WREN & MARTIN's english grammar-10 MCQs on the Phrase and the Clause
10 MCQs on the Phrase and the Clause
1. "The girl with the red umbrella walked slowly along the wet pavement." — Identify the phrase in the underlined part: "with the red umbrella"
- A) It is a noun clause because it contains a subject and a verb
- B) It is an adverbial clause because it modifies the verb "walked"
- C) It is an adjective phrase because it modifies the noun "girl"
- D) It is a noun phrase because it acts as the subject of the sentence
Answer: C) It is an adjective phrase because it modifies the noun "girl" (A phrase is a group of words that does not contain a finite verb and does not make complete sense on its own — "with the red umbrella" is a prepositional phrase that describes the noun "girl" and therefore functions as an adjective phrase — it has no subject or finite verb making it a phrase not a clause.)
2. "She left the room before the meeting had officially ended." — Identify the underlined part: "before the meeting had officially ended"
- A) It is an adjective phrase because it modifies the noun "room"
- B) It is an adverbial clause because it modifies the verb "left" and contains a subject and a finite verb
- C) It is a noun phrase because it acts as the object of the sentence
- D) It is a participial phrase because it begins with a participle
Answer: B) It is an adverbial clause because it modifies the verb "left" and contains a subject and a finite verb (A clause is a group of words that contains a subject and a finite verb — "before the meeting had officially ended" has the subject "the meeting" and the finite verb "had ended" — it is a subordinate adverbial clause of time introduced by the subordinating conjunction "before.")
3. "Having finished his homework, he went out to play with his friends." — Identify the underlined part: "Having finished his homework"
- A) It is an adverbial clause because it contains a subject and a finite verb
- B) It is a noun clause because it acts as the subject of the sentence
- C) It is a participial phrase because it begins with a participle and has no finite verb
- D) It is an adjective clause because it modifies the pronoun "he"
Answer: C) It is a participial phrase because it begins with a participle and has no finite verb ("Having finished his homework" begins with the present participle "having" and contains no finite verb and no subject — it is a participial phrase that functions as an adverbial modifier telling us what he did before going out to play — since it lacks a finite verb it is a phrase not a clause.)
4. "The book that she borrowed from the library last week is extremely interesting." — Identify the underlined part: "that she borrowed from the library last week"
- A) It is an adverbial clause because it modifies the verb "is"
- B) It is an adjective clause because it modifies the noun "book" and contains a subject and a finite verb
- C) It is a noun clause because it acts as the subject of the sentence
- D) It is a participial phrase because it begins with the word "that"
Answer: B) It is an adjective clause because it modifies the noun "book" and contains a subject and a finite verb ("That she borrowed from the library last week" contains the subject "she" and the finite verb "borrowed" making it a clause — it is introduced by the relative pronoun "that" and modifies the noun "book" making it a relative or adjective clause.)
5. "To become a successful doctor requires years of dedicated study and practice." — Identify the underlined part: "To become a successful doctor"
- A) It is a noun phrase acting as the subject of the sentence
- B) It is an adjective clause modifying the verb "requires"
- C) It is an adverbial clause modifying the adjective "successful"
- D) It is a noun clause containing a subject and a finite verb
Answer: A) It is a noun phrase acting as the subject of the sentence ("To become a successful doctor" is an infinitive phrase — it begins with "to" followed by a verb but contains no finite verb and no subject — it functions as the subject of the sentence performing the role of a noun — since it lacks a finite verb it is classified as a phrase not a clause.)
6. "She could not attend the function because she was suffering from a high fever." — Identify the underlined part: "because she was suffering from a high fever"
- A) It is an adjective clause modifying the noun "function"
- B) It is a noun clause acting as the object of the verb "attend"
- C) It is an adverbial clause of reason modifying the verb "could not attend"
- D) It is a participial phrase beginning with the word "because"
Answer: C) It is an adverbial clause of reason modifying the verb "could not attend" ("Because she was suffering from a high fever" contains the subject "she" and the finite verb "was suffering" making it a clause — it is introduced by the subordinating conjunction "because" and tells us the reason for her absence making it a subordinate adverbial clause of reason.)
7. "The team of highly skilled and experienced engineers worked tirelessly on the project." — Identify the underlined part: "of highly skilled and experienced engineers"
- A) It is an adverbial clause modifying the verb "worked"
- B) It is an adjective phrase modifying the noun "team"
- C) It is a noun clause acting as the subject of the sentence
- D) It is an adjective clause containing a subject and a finite verb
Answer: B) It is an adjective phrase modifying the noun "team" ("Of highly skilled and experienced engineers" is a prepositional phrase that describes and modifies the noun "team" — it contains no subject and no finite verb making it a phrase not a clause — since it modifies a noun it functions as an adjective phrase.)
8. "What she said at the meeting surprised everyone present in the conference room." — Identify the underlined part: "What she said at the meeting"
- A) It is an adjective clause modifying the noun "everyone"
- B) It is a participial phrase beginning with the word "what"
- C) It is an adverbial clause modifying the verb "surprised"
- D) It is a noun clause acting as the subject of the sentence
Answer: D) It is a noun clause acting as the subject of the sentence ("What she said at the meeting" contains the subject "she" and the finite verb "said" making it a clause — it is introduced by the relative pronoun "what" and performs the function of a noun by acting as the subject of the main verb "surprised" making it a noun clause.)
9. "Walking along the crowded street, she noticed an old friend from her school days." — Identify the underlined part: "Walking along the crowded street"
- A) It is an adverbial clause of time containing a subject and a finite verb
- B) It is a noun clause acting as the object of the verb "noticed"
- C) It is a participial phrase functioning as an adverbial modifier
- D) It is an adjective clause modifying the noun "friend"
Answer: C) It is a participial phrase functioning as an adverbial modifier ("Walking along the crowded street" begins with the present participle "walking" and contains no subject and no finite verb — it is a participial phrase that tells us what she was doing when she noticed her friend — it functions as an adverbial modifier and is classified as a phrase not a clause.)
10. "The principal announced that the school would be closed for the rest of the week." — Identify the underlined part: "that the school would be closed for the rest of the week"
- A) It is an adjective clause modifying the noun "principal"
- B) It is a noun clause acting as the object of the verb "announced"
- C) It is an adverbial clause of reason modifying the verb "announced"
- D) It is a participial phrase beginning with the word "that"
Answer: B) It is a noun clause acting as the object of the verb "announced" ("That the school would be closed for the rest of the week" contains the subject "the school" and the finite verb "would be closed" making it a clause — it is introduced by the conjunction "that" and acts as the direct object of the verb "announced" performing the function of a noun making it a noun clause.)
Comments
Post a Comment