Sentence Improvement Quiz: Phrase Replacement Practice

Spoilers! These are the Starter quiz’s answers. Easy, Medium, Hard and Mixed rounds show their own answers when you finish.

1. Choose the best replacement for the part in capitals: If I WOULD HAVE KNOWN about the strike, I would have left early.

   • had known
   • have known
   • would know
   • knew

   Answer: had known. An unreal past condition takes 'if + had + past participle' and 'would have' in the main clause: If I had known, I would have left.

2. Choose the best replacement for the part in capitals: She is senior THAN ME in service.

   • than I
   • from me
   • to me
   • over me

   Answer: to me. Senior, junior, superior and inferior take 'to', not 'than'.

3. Choose the best replacement for the part in capitals: Let us DISCUSS ABOUT the plan tomorrow.

   • discuss on
   • discuss
   • discussing about
   • discuss over

   Answer: discuss. Discuss already means 'talk about', so it takes a direct object: discuss the plan.

4. Choose the best replacement for the part in capitals: Ten kilometres ARE A LONG DISTANCE to walk in this heat.

   • were a long distance
   • is a long distance
   • are long distances
   • have been a long distance

   Answer: is a long distance. A distance, sum or period treated as one amount takes a singular verb: Ten kilometres is a long distance.

5. Choose the best replacement for the part in capitals: He RETURNED BACK from Delhi last week.

   • returned again
   • has returned back
   • was returned
   • returned

   Answer: returned. Return already means come back, so 'back' is redundant; 'last week' needs the simple past.

6. Choose the best replacement for the part in capitals: The boy WHOM I THOUGHT was honest turned out to be a liar.

   • whom I think
   • that I thought him
   • who I thought
   • whose I thought

   Answer: who I thought. The pronoun is the subject of 'was honest' (he was honest), so it takes 'who'; 'I thought' is only an inserted clause.

7. Choose the best replacement for the part in capitals: Her handwriting is better THAN HER SISTER.

   • than of her sister
   • than her sister is
   • to her sister
   • than her sister's

   Answer: than her sister's. Compare like with like: her handwriting with her sister's handwriting, not with her sister.

8. Choose the best replacement for the part in capitals: I look forward TO MEET you next week.

   • to meeting
   • for meeting
   • to have met
   • in meeting

   Answer: to meeting. In 'look forward to', 'to' is a preposition, so it is followed by a gerund (-ing form).

9. Choose the best replacement for the part in capitals: WALKING ALONG THE BEACH, a crab bit my toe.

   • Having walked along the beach
   • While I was walking along the beach
   • Walking on the beach
   • When walking along the beach

   Answer: While I was walking along the beach. An opening participle phrase must describe the subject that follows. As written, the crab was walking; adding 'I was' fixes the dangling modifier.

10. Choose the best replacement for the part in capitals: The reason for his absence IS BECAUSE he was ill.

    • was because
    • is due to
    • is that
    • being that

    Answer: is that. 'Reason' already expresses cause, so 'the reason ... is because' is redundant. Use 'the reason ... is that'.