_____________________________
Course name: Grammar II
Course tutor: Rami Al-Sa'di
Final Examination
(1st Attempt)
Affirmations and instructions:
1. This examination is not intended to measure
what you know and what you do not know. Instead, it is aimed at giving you the opportunity to make a show of your skills and
creativity in grammar.
2. Answer all ten questions on this test. The
aggregate value of all the points for the eight questions is 60.
3. You may not be given an extra blank
copy of the examination. However, this examination, along with a full answer key, is going to be made available online within
the next 12 hours at outandabout-baida.tripod.com
Q1. For each item, circle the letter (A, B, or C) which corresponds
to the correct answer. (5 pts)
1. Which of the following sentences is an example of the stative passive?
A. The vase was broken at 10.00 AM this morning.
B. When I arrived, I found out that the window was broken.
C. Our new neighbour’s home has been broken into five times this month.
2. Which of the following requests is most likely to be used to express impatience?
A. Could you please turn the volume down?
B. Will you turn the volume down?
C. Would you turn the volume down?
3. Which of these sentences expresses the highest degree of certainty?
A. Brenda can’t have done it.
B. Brenda mustn’t have done it.
C. Brenda mightn’t have done it.
4. Which of the following questions expresses a suggestion?
A. Why don’t we try a different approach?
B. Why doesn’t he ever answer the phone?
C. Why don’t the two parties ever see eye to eye over the new agenda?
5. In which of these passive sentences is the agent unnecessarily added to the sentence?
A. Rice is now imported by a company called B&S.
B. Rice is consumed by many households as a main source of diet.
C. Rice is grown in India by farmers.
6. Which of the following sentences is grammatical?
A. Your dad had better told what’s happened.
B. Your dad should be telled what’s happened.
C. Your dad ought to be told what’s happened.
7. Which of the following sentences expresses a repeated activity over a period of time?
A. I had been to Paris before I visited London.
B. I have been to Paris several times recently.
C. I will have been to Paris by the time I get 30 years old.
8. Which of the following is a complex sentence?
A. She denied any involvement in the act, but evidence impugned her allegations.
B. While Helen was grilling the meat, Benson was fixing the broiler.
C. We had to queue up in a long array for a long while.
9. Which of the following sentences expresses a factual condition?
A. Were I in his shoes, I would stop arguing for a fruitless project.
B. I’ll carry on without their permission if they can’t realise the usefulness
of my initiative.
C. Had the desert been void of huge rocks, ancient Egyptians would have been unable to
build the pyramids.
10. In which of these sentences is there a forward-pointing use of the definite article?
A. The discovery of the intrigue helped the department hunt down the plotters.
B. The English keep a stiff upper lip in most situations that normally stimulate strong
emotional responses.
C. A lawyer and a diplomat were consulted. The lawyer had radical views on everything.
Q2. Put the verb between brackets into its
correct form. Some sentences are in the passive voice. Where there are more than one correct option, feel free to opt for
any of them. Do not write more than ONE answer to any item. (10 pts)
1. She (work) _______________ for the company since she left school, so I wasn’t surprised when she took
a new job in London.
2. As Geoff was introduced to Mrs Snape, he realised that
he (meet) _______________ her before.
3. I (hope) _______________ to leave
by 9.00, but I overslept and missed the train.
4. I (get) _______________ here a
couple of hours ago.
5. I hear you (sell) _______________
your car. How much do you want for it?
6. If you want me to, I (explain) _______________
how the question works.
7. We (miss) _______________ Sue when
she leaves, but she says she’ll keep in touch.
8. The weather forecast says that
the rain (continue) _______________ for a few more days.
9. Be careful! You (hurt) _______________
yourself.
10. When I was a kid, Mum (lull) _______________
me to sleep every night.
11. In most developed countries,
people (not need) _______________ boil water before they drink it.
12. At last, a timetable (set) _______________
for withdrawing the army.
13. The concert (start) _______________
at 8.45. I’d better make a note of that.
14. Give me a few minutes to (get) _______________
changed, and then I (be) _______________ ready to go.
15. Bobby (help) _______________ to his
feet after last month’s accident.
16. In the past, blacks in America (deprive) _______________ of the right to vote.
17. The final decision of the committee
(declare) _______________ by the time the House of Lords holds its next meeting this coming Monday.
18. Martin Johnson (may appoint) _______________
as a team captain, but we have to wait for a month before we can confirm this.
19. Every passenger (require) _______________
to fill in two copies of the customs declaration. That is why there are always long lines of passengers and delayed flights.
20. It is remarkable to think that
since 1950 influenza (claim) _______________ more than 50,000 lives in this country, and in 1957 alone around 6,000 people (die) _______________.
But over the last 20 years we at the Influenza Research Centre (make) _______________ considerable progress on understanding the illness.
So far, we (produce) _______________ over a hundred books and articles reporting the results of our research, and in 1995 the Nobel Prize
for medicine (award) _______________ to one of our colleagues. In fact, we are the first research centre ever that (explore) _______________
the link between climate change and the recent increase in the number of cases of influenza.
Q3. In the blank spaces, put in a/an, the,
or ø (zero article). When more than one article are possible, choose any of them. Do not give all the alternatives.
(5 pts)
1. ________ study of history helps us understand what is happening in ________ present.
2. He is remembered as ________ composer for ________ violin, for which he wrote 17 concertos.
3. Let’s have ________ day out at ________ seaside. We can also eat ________ at
________ rest house that was completed last week.
4. Estimates of ________ date of the Big Bang, based on ________ rate at which ________
universe is expanding, are around 12 billion years ago.
5. Although she is in her twenties, she still talks like ________ young child.
6. ________ guy called Stephen wants to talk to you.
7. There is ________ type of moth that lives next to this river and nowhere else.
8. I’ve always considered her ________ honest person.
9. He’s got ________ MA in ________ anthropology from ________ university in
________ Australia.
10. I worked as ________ receptionist before I became the personnel manager.
11. ________ cemetery is ________ place where ________ dead are buried.
12. Because ________ little money is spent on health care, it is unlikely that health
conditions will improve.
13. Miss Brill doesn’t go to ________ church because she doesn’t have religious
beliefs.
14. ________ breakfast is the most essential meal in ________ day.
15. ________ human race is bulging because ________ food is becoming available in abundance
in most countries.
Q4. The
following sentences are all incomplete. Beneath each sentence are four words or phrases. Circle the letter corresponding to
the word or phrase that best completes the sentence. (5 pts)
1. She insisted that ____ when they arrived.
a. he already leave
b. he already leaves
c. he has already left
d. he had already left
2. He recommended ____ a book about my experiences.
a. that I wrote
b. that I write
c. that I will write
d. that I would write
3. Before the maths exam started, our teacher ____ us that we weren’t allowed to
use calculators.
a. remind
b. reminded
c. has reminded
d. were reminding
4. If a wound isn’t cleaned in due course, it ____.
a. fester
b. may fester
c. would fester
d. would have festered
5. He bought ____ ice-cream.
a. two
b. a
c. an
d. many
6. I have quite ____ few books on art.
a. ø
b. a
c. an
d. many
7. She was ____ little anxious when her daughter was late.
a. ø
b. a
c. an
d. many
8. We ____ here on account of the sharks.
a. can’t bathe
b. can’t
to bather
c. are not bathe
d. cannot bathing
9. Last week, I ____ go hang gliding with my friends for the first time in my life.
a. can
b. could
c. was able to
d. would have
10. You ____ practise more regularly if you want to win the game.
a. must
b. had to
c. must to
d. will can
Q5. Each
of the following sentences has four underlined words or phrases. Circle the one underlined word or phrase that must be changed
for the sentence to be correct. (Your task is only to locate the mistakes. You do not have to correct them.) (5 pts)
1. People who they deny
the existence of God are called atheists.
2. A number of male abolitionists also supported the rights of women to speak
and participating equally with men in antislavery activities.
3. In 1997, Tony Blair, he was the leader of the Labour Party, became
the British Prime Minister.
4. I’m amazed by everything has happened to me at work in the past
few days despite my commitment to my job.
5. We’d have been better off if we hadn’t that blunderer
with us on board the ship.
6. The fact that juvenile delinquents aren’t taken care of by the police
department mean that their number will continue to increase at breakneck pace.
7. So far, our company broke even – no profit and no loss.
8. In each syllable, a fortis consonant in coda position shortens
the vowel and a lenis consonant lengthen it.
9. Phonemes, morphemes, and words are all said to be segments of the stream
of the speech sounds which is constitute an utterance.
10. During Jackson's administration, those who did not approve of permit common people in the White House were shocked
by the president’s insistence that they be invited into the mansion.
Q6. Each of the following sentences contains a modal auxiliary. Next
to each sentence, write
1 if it expresses a prediction
2 if it expresses a polite request
3 if it expresses necessity
4 if it expresses lack of necessity
5 if it expresses prohibition
6 if it expresses a suggestion
7 if it expresses a present/future
possibility 8 if
it expresses advisability
9 if it expresses hindsight advice
10 if it expresses hindsight possibility
11 if it expresses a high
degree of certainty about a present event/situation
12 if it expresses a strong guess about a past event/situation
13 if it expresses a threat/warning
14 if it expresses permission
(5 pts)
1. She must abide by the rules.
2. You ought to cut down on this bad habit.
3. They might be able to come next week.
4. Let’s give it another try.
5. She must be kidding.
6. Would you mind if I switched on the electric fire?
7. You’d better call them up now or you’ll rue it soon.
8. We should have kept an eye on timing.
9. You could have talked to your doctor about it.
10. Shall we go somewhere nice at the weekend?
11. You can’t be serious!
12. Harry must have felt homesick all the time.
13. The weather’ll be delightful next week.
14. You have to be on your tiptoes today as an inspection committee will come to investigate.
15. You mustn’t eat that beef.
16. They don’t have to address each question meticulously.
17. In my opinion, you should take the airport bus.
18. She’ll pass the test with flying colours.
19. It must be snowing in Paris now.
20. You may go now.
Q7. Use active or passive, in any appropriate
tense, for the verbs in brackets.
(9 pts)
1. It’s noon. The mail (should) ______________
here soon. It (usually deliver) ______________ sometime between noon and one o’clock.
2. Only five of us (work) ______________ in the lab
yesterday when the explosion (occur) ______________. Luckily, no one (hurt) ______________.
3. I was supposed to take a test yesterday, but I
(not admit) ______________ into the testing room because the examination (already begin) ______________.
4. I’m sorry I’m late. I (hold up) ______________
by the rush hour traffic. It (take) ______________ me thirty minutes to get here instead of fifteen.
5. Before she graduated last May, Susan (already
offer) ______________ a position with a law firm.
6. According to many scientists, solar energy (must
use) ______________ extensively in the 21st century.
7. I (study) ______________ English at this university
for the last two years. My English (get) ______________ better, but I still feel I need (keep) ______________ ameliorating
my lexical repertoire.
8. When you arrive at the airport tomorrow, you (meet)
______________ by a friend of mine. He (wear) ______________ a red shirt and blue breeches. He (be) ______________ fairly
tall and (have) ______________ dark hair. He (stand) ______________ near the main entrance. I’m sure you (be) ______________
able to find him.
Q8. Report each sentence using indirect speech. (6 pts)
1. Why don’t we stop for a coffee?
She suggested
2. It was me.
He confessed
3. My novel that I’ve recently published is
more exciting than an Agatha Christie thriller.
She boasted
4. Have I done the right thing?
I asked them
5. I didn’t mean to upset Astrid.
She insisted
6. Mary, I won’t give the money back if you
keep on at me!
Stella warned Mary
7. Next summer, I’ll be having the time of my life with
my wife and kids in the Caribbean.
Bruce told us exuberantly
8. Who’s this girl in the photo?
My mother wondered
9. Why didn’t you go with Jack?
She asked me
10. Are you at a loose end this weakened?
My friends wanted to know
11. The computer I bought here is faulty and keeps
experiencing strange aberrances.
I complained to the shop assistant
12. What a complicated exercise!
The students exclaimed
Q9. Add a question tag to each of the following
sentences. (6 pts)
1. Peter smokes like a chimney,
?
2. Bill didn’t want to go, ?
3. The twins hadn’t seen a hovercraft before, ?
4. They couldn’t understand him, ?
5. Nothing was said,
?
6. Don’t forget to tell Mary, ?
7. Stop intruding on my privacy, ?
8. Neither of us wished to leave, ?
9. You found your passport, ?
10. I’m not going to try it again, ?
11. She has a chip on her shoulder about having never
had a good job ever since her graduation, ?
12. Let’s get a move on now, ?
Q10. Using appropriate technical grammatical
terms, write a short account explaining the two different intonational patterns that may accompany a question tag and their
semantic effect on its meaning. Give proper examples. Write your answer on the back of this sheet. (4 pts)
End of Test
