Grammar & Sentence Structure Flashcards

Choose the correct sentence: 'By the time the results were published, the candidates ___ for weeks.'

Answer: had been waiting

The past perfect continuous 'had been waiting' shows an action ongoing up to a point in the past.

Which sentence uses the conditional correctly?

Answer: If I had known earlier, I would have helped.

The third conditional uses 'had + past participle' in the if-clause and 'would have + past participle' in the main clause.

Identify the correctly punctuated sentence.

Answer: The report, which was late, cost us the contract.

Non-defining relative clauses are enclosed by a pair of commas.

Select the sentence with correct subject-verb agreement.

Answer: Neither the manager nor the staff were informed.

With 'neither...nor', the verb agrees with the nearer subject, 'staff', here treated as plural.

Which option correctly completes the sentence: 'She is used to ___ in a busy office.'

Answer: working

'Be used to' is followed by a gerund (-ing form).

Choose the sentence with the correct word order.

Answer: I have never seen such a beautiful sunset.

The adverb 'never' goes between the auxiliary 'have' and the main verb 'seen'.

Which sentence correctly uses reported speech?

Answer: He said that he would arrive the next day.

In reported speech, 'will' shifts to 'would' and time references shift accordingly.