DLAB Grammar 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which sentence correctly uses a restrictive relative clause without commas?
- The officer, who passed the DLAB, was assigned to language school.
- The officer who passed the DLAB was assigned to language school. (Correct answer)
- The officer, that passed the DLAB, was assigned to language school.
- The officer which passed the DLAB was assigned to language school.
Correct answer: The officer who passed the DLAB was assigned to language school.
A restrictive relative clause identifies which officer and requires no commas; 'who' is correct for people.
Question 2: What is a 'dangling modifier'?
- A modifier placed directly before the word it modifies
- A modifier that logically refers to a word not present or not the intended subject (Correct answer)
- A modifier connected to the main clause by a semicolon
- A modifier that uses an adjective where an adverb is needed
Correct answer: A modifier that logically refers to a word not present or not the intended subject
A dangling modifier is an introductory phrase whose implied subject does not match the grammatical subject of the main clause.
Question 3: In the passive construction 'The cipher was decoded by analysts,' what is the grammatical subject?
- analysts
- decoded
- was
- the cipher (Correct answer)
Correct answer: the cipher
In a passive sentence, the grammatical subject ('the cipher') receives the action rather than performing it.
Question 4: Which option correctly identifies the case of the pronoun in 'Between you and me, the mission is risky'?
- Nominative case — subject of the preposition
- Objective case — object of the preposition 'between' (Correct answer)
- Possessive case — showing ownership
- Reflexive case — referring back to the subject
Correct answer: Objective case — object of the preposition 'between'
Prepositions take objects in the objective case; therefore 'me' (not 'I') is correct after 'between.'
Question 5: What does 'aspect' refer to in grammar?
- The attitude of the speaker toward the listener
- How a verb's action is distributed in time (e.g., ongoing vs. completed) (Correct answer)
- The relationship between the subject and object
- The level of formality in a sentence
Correct answer: How a verb's action is distributed in time (e.g., ongoing vs. completed)
Grammatical aspect indicates whether an action is ongoing (progressive), completed (perfective), or habitual, independent of tense.
Question 6: Identify the appositive in: 'My supervisor, a decorated veteran, leads the unit.'
- My supervisor
- a decorated veteran (Correct answer)
- leads
- the unit
Correct answer: a decorated veteran
'A decorated veteran' is an appositive — a noun phrase set off by commas that renames or describes 'my supervisor.'
Question 7: Which sentence contains a misplaced modifier?
- She nearly drove her car into the barrier. (Correct answer)
- She drove nearly into the barrier with her car.
- She drove her car nearly into the barrier.
- Nearly driving into the barrier, she swerved.
Correct answer: She nearly drove her car into the barrier.
'Nearly' is misplaced — it modifies 'drove' rather than 'into the barrier,' implying she almost drove (but did not) rather than almost hitting the barrier.
DLAB Grammar 3
Which sentence correctly uses a restrictive relative clause without commas?