and she were working together on the project
 You and she ought to return the books to the library because they are overdue
 Perhaps you would like to go to the seminar with them and their friends

SKILL 44: POSSESIVE ADJECTIVE VS PRONOUN

 All her secretaries are working late tonight to finish her report
 Before the report is finalized, the information in their notes and ours must be proofed

SKILL 45: CHECK PRONOUN REFERENCE FOR AGREEMENT

  If anyone stops by while I am at the meeting, please take a message from him/her
 In spite of their small size, these video recorders produce excellent tapes
 Although the destruction that they cause is often terrible, cyclones benefit a much wider belt
than they devastate
 There was no indication from the Senate that it would agree with the decision made in the
house

SKILL 46: USE BASIC ADJECTIVES AND ADVERBS CORRECTLY

  Points will be subtracted for each incorrectly answered question
 The production manager quietly requested a complete report of the terrible accident

SKILL 48: USE ADJECTIVES AFTER LINKING VERBS