Sentence Completion Flashcards
6 cards from real Versant English Proficiency practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 6 Sentence Completion flashcards as text
Had the shipment arrived on schedule, the factory floor _______ now with activity.
Answer: would be buzzing
This sentence is a mixed conditional, combining a past unreal condition (third conditional 'if' clause, inverted as 'Had the shipment arrived...') with a present unreal result (second conditional main clause). The condition is in the past ('Had the shipment arrived...'), but the result is in the present ('...now...'). Therefore, the correct structure for the result clause is 'would + base verb'.
The board of directors insisted that the new CEO ______ given full autonomy in restructuring the company.
Answer: be
This sentence requires the use of the subjunctive mood, which is common after verbs of demand, suggestion, or request like 'insisted'. In the present subjunctive, the verb takes its base form (e.g., 'be', 'do', 'go') regardless of the subject. Therefore, 'be' is the correct form to follow 'that the new CEO...'.
Not until the final report was released _______ the full extent of the data breach.
Answer: did the team realize
This sentence uses a negative inversion structure with 'Not until'. When a negative adverbial phrase starts a sentence, the auxiliary verb and the subject must be inverted. The action happened at a specific point in the past (when the report was released), so the simple past tense is appropriate. The correct inversion for the simple past is 'did + subject + base verb'.
_______ I to have known about the potential risks, I would have allocated the resources quite differently.
Answer: Were
This is an example of an inverted second conditional sentence, used for hypothetical or unlikely situations. Instead of starting with 'If I were...', the structure can be inverted to 'Were I...'. This is a more formal way of expressing the same hypothetical condition.
The manager, along with her two assistants, _______ planning to attend the international conference next month.
Answer: is
The subject of the sentence is 'The manager', which is singular. The phrase 'along with her two assistants' is an interrupting phrase and does not affect the subject-verb agreement. Therefore, the verb must be singular ('is') to agree with the singular subject 'manager'.
It is imperative that every participant _______ the safety waiver before entering the competition area.
Answer: sign
The phrase 'It is imperative that...' triggers the subjunctive mood. In the present subjunctive, the base form of the verb is used without the '-s' ending for the third-person singular. Therefore, 'sign' is the grammatically correct form, not 'signs'.