Reminder:

1. S/P/C/N (noncount: information, news, equipment, music, advice, evidence)

2. S + V + O + P + T I saw Maria at the park yesterday
3. P/T/V, S + V… Yesterday, I saw Maria…; At the park, I saw…; Driving to work, I saw…
4. ___, _____, ___
5. S, ____, V…
6. ____________, ___, ___ P. S.
7. WORD CLASS
8. VERB + VERB combination; VERB-form;
9. Prepositions
10. Articles: a, an, the, O

Sentence Structure

Every sentence must have a subject and a conjugated verb.

Incorrect: Without a doubt, is very important to study throughout the term

rather than trying to cram at the end.

Correct: Without a doubt, it is very important to study throughout the term

rather than trying to cram at the end.

Incorrect: Being a very abrupt and unfriendly man, did not have many

friends.

Correct: Being a very abrupt and unfriendly man, Professor Stanley did not

have many friends.

Other structures

There is a car in the road. (The subject is actually a car.)

It is important to read something every day. (It acts like a subject.)

Knowing the essay topics in advance was helpful to him. (Knowing, a gerund

form of a verb, is the subject.)

To believe in yourself is very important. (To believe, an infinitive form of a

verb, is the subject.)

Structure Quiz (1)

1. The rain forest, __________ large trees that provide shade to the
vegetation below, is home to unique flora and fauna.

A. has

B. with its

C. and

D. although has

2. Despite the polar bear’s tremendous weight and height, __________ of

sprinting at tremendous speed.

A. it is capable

B. is capable

C. it is able

D. ability

3. Having multiple sclerosis has diminished Mr. Wilson’s physical condition,

but his ability to maintain a positive attitude and continue working an
inspiration.

4. The huge increase in popularity of specialty coffees contribution to the

success of Starbucks, Barney’s and other coffee purveyors.

5. Patients on Interferon are advised __________, so that they can sleep

through the night without noticing the flu-like symptoms that are
characteristic of the drug.

A. just before going to sleep to inject themselves

B. to inject themselves just before going to sleep

C. to inject just before going to sleep themselves

D. injecting themselves just before going to sleep

6. After it had conclude work on the budget, the legislature adjourned until
the next session.

7. Even when awarded a scholarship, a student generally must still paying for
books, living expenses, and other costs.

8. The U.S. government, along with a number of states, is fight a protracted

legal battle with tobacco companies in order to obtain relief for the huge
medical costs caused by smoking.

9. The leaders of the two countries __________ an agreement to avoid future

conflicts.

A. have recently reach

B. recently reach

C. have reached recently

D. have recently reached

10. The teachers are expecting to call tomorrow a meeting in order to review
the disciplinary problems.

Which / That/ Who / Whose (relative pronoun that indicates possession)

The team consisted of several players.

The players’ talent was incredible.

possessive

The team consisted of several players whose talent was incredible.

The TOEFL test generally contains more complicated sentences, in which you may find it
difficult to locate the relative clause. This is one of the ways in which the TOEFL tests
your knowledge of sentence structure. If the relative pronoun is missing, if a regular
pronoun appears after the relative pronoun, or if a verb or subject is missing, the sentence
will be incomplete. The relative clauses must each contain a subject and conjugated verb.
If you’re unsure, remove the relative pronoun and make sure that the two clauses can be
complete sentences if they stand alone.

1. Tracy Stafford, who a paralegal, is considering enrolling in law school next

year.

2. Tracy Stafford, a paralegal, is considering move to a new city next year.

3. James, _____ father is responsible for the cattle, has received a promotion
.

A. that

B. who

C. whose

D. which

4. The result obtained in this research is incorrect according the guidelines.

5. The outcome which reached in this project is unacceptable because of its

imprecisions.

6. The dentist is with a child who teeth are causing some pain when he eats.

7. Porpoises, __________ actually mammals because they breathe air

through an orifice in their heads, are playful and intelligent.

A. which is

B. whose are

C. who is

D. which are

Word Class

Word class questions test your ability to recognize when a sentence uses
one form/class of a word but it should have another. Using the wrong form/
class of a word generally means that you use a noun when you should use
an adjective, a verb when you should use a noun, a preposition when you
should use a conjunction, and so on.

Word class questions frequently ask you to look for parallelism or parallel
structure in a sentence.

1. The people will likely election Ellen the winner of the race.

2. She was convenience hidden away when the social worker visited.

3. Her weigh has increased remarkably since she began receiving

treatment.

4. In spite of her good intentional, she is not well liked by her co-workers.

5. In an irony twist of fate, it was Jim who lived through the fire.

6. The bears have become more active, aggression, and angry than before.

7. The Dean demanded thorough research, complete investigate, and a

well-written report.

8. As the result of regularly inspections, the restaurants in this county have

improved their sanitation practices.

9. Erosion is a _______ problem along the beaches whenever strong storms

enter from the sea.

A. seriousness

B. serious

C. complicate

D. complication

10. The owner of the sailboat did not accurately calculate the high of the
bridge.

11. Although this car appears to be manufactured by a different company, it

has the same body style, size, and perform as that one.

A. Organize the following words in the correct place, then, write the
corresponding words in different classes in the boxes next to them.

Various - Beautiful - Charm - Urgency - Virtual - Election - Convenient

Poetic - height - Humid - Thickly - Joiner - Intention - Long - Width

Noun Verb Adverb Adjective

Pronouns, Singular/Plural/Count/Noncount

1. The disagreement is between we, then we must not bring it up in other

circumstances.

2. The actress, having worked for many hours without interruption, __________ it difficult
to remember her lines.

A. find

B. was finding

C. was found

D. were finding

3. After a difficult ordeal, her and Robert felt great relief.

4. A incident that requires immediate action will be discussed in the meeting this
afternoon.

5. Although a number of voters has cast their ballots in the city election, the supervisor
of elections temporarily ended the election because of a malfunction in the voting
mechanism.

6. Neither Professor Johnson nor any other faculty member __________ to apply for the
dean’s position.

A. intend

B. intends

C. are intending

D. has intend

7. While this is not the most popular course offered at the university, just like many
others classes that have low attendance in spite of their importance, at least several
classes are always available.

8. Coli has proven to be __________ most dangerous bacteria that can be acquired from
food and water, even in developed countries.

A. one of the

B. one of

C. one

D. of one

9. She is known for herself contributions to art in the past decades.

10. For years, this varsity athletes have been known throughout the country for their
tremendous abilities.

11. A fire in the __________ building could be a problem for firefighters.

A. ninety-story-tall

B. ninety-tall-story

C. ninety-stories-tall

D. ninety stories

12. Their office consisted of three rooms, __________ was used as a conference room.

A. larger of which

B. the largest of which

C. the largest of them

D. largest

13. In the past six months, the company has already received twice __________ in gross
revenues as it earned in the entire preceding year.

A. as much

B. more

C. as many

D. as more

14. Some people enjoy preparing their own meals while another would rather eat out
regularly.

15. The news of the decision to invade with armed forces were not well received by the
citizens.

16. These television is too expensive for us to buy at this time, but perhaps we might be
able to later.

17. Being a private university, __________ a well-organized charitable giving program in

order to offer a sufficient number of quality courses and activities.

A. development of

B. it developed

C. develop

D. developing

18. The greater the number of bacteria attacking the system, __________.

A. the sooner treatment must be begun

B. sooner must begin treatment

C. begin treatment as soon as possible

D. must begin treatment sooner

QUIZ

1. Buying clothes is often an time consuming practice because of the sizes

available.

2. It has been a amazing adventure, should we do it again soon?

3. People respected him a lot, he turned out to be a honest and hardworking

politician.

4. If it had prepared better, the team would have be able to defeat the
opponent.

5. The police man ordered him not to remove his hands from the hood of a
car.

6. He has been neither organized or effective because of the priorities of the

company.

7. Children raised in foster homes requirement special attention to

overcome the feelings of abandonment and isolation.

8. It was him who came running into classroom with the news about the
accident.

9. He became a well-known scholar during the second half of the nineteenth

century due to his research in the schools.

10. When traveling, I appreciate neither meeting new people or visiting

important landmarks.

11.The greater the number of bacteria attacking the system, the soon the
treatment must be begun.

12. He has become one of most important athletes of his generation.

13. It is essencial for everyone to have access to the clean water to live a
healthy life.

14.This is the research which it is taking more energy to be completed than

expected.

Prepositions
IN: meaning “inside”; used to talk about the “future” (in five minutes); subdivisions of a bigger
place (in the bedroom, in the kitchen, in the bathroom)

ON: used with surfaces (on the wall, on the table, on the menu, on TV, on the screen)

AT: at home; public places (at work, at the mall, at school, at the bus stop)

PARTS OF THE DAY: in the morning, in the afternoon, in the evening, at night

TRANSPORTATION: on the bus, on the train, on the plane, on the subway, on the bike, in the car

IMPORTANT HOLIDAYS: at Christmas, at Easter, at Thanksgiving, on Christmas Day, on

Thanksgiving Day, on Easter Sunday