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Elements Of Style Vocab

Subjects : english, grammar
Instructions:
  • Answer 50 questions in 15 minutes.
  • If you are not ready to take this test, you can study here.
  • Match each statement with the correct term.
  • Don't refresh. All questions and answers are randomly picked and ordered every time you load a test.

This is a study tool. The 3 wrong answers for each question are randomly chosen from answers to other questions. So, you might find at times the answers obvious, but you will see it re-enforces your understanding as you take the test each time.
1. A pronoun that refers to an unspecified person (ANYBODY) or thing (SOMETHING)






2. A phrase that functions as an adverb. [Landon laughs WITH ABANDON]






3. An independent clause which can stand alone as a grammatically complete sentence.






4. A group of related words that functions as a unit but lacks a subject - verb - or both. WITHOUT THE RESOURCES TO CONTINUE.






5. A word or expression appropriate to informal conversation but not usually suitable for academic or business writing. [They wanted to GET EVEN.]






6. A verb that does not take a direct object. [His nerve FAILED.]






7. The verb and its related words in a clause or sentence. The predicate expresses what the subject does - experiences - or is. [Birds FLY.]






8. A verb that combines with the main verb to show differences in tense - person - and voice. The most common auxiliaries are forms of BE - DO and HAVE. [I AM going; we DID not go]






9. A clause introduced by a relative pronoun - such as WHO - WHICH - THAT - or by a relative adverb - such as WHERE - WHEN - WHY.






10. A feature of nouns - pronouns - and a few verbs referring to singular or plural.






11. A word - phrase - or clause that acts as an adjective in qualifying the meaning of a noun or pronoun. [YOUR country]






12. The -ING form of a verb that functions as a noun: HIKING - PLAYING - etc...






13. A verb that requires a direct object to complete its meaning: they WASHED their new car.






14. The correspondence of a verb with its subject in person and number [Karen GOES to Cal Tech; her sister GO to Ucla] - and a pronoun with its antecedent in person - number - and gender [as soon as Karen finished the exam - SHE picked up HER books].






15. The noun or pronoun that completes a prepositional phrase or the meaning of a transitive verb.






16. The predicating verb in a main clause or sentence.






17. The order or arrangement of words in a sentence.






18. The name of a particular person - place or thing.






19. A word or group of words that expresses the action or indicates the state of being of the subject. Verbs ACTIVATE sentences.






20. A verbal that functions as an adjective. Present participles end in -ING; past - -D - -ED; or -EN. Other forms: BROKEN






21. A word that joins words - phrases - clauses - or sentences. [For - And - Nor - But - Or - Yet - So --> FANBOYS]






22. The words - A - AN - and THE - which signal or introduce nouns. THE refers to a particular item - whereas A and AN refer to a general item.






23. A phrase or clause that limits the essential meaning of the sentence element it modifies or identifies. [Professional athletes WHO PERFORM EXCEPTIONALLY should earn stratospheric salaries.]






24. A group of words that is not grammatically a complete sentence but is punctuated as one: BECAUSE IT MATTERED GREATLY.






25. A word or phrase that qualifies - describes - or limits the meaning of a word - phrase - or clause. [FRAYED ribbon]






26. Possessive pronouns such as HERS - ITS and THEIRS.






27. Two or more independent clauses joined by a coordinating conjunction - a correlative conjunction - or a semicolon. [Caesar conquered Gaul - but Alexander the Great conquered the world.]






28. A verb that joins the subject of a sentence to its complement. [They WERE ecstatic.]






29. A word that relates its object to another word in the sentence. [She is the leader OF our group.]






30. A word that modifies - quantifies - or otherwise describes a noun or pronoun. [DRIZZLY November]






31. A clause dependent on the main clause in a sentence. AFTER WE FINISH OUR WORK - we will go out for dinner.






32. Correlative conjunctions [BOTH - AND; EITHER - OR; NEITHER - NOR] join the same kinds of elements (as conjunctions)






33. A pronoun that functions as a subject or a subject complement.






34. A word or group of words that aids coherence in writing by showing the connections between ideas.






35. A group of related words that contains a subject and predicate. [MOTHS SWARM around a burning candle.]






36. The form of a noun or pronoun that reflects its grammatical function in a sentence as subject (THEY) - object (THEM) - or possessor (THEIR).






37. A sentence that expresses the main idea at the end.






38. A present or past participle with accompanying modifiers - objects or complements.






39. A group of words with a subject and verb that can stand alone as a sentence. [RACCOONS STEAL FOOD.]






40. A noun or pronoun that receives the action of a transitive verb. [Pearson publishes BOOKS.]






41. A group of words that includes a subject and verb but is subordinate to an independent clause in a sentence. [IF - BECAUSE - SINCE - etc...]






42. The case of nouns and pronouns that indicates ownership or possession.






43. A word that modifies or otherwise qualifies a verb - an adjective - or another adverb. [Gestures GRACEFULLY]






44. A shortened form of a word or group of words: CAN'T for cannot; THEY'RE for they are.






45. The noun or pronoun that indicates what a sentence is about - and which the principal verb of a sentence elaborates.






46. A phrase of clause that does not limit or restrict the essential meaning of the element it modifies.






47. Any of the verbs that combine with the main verb to express necessity [MUST] - obligation [SHOULD] - permission [MAY] - probability [MIGHT] - possibility [COULD] - ability [CAN] - or tentativeness [WOULD].






48. A pronoun that connects a dependent clause to a main clause in a sentence: WHO - WHOM - WHOSE - WHICH - etc...






49. A word or phrase (especially a noun or adjective that completes the predicate. [Martha is my NEIGHBOUR.]






50. A verb form that functions in a sentence as a noun - an adjective - or an adverb rather than as a principal verb. [THINKING can be fun.]