“Show off your newfound grammar skills by creating new sentences based on specific instructions.”
CHAPTER 2: Rewriting Sentences
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“Show off your newfound grammar skills by creating new sentences based on specific instructions.” |
On Part II of the Verbal portion of the Accuplacer you will find the second type of question. This type of question involves re-writing sentences. Each problem consists of a correctly written sentence and some instructions as to how to re-write it. The two most common question prompts are:
• The next words will be:
• Your new sentence will include:
Your job will be to identify which of the words (or groups of words) in the four answer choices best answer the question prompt. Here’s a sample:
She invested her money shrewdly for years and eventually became a millionaire.
Rewrite, beginning with: Having invested
Your new sentence will include:
A. it became eventually
B. yearly money
C. she eventually became
D. eventually becoming
The original sentence is written correctly, with the subject She and the two verbs invested and became. Now try to re-write the sentence beginning with Having invested:
What form did your new sentence take? Did you recognize it as an opening modifier of the subject She? The first part of the sentence would be re-written as Having invested her money shrewdly for years, which is a phrase that describes she. Therefore, she must come directly after the comma, and the rest of the sentence reads she eventually became a millionaire. The best answer, therefore, is (C).
Keep Chapter 1 in mind
The first lesson from working with this question is that the grammar rules we talked about in Chapter 1 are very much in effect for these questions as well. As you work on them, you’re going to want to refer back to that chapter a lot, but in a slightly different way. Whereas in Chapter 1 we spent a lot of time trying to identify errors, this chapter will emphasize how to write a grammatically correct sentence.
There’s still POE
Never fear, though, because even though you’ll be approaching these sentences differently, you’ll still have four answer choices from which to choose. So if you get stuck on a problem (remember—this is a computer-adaptive test that doesn’t let you look backward or skip ahead), you’ll still be able to use Process Of Elimination to get rid of as many answer choices as possible and make the most educated guess possible.
Let’s take a moment to work through a problem using the combined force of the grammar techniques we’ve learned and the Process of Elimination:
She will only be able to travel to Cyprus if she receives a special travel visa.
Rewrite, beginning with: Unless she receives a special travel visa,
The next words will be:
A. travel to Cyprus will be
B. she will be
C. she will not be
D. she will not have been
The original sentence, as we know, is already written correctly. It is a conditional sentence that uses if to indicate the hypothesis (the subordinate clause if she receives a special travel visa), and then uses the future tense to indicate what will happen if that hypothesis is fulfilled (the main clause she will be able to travel to Cyprus). The re-write instructions want you to flip these clauses around and mention the travel visa first.
If you think about it, you could reverse the order of these clauses to reflect the more traditional if-then format, like this:
If she receives a special travel visa, she will be able to travel to Cyprus.
We’re on the right track, but we’re not done yet. The first word has to change from If to Unless, so let’s make a quick substitution and see what happens:
Unless she receives a special travel visa, she will be able to travel to Cyprus.
Wait a minute. That doesn’t make sense anymore, because Unless suggests that if something doesn’t happen, then the conclusion will not come true. Therefore, we can eliminate answer choice (B) right away and tweak the sentence one last time:
Unless she receives a special travel visa, she will not be able to travel to Cyprus.
From this new sentence, which is now correct, we can determine that the best answer is (C). We know that answer choice (A) is incorrect because it doesn’t start with she, and (D) is wrong because it unnecessarily changes the verb tense from future to the future perfect.
Remember, this isn’t a timed test like the SAT. When you’re considering these sentences, you have all the time in the world (within reason, anyway) to play around with them until you come across a format that is grammatically correct and matches one of the answer choices. So take as much time as you need to feel confident that you’ve made the right choice. And the more practice you do beforehand, the more confident you’ll feel while you’re taking the test.
Before we get to more questions, there are two more topics that were left for this chapter because they come up much more often on Part II questions. The first is the important distinction between when to use a gerund, and when to use a verb in its infinitive form.
Gerunds and infinitives
A gerund is formed by adding the suffix -ing to a verb and turning it into a noun. For example, you can add -ing to the verb eat and create a word that can be used as the subject of a sentence:
INCORRECT: Eating fruits and vegetables are a useful way to lower your cholesterol.
CORRECT: Eating fruits and vegetables is a useful way to lower your cholesterol.
Note that the singular subject of the sentence is eating, which matches up with the singular verb is. The plural form are is incorrect, because the phrase fruits and vegetables isn’t the subject of the sentence. Instead, the phrase is actually serving as a modifier that tells you what sort of eating is useful.
The infinitive form of a verb involves to, as in:
My doctor told me to eat more fruits and vegetables.
The Accuplacer likes to test whether a verb should appear in infinitive form or be changed to the gerund form by adding -ing. Some verbs, like decide, only take the infinitive, like this:
INCORRECT: Jeff decided applying to engineering school.
CORRECT: Jeff decided to apply to engineering school.
Some verbs, like consider, only work with the gerund form, like this:
INCORRECT: Marla considered to apply to law school.
CORRECT: Marla considered applying to law school.
And there are a select few verbs, like start or began, that are happy with either form:
CORRECT: Jose started reading the textbook.
CORRECT: Jose started to read the textbook.
Consult the lists!
Before we get to some more sample questions, here are two lists of verbs that are followed by gerunds and by infinitives. These are by no means comprehensive, but they’re a really good start. While you’re training for this test, or in the normal course of your reading (you are reading all the time, taking note of grammar rules and beefing up your vocabulary, right?) be sure to add any verbs that don’t appear here.
Verbs always followed by gerunds:
In addition to these verbs, how about…? is also always followed by a gerund.
Another giveaway is any verb that takes the preposition of, such as these examples:
• My sister is tired of having to get up every morning for skating practice.
• Paulina is in the habit of memorizing five vocabulary words each morning.
• Have you ever thought of majoring in finance?
Verbs always followed by the infinitive:
Determine if the following sentences use gerunds correctly. If not, re-write them using the infinitive form.
1. I can’t afford paying these credit card bills anymore.
2. With this head cold, I can barely manage getting up in the morning.
3. I detest taking the city bus.
4. How can you justify spending all that money on baseball cards?
5. I don’t mind watching your kids while you go to the grocery store.
6. My landlord is threatening evicting my neighbor.
7. Sometimes, I neglect watering my plants.
8. We had to postpone playing the championship game until after final exams were over.
9. I confess to feeling a little jealous of your new job.
10. To attempt diving off that cliff is crazy.
The answers are on page 60.
Determine if the following sentences use infinitives correctly. If not, re-write them using gerunds.
1. If you have a question, please don’t hesitate to ask.
2. After too many failed auditions, I gave up to try to be an actor.
3. People don’t plan to fail; instead, they usually fail to plan.
4. My sister promised to meet me at the movie theater after dinner.
5. The two diplomats agreed to curb their countries’ nuclear programs.
6. It’s time that I learned to type without looking at my fingers.
7. I can’t stand to see you so unhappy.
8. She refused to wait any longer for the waiter to bring her the check.
9. She demanded to see the manager immediately.
10. My grandmother longed to visit her ancestral home in Germany.
The answers are on page 61.
The second topic that the Accuplacer tests very often in this section is words that link other words and phrases together. The College Board groups these words in three categories, and for that reason we’ll discuss them within those groups. Obviously, it’s not important to know which words or phrases belong in which category. Rather, the key is to recognize how each of them works correctly in a sentence.
Emphasis linkers
The word rather in that last sentence is a good example of the first type of linking word, what we call the emphasis linker. These are words that indicate whether a new thought is consistent with the previous one (words such as furthermore and therefore) or contrary to it (such as rather and however). These words are often adverbs, such as obviously and conversely. Here are a few examples:
• However, the governor refused to raise taxes.
• Furthermore, large colonies of bees are starting to disappear at an alarming rate.
• Obviously, it’s not important to memorize every single word in the dictionary.
You can also put these words in the middle of a sentence, as long as they are separated by commas. This reflects that the words themselves have no bearing on the structure of the sentence:
• The governor, however, refused to raise taxes.
• Large colonies of bees, furthermore, are starting to disappear at an alarming rate.
• It’s not important, obviously, to memorize every single word in the dictionary.
The second type of linker joins an independent clause with a noun or noun phrase, like this:
The baseball game was canceled due to the oncoming storm.
In this sentence, The baseball game was canceled is an independent clause that can stand on its own. In order to add more detail, however, the noun phrase the oncoming storm is added, and they’re hooked up by due to. And once again, it’s possible to invert this sentence by beginning with the linking word and noun phrase, and following with a comma, like this:
Due to the oncoming storm, the baseball game was canceled.
Clause linkers
These are the most common type of linker on the Accuplacer, and they function much like conjunctions do. If you want to link two clauses like He went to the store and He was out of milk, you can link them together with a clause link like because:
He went to the store because he was out of milk.
The Accuplacer calls words like this subordinators because a word like because turns an independent clause like He was out of milk, which can stand on its own, into the subordinate clause Because he was out of milk, which cannot. And as usual, you may begin the sentence with the subordinate clause as long as you follow it with a comma, like this:
Because he was out of milk, he went to the store.
Because is one of the most common subordinators that you’ll see on the Accuplacer, and here is a list of some others to look out for:
As you’ll see, re-writing sentences (which benefits from a more constructive understanding of how good grammar works) is a bit more intuitive than finding errors (which benefits from the destructive fun of finding fault in bad grammar). The good news, however, is that sentences made with these linkers follow a very strict structure, and you can get a good feel for it by practicing on drills like this one:
Use the instructions to re-write the given sentences.
1. Located above the Arctic Circle, the Norwegian city of Spitsbergen gets only two hours of daylight in winter.
Rewrite, beginning with: Because
2. Barbara will get a bonus if she signs up 20 new clients.
Rewrite, beginning with: Provided
3. Despite his exceptional skills, Warren did not win the Indianapolis 500.
Rewrite, beginning with: Although
4. Mary, he often thought, was the best older sister he could have hoped for.
Rewrite, beginning with: He
5. Because the student was late, she missed the last train home.
Rewrite, beginning with: Because of
The answers are on page 61.
Now try your hand at these sentences, which incorporate the grammar rules we discussed in Chapter 1:
1. In the event of a tie, the election officials will organize a run-off.
Rewrite, beginning with: If
2. My father had a bad migraine, so he didn’t come to the restaurant with us.
Rewrite, beginning with: My father,
3. Delaware is a great state for small businesses because of its relaxed tax structure.
Rewrite, beginning with: Due to
4. Arizona’s climate has nurtured several unique plants because it so hot and arid.
Rewrite, beginning with: Hot and arid,
5. The sun went down, and the kids all went home.
Rewrite, beginning with: The kids
6. I am going to run in a race. It is 10 miles long.
Rewrite, beginning with: By the time I finish
7. A domesticated animal would have trouble surviving if left in its own environment.
Rewrite, beginning with: If a domesticated animal were
8. I hadn’t seen a seen a bear that large before.
Rewrite, beginning with: Never before
9. Instead of going to the movies, I decided to stay home and read.
Rewrite, beginning with: Rather than
10. If you are over 62 years old, you are eligible to receive Social Security payments.
Rewrite, beginning with: Everyone
The answers are on page 62.
And now, try to incorporate all you’ve learned with the Process of Elimination to answer these sample questions.
1. Norman is a world-class athlete, but his brother struggles to compete in almost every game he plays.
Rewrite, beginning with: Unlike his brother,
Your new sentence will include:
A. whom struggles to
B. who struggles to
C. whose struggle to
D. whose struggles have
2. I fear for the future of humanity on account of the many diseases that we can’t seem to cure.
Rewrite, beginning with: Because there is
The next words will be:
A. so much disease
B. so many diseases
C. much of the diseases
D. disease of which
3. The many people who attended the concert finally found their way to the exits.
Rewrite, beginning with: The crowd of
Your sentence will include:
A. found their way
B. found its way
C. were found to
D. was found to
4. After many years of refusals, she finally gave him the pie recipe.
Rewrite, beginning with: He finally received
Your sentence will include:
A. recipe, from
B. recipe, to
C. from her
D. to her
5. After finishing dinner, the boys went upstairs to finish their homework.
Rewrite, beginning with: Once they
The next words will be:
A. had been finished
B. finishing
C. were finishing
D. had finished
6. The extent to which people lavish praise on actors astonishes me.
Rewrite, beginning with: I am astonished
The next words will be:
A. by the extent
B. from the extent
C. of the extent
D. at the extent
7. Carrie Fisher, whose mother was actress Debbie Reynolds, got an early start in show business.
Rewrite, beginning with: Since
Your new sentence will include:
A. because she got
B. because of her
C. her mother was
D. she was
8. The number of cases of tuberculosis seen by doctors decreases each year.
Rewrite, beginning with: Doctors see
The next words will be:
A. less cases
B. less than
C. fewer cases
D. lower than
9. Whereas most American states have some sort of sales tax, Montana has no sales tax whatsoever.
Rewrite, beginning with: Most American states
Your new sentence will include:
A. tax, and Montana
B. tax, but Montana
C. tax unlike Montana
D. tax but Montana
10. I can’t play professional basketball because I am not tall enough.
Rewrite, beginning with: If I
The next words will be:
A. were to play
B. was to play
C. was tall enough
D. were tall enough
The answers are on page 63.
Drill #1: Gerunds
1. I can’t afford to pay these credit card bills anymore.
2. With this head cold, I can barely manage to get up in the morning.
3. Correct.
4. Correct.
5. Correct.
6. My landlord is threatening to evict my neighbor.
7. Sometimes, I neglect to water my plants.
8. Correct.
9. I confess feeling a little jealous of your new job.
10. To attempt to dive off that cliff is crazy.
1. Correct.
2. After too many failed auditions, I gave up trying to be an actor.
3. Correct.
4. Correct.
5. Correct.
6. Correct.
7. I can’t stand seeing you so unhappy.
8. Correct.
9. Correct.
10. Correct.
Drill #3
1. Because it is located above the Arctic Circle, the Norwegian city of Spitsbergen gets only two hours of daylight in winter.
2. Provided Barbara signs up 20 new clients, she will get a bonus.
3. Although Warren had exceptional skills, he did not win the Indianapolis 500.
4. He often thought that Mary was the best older sister he could have hoped for.
5. Because of the student’s lateness, she missed the last train home.
1. If there is a tie, the election officials will organize a run-off.
2. My father, who had a bad migraine, didn’t come to the restaurant with us.
3. Due to its relaxed tax structure, Delaware is a great state for small businesses.
4. Hot and arid, Arizona’s climate has nurtured several unique plants.
5. The kids all went home after the sun went down.
6. By the time I finish the race, I will have run 10 miles.
7. If a domesticated animal were left in its own environment, it would have trouble surviving.
8. Never before had I seen a bear that large.
9. Rather than go to the movies, I decided to stay home and read.
10. Everyone over 62 years old is eligible to receive Social Security payments.
1. The new sentence is: “Unlike his brother, who struggles to compete in almost every game he plays, Norman is a world-class athlete.” This question tests your ability to distinguish who, whom, and whose. You want to keep struggles as a verb, but if you use whose, then struggles becomes a noun without a verb and the sentence structure falls apart. Eliminate answer choices (C) and (D). And since you want a subject pronoun to compare with Norman, you don’t want to use the object pronoun whom. The best answer is (B).
2. This is a tricky question, because since the new verb has to be is, the plural diseases no longer agrees. So you want the singular disease, which is not a countable noun and therefore should be modified by much instead of many. The new sentence is: “Because there is so much disease that we can’t seem to cure, I fear for the future of humanity” The best answer is (A).
3. In this case, The many people is a plural noun, but The crowd of people is singular. Since crowd is the noun (and of people is the prepositional phrase that modifies it), the proper pronoun is its, not their. The new sentence is: “The crowd of people who attended the concert finally found its way to the exits.” The best answer is (B).
4. The new sentence is: “He finally received the pie recipe from her after many years of refusals. There is no need to include a comma after recipe, so you can eliminate answer choices (A) and (B). And since the proper idiom is received … from, the best answer is (C).
5. The phrase Once they requires the past perfect tense, so you need the auxiliary word had. Eliminate answer choices (B) and (C). And there is no need to add been. The new sentence is: “Once they had finished dinner, the boys went upstairs to finish their homework.” The best answer is (D).
6. This question comes down to a simple knowledge of idiom, and astonished takes the preposition by. The new sentence is: “I am astonished by the extent to which people lavish praise on actors.” The best answer is (A).
7. The new sentence is: “Since her mother was actress Debbie Reynolds, Carrie Fisher got an early start in show business.” Because is redundant, because the sentence already contains since. Eliminate answer choices (A) and (B). And answer choice (D) doesn’t make sense, because the pronoun in her mother refers to Carrie Fisher. The best answer is (C).
8. This question is a test of your knowledge of quantity words—in this case, fewer vs. less. There is no reference to another figure to be compared, so there is no need to include than. Eliminate answer choices (B) and (D). And since the cases are countable, use fewer instead of less. The new sentence is: “Doctors see fewer cases of tuberculosis each year.” The best answer is (C).
9. The new sentence is, “Most American states have some sort of sales tax, but Montana has no sales tax whatsoever.” It contains two independent clauses that are linked by the preposition but, so you need a comma before but. Therefore, you can eliminate answer choices (C) and (D). And the two clauses are in opposition to each other, so you don’t want to use and. The best answer is (B).
10. This question is a test of the subjunctive mood, because the situation is hypothetical. It reverses the initial idea that he doesn’t play ball because he isn’t tall enough, and the new sentence asserts that if he were tall enough, he would play. The new sentence is: “If I were tall enough, I would play professional basketball.” The best answer is (D).