Test your basic knowledge |

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






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






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






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






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






6. 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]






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






8. A group of words consisting of a preposition - its object -and any of the object's modifiers. [Georgia ON MY MIND.]






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






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






11. A sentence that begins with the main idea and then attaches modifiers - qualifiers - and additional details.






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






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






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






15. 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.]






16. The time of a verb's action or state of being - such as past - present - or future.






17. Two or more simple subjects joined by a coordinating or correlative conjunction. [HEMINGWAY AND FITZGERALD had little in common.]






18. The noun to which a pronoun refers. A pronoun and its antecedent must agree in person - number - and gender. [Michael and HIS teammates moved off campus]






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






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






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






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






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






24. In the present tense - a verb phrase consisting of TO followed by the base form of the verb (TO WRITE). A split infinitive occurs when one or more words separate TO and the verb [TO BOLDLY GO]






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






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






27. A noun or noun phrase that renames or adds identifying information to a noun it immediately follows. [His brother - AN ACCOUNTANT WITH ARTHUR ANDERSON - was recently promoted]






28. 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.






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






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






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






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






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






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






35. 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.]






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






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






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






39. 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].






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






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






42. The attribute of a verb that indicates whether its subject is active [Janet PLAYED the guitar]






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






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






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






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






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






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






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






50. A pronoun that refers to an unspecified person (ANYBODY) or thing (SOMETHING)