The sentence structure questions test more than a word or two; they test your ability to make a sentence complete.. The first rule to remember about standard written English is this: Eve
Trang 1An indirect command is a sentence in which one person reports that another person has given a
command The verb appears in the infinitive instead of the simple form
Jill asked Robert to close the door.
Maria asked Mike not to turn off the light.
Practice Exercise
To work through the following exercise, you need to use the first audio CD that is included in this book Starting with Track 1 of the CD, you will hear people having brief conversations similar to those you will encounter during Part A of the Listening section of the TOEFL test At the end of a conversation, you will hear a question that you must answer based on your under-standing of what the speaker(s) said Each question is printed below, along with answer
choices Mark your answer choices as you go along
After you have completed this exercise and checked your answers, turn to the appendix of this book The conversations that you heard on the CD are transcribed there If you had any diffi-culty understanding what a speaker was saying, listen to the CD again, this time reading what
is being said at the same time you listen to it Do not turn to the appendix until you have
worked through this exercise at least once by just listening to the CD
CD A, Track 1
Part III: Detailed Review of Items Tested
1. What does the man say about the
report?
A He wasn’t impressed by it.
B. He hasn’t even seen it yet
C He thinks it’s worth studying by
the whole class
D He hasn’t been able to review it in
detail yet
2. What does the woman say about her
car?
A She just had it painted.
B. The school bus damaged it
C She struck a bus while driving the
3. What does the woman imply about Mr Adams?
A He is a skillful instructor.
B. He has years of experience but doesn’t explain things well
C He is very knowledgeable.
D He is arrogant and has no teaching
experience
4. What do the speakers imply about Thalía?
A The man admires her looks.
B. The man dislikes her
C She doesn’t sing well.
For more material and information, please visit Tai Lieu Du Hoc at www.tailieuduhoc.org
Trang 25. What does the man imply about the
exam?
A He thought it was unfair.
B. He didn’t prepare as well as he
could have
C He studied very hard but didn’t
pass the exam
D He couldn’t have done better on
the exam
6. What does the woman imply about
Jane?
A Jane wishes she had known about
the surprise
B. The surprise was a bad idea
C Jane was aware of the surprise
beforehand
D Jane didn’t like being surprised.
7. What is the man’s problem?
A He forgot to take the exam.
B. He made a mistake, which cost him
a number of answers
C He turned in his paper too late, so
it didn’t get scored
D He is angry about the testing
format
8. What do the speakers imply about the
documentary?
A It was overrated.
B. It was boring
C It was extremely interesting.
D They missed it.
9. What do the speakers say about the accident?
A The children got through it okay.
B. The speakers have forgotten about it
C The speakers don’t like thinking
about it
D The speakers are grateful that
nobody was seriously hurt
10. What does the woman say about Brenda?
A She didn’t know what to do.
B. She used an auto repair manual
C She wishes she still had her
old job
D She has experience as a mechanic.
11. What is the woman’s problem?
A She isn’t sure whether to report
something
B. She is distressed that somebody knows what she did
C She is angry about a contract.
D She wanted to ask a question.
12. What do the speakers mean?
A They’re tired.
B. The woman is worried about the man’s anger
C They feel refreshed.
D They broke their table.
Trang 313. What does the woman suggest that the
man do?
A Give Heather more freedom.
B. Give up on Heather
C Discipline Heather.
D Be more involved in Heather’s life.
14. What do the speakers mean?
A The man is retiring for good.
B. The woman is pleased that the man
is leaving
C The woman doesn’t care for the
current management
D The man is temporarily turning
things over to the woman
15. What does the man mean about Jeff?
A He is studying.
B. He hasn’t made up his mind
C He is very much against the issue
that the man promotes
D He isn’t aware of what the man and
woman are discussing
Part III: Detailed Review of Items Tested
Answers for the Practice Exercise
1 D.
2 B.
3 D.
4 A.
5 B.
6 C.
7 B.
8 C.
9 C.
10 D.
11 A.
12 A.
13 A.
14 D.
15 C.
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Trang 4The Structure section tests your knowledge of standard written English, which is
not always the same as spoken English This chapter provides you with general
rules that describe how standard written English is typically used; to find the rules
as you study, look for text with a shaded gray background Often, when you are
reading, conversing, or taking the TOEFL test, you’ll be able to apply these rules
to your use and understanding of English
Part of the challenge of taking the TOEFL test is that its questions sometimes
in-volve complex and multiple issues that aren’t so easy to discern A good strategy
when taking the test is to ignore extra words in a sentence that make a particular
rule hard to recognize But remember also that the rules in this chapter describe
only typical usage; like most rules, they can be broken on occasion Try not to be
alarmed if a rule doesn’t seem to work for a specific sentence
In this chapter, I use the following symbols:
■ Parentheses ( ) indicate that a word or phrase is optional; a rule will still be
true whether that word or phrase is included or not
■ Brackets { } indicate that you can choose between two or more words or
parts of speech; whichever you choose, the rule will still hold true A
back-slash separates the two choices
Keep in mind that you learn a language by reading and communicating, paying
attention to new usage, and studying slowly and methodically Studying rules
shouldn’t replace the slow, methodical learning of the language When you come
across a rule during casual conversation or as you read, pay attention to it and
how it works in the particular sentence If you notice people disregarding the rule
in conversational English, don’t be alarmed Sometimes spoken English is not the
same as the standard written English that is the subject of the TOEFL test
Structure questions typically test one of the following items:
■ Sentence structure The sentence structure questions test more than a
word or two; they test your ability to make a sentence complete A
sen-tence must have a subject, verb, and perhaps a complement Sensen-tence
structure questions also test your understanding of subordinate clauses,
which must not be independent clauses
■ Word order Word order questions are generally more detail-oriented than
sentence structure questions They test, for example, your understanding
that an adjective should appear before the noun it modifies, not after it
Trang 5questions also include recognizing which ending should be on a word For example, you may need to recognize if a plural ending on a noun should
be singular, a singular designation on a verb should be plural, a verb end-ing should indicate a different tense, and so on
■ Word choice The word choice type of question tests your understanding
of idiomatic expressions, of which prepositions to use with certain words,
of problem words that are sometimes confused, and so on
■ Missing or extra words The missing or extra word problems can
some-times overlap with some of the other categories, but I treat them separately because sometimes they are easier to recognize than some of the other question types
Sentence Structure
To score well on sentence structure questions, you should have a strong under-standing of basic sentence structures in standard written English and of parts of speech The following sections help you strengthen your knowledge of sentence structure and provide sample questions so you can test yourself
One of the most important subjects tested in the Structure section is the basic sen-tence structure in English The first rule to remember about standard written English is this:
Every sentence must have a subject and a conjugated verb.
With this rule in mind, you may think that identifying an English sentence is easy However, keep in mind that a clause also has a subject and a verb, and some types
of clauses cannot be considered complete sentences An independent clause can
stand on its own as a sentence; it doesn’t need another clause in order to be
com-plete But a dependent clause, despite having a subject and a conjugated verb,
cannot stand on its own as a complete sentence; it contains a word that indicates it must be combined with an independent clause in order to create a complete
sen-tence For example, the clause because she went to the doctor contains both a sub-ject, she, and a conjugated verb, went, but the word because indicates that it is a
dependent clause and cannot stand on its own Clauses are discussed later in this chapter in the “Phrases and Clauses” section
If a sentence contains a complement or a direct object, it generally appears imme-diately after the verb or verb phrase If there is a modifier, it generally appears af-ter the complement The following table illustrates the rule of this typical sentence structure
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Trang 6Subject Verb Complement Modifier Modifier
The pilot completed his training at Embry Riddle last year.
Aeronautical University
week.
Sentences that follow this rule may be simple or complex Additional words and
phrases can appear in these sentences without violating the basic rule
Subjects
The subject performs the action in an active sentence Every sentence and every
clause must have a subject The subject is usually a noun or noun phrase
(ex-plained in the following section), although it may consist of something else
Usually when a TOEFL test question asks you to identify the subject of a
sen-tence, the sentence begins with a dependent clause or phrase, and you must
recog-nize that the sentence subject is located in the independent clause
Incorrect: Without a doubt, is very important to study throughout the term
rather than trying to cram at the end
Correct: Without a doubt, it is very important to study throughout the term
rather than trying to cram at the end
The first example is incorrect because it is a phrase — a string of words that is
missing either a subject or a verb In this case, the subject is missing; the subject it
should appear before the verb is.
Incorrect: Being a very abrupt and unfriendly man, did not have many
friends
Correct: Being a very abrupt and unfriendly man, Professor Stanley did not
have many friends
The first example is incorrect because the subject, Professor Stanley, is missing.
Nouns and Noun Phrases
The subject of a sentence may be a single-word noun, such as teacher or dog, or it
may be a noun phrase A noun phrase is a group of words ending with a noun (but
not beginning with a preposition) The noun phrase may contain one or more
Trang 7Following are examples of sentences that contain noun phrases as subjects.
A linguistics student studies how languages are created.
Tall buildings must provide safety mechanisms.
The greatest skiers will compete in the show.
The noun phrase A linguistics student contains an article, A, an adjective, linguis-tics, and a noun, student Tall is an adjective describing the noun buildings In the last example, an article, The, an adjective, greatest, and a noun, skiers, combine to
create the subject
Other Types of Subjects
Although a noun phrase usually functions as the subject of a sentence, there are other possibilities I describe many of these later in this chapter, and I simply mention them here to clarify that there are other possibilities
There is a car in the road (The subject is actually a car.)
It is important to read something every day (It acts like a subject.) Knowing the essay topics in advance was helpful to him (Knowing, a gerund
form of a verb, is the subject.)
To believe in yourself is very important (To believe, an infinitive form of a
verb, is the subject.)
Verbs and Verb Phrases
Every sentence and every clause must have a conjugated verb By conjugated, I
mean that the verb can’t be a verb+ing alone, an infinitive alone, or a simple form
alone If the verb is one of these forms, it must be accompanied by an auxiliary or another verb form The verb or verb phrase follows the subject in an active sen-tence and describes the action In a passive sensen-tence, the noun that served as a complement in the active voice sentence becomes the subject
A verb phrase has an auxiliary in addition to the main verb In general, the
auxil-iaries are :
■ A form of be; in an active sentence, it is followed by a verb in the present participle: be+ verb+ing
Example: The bat is flying towards the light.
■ A form of have; in an active sentence, it is followed by a verb in the past
+ +
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Trang 8■ A modal (will, would, can, could, may, might, or must); in an active
sen-tence, it is followed by a verb in simple form
Example: The team must practice more.
Keep in mind that the passive sentence construction is different A sentence isn’t
correct if any of the three verb forms above appear without the auxiliary Verbs
are dealt with in more detail later in this chapter in the section “Form of Verb.”
Complements
A complement completes the verb Some verbs require a direct object; some may
be followed by an object, although it’s not required; and some can’t be followed
by an object A verb that requires a direct object is a transitive verb A verb that
doesn’t require a direct object is an intransitive verb Most dictionaries indicate
whether a verb is transitive or intransitive before the definition of the word by
in-cluding “tr,” “intr,” or some such abbreviation Sometimes a dictionary will show
one definition as transitive and another as intransitive
Determine is a transitive verb.
The group is trying to determine the best course of action.
complement
Swim is an intransitive verb.
The girl wants to swim in the pool
no complement
The phrase in the pool is a place modifier, not a complement.
A complement may also consist of something other than a noun or noun phrase,
such as a verb in the infinitive form or in the gerund (verb+ing) form.
They will probably consider Atlanta as the location for next year’s meeting.
noun as complement
They will probably consider calling another meeting.
gerund as complement
They plan to call another meeting
infinitive as complement
Trang 9A modifier is not required in a basic standard English sentence, but if one appears,
it generally follows the complement in the sentence
If a sentence contains both a modifier of place and a modifier of time, the modifier of time usually appears last, unless it appears at the beginning of the sentence, before the subject.
Donna took the test in Orlando yesterday.
modifier of place modifier of time
Yesterday, Donna took the test in Orlando
modifier of time modifier of place
The group ate dinner at Bern’s Steakhouse last month
modifier of place modifier of time
Normally, the modifier won’t separate a verb from the complement.
Incorrect: Marjorie cooked on the grill the chicken
verb modifier complement
Correct: Marjorie cooked the chicken on the grill
verb complement modifier
The modifier can also appear between two parts of a verb; that is, after the auxiliary and before the main verb.
The boy will probably go to class today.
modifier
The boy is probably going to class today.
modifier
The boy has probably gone to class already.
modifier
The man was recently found guilty of manslaughter.
modifier
Phrases and Clauses
A phrase is a group of words that lacks a subject and verb For example, in the corner is a phrase Obviously, a phrase cannot stand alone as a complete sentence.
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Trang 10Although the bear is able to sprint rapidly, it tires easily due to its weight.
clause The underlined words in this example represent a dependent clause On its own,
Although the bear is able to sprint rapidly is not a complete sentence However,
the clause does contain a subject, the bear, and a verb phrase, is able The word
Although is the only thing preventing this clause from being independent.
The bear is able to sprint rapidly
With the word Although removed, the clause is a complete sentence.
Structure Quiz 1
Directions: The first type of question consists of incomplete sentences, with a
blank line showing where information is to be filled in Choose the word or
phrase that most correctly completes the sentence The second type of question
consists of sentences with four underlined words or phrases Choose the one word
or phrase that is incorrect in standard written English Mark your answer choices
in the book or on a separate piece of paper
1. The rain forest, large trees that provide shade to the vegetation
below, is home to unique flora and fauna
A has
B. with its
C and
D although has
2. Despite the polar bear’s tremendous weight and height, of
sprinting at tremendous speed
A it is capable
B. is capable
C it is able
D ability
3. Having multiple sclerosis has diminished Mr Wilson’s physical condition,
but his ability to maintain a positive attitude and continue working an
A
B