English I GAP preparation exercise #5 Errors included: sentence errors (frag, ros, cs); punctuation errors (apostrophes, commas, quotation marks, semicolons); homophones and concision; pronoun errors (agr, case, person, ref); verb errors (s‐v agr, tense); combining/connecting and order. A. Correct the error in each of the following sentences. 1. One of the best suspense movies I ever saw were Rear Window. 2. Directed by Alfred Hitchcock the movie stars such famous actors as Jimmy Stewart, Grace Kelly, and Raymond Burr. 3. Out his back window Stewart has seen Burr acting harshly toward his wife; this doesn’t worry him‐‐until the photographer also sees the husband carrying large trunks out of the apartment in the middle of the night. 4. Stewart suspects that Burr has murdered his wife, but in turn he suspects that he knows about the murder. 5. There is also a dead dog and a mysterious postcard that complicate the plot. 6. Stewart talks Kelly into helping him investigate the wife’s disappearance and vanishing act. 7. Her and Stewart arrange a quick search of Burr’s apartment. 8. Everyone holds their breaths watching Burr walking toward the apartment door while Kelly searches inside. 9. Kelly manages to talk her way out of the jam, but Burr realized he is under suspicion. 10. After Burr manages to stuff Stewart out the window and the photographer breaks his other leg. 11. Once the police arrive, its clear that neither Stewart nor Kelly is much upset by all that has happened, for Stewart has seen for the first time all the substance beneath Kelly’s glamorous looks and life. 12. My wife, younger son, and myself watched the movie over the Christmas holidays. 13. When I asked Scott, “How did you like that?”, he replied, “I thought it was pretty good for a really old movie.” B. Correct the error in each of the following sentences. 1. Before his second birthday party, our son Scott was playing in the yard with his older brother, Sam, which turned out to be a dangerous activity. 2. There was several tables set up in the yard, including a picnic table. 3. As we discovered later the two boys were playing on the picnic table, and Sam shoved Scott off. 4. Scott was crying and holding his arm, but neither the guests nor I were aware that he was seriously hurt. 5. His big gift was a Big Wheels tricycle; when he couldn’t put his right hand on the handle; my wife and I figured we had a problem. 6. Scott and I drive to the emergency room, and x‐rays revealed that Scott had a broken arm. 7. At first the doctor was suspicious since Scott had broken a thumb not long before, then I explained that he had an older brother. 8. Everyone always feels guilty when you realize that you haven’t paid enough attention to the behavior of loved ones. 9. Within a day of breaking his arm, Scott fell on our concrete driveway and he chipped a tooth. 10. Much to his parents embarrassment, he looked and acted like a crazy man. 11. Everyone who we show the video has laughed at our ineptitude. 12. Happily, Scott has forgiven us, and it has not scarred his life forever. C. Select the best answer from the choices given. 1. A. Barry Targans’ short story “Harry Belten and the 1. Barry Targans short story Harry Mendelssohn Violin Concerto” Belten and the Mendelssohn Violin B. Barry Targan’s short story “Harry Belten and the Concerto starts with a surprising Mendelsohn Violin Concerto” C. Barry Targan’s short story, “Harry Belten and the statement: “If a thing is worth doing, Mendelsohn Violin Concerto”, surely it is worth doing badly” (449). D. Barry Targan’s short story Harry Belten and the Readers may not agree when they read Mendelssohn Violin Concerto 2. A. NO CHANGE that introduction, but 2. you soon realize B. he or she that Targan is suggesting that people C. we should pursue their 3. dreams. No matter D. they 3. A. NO CHANGE how unusual it seems to their families and friends. [A.] Targan’s 4. protagonist and main character is Harry Belten, a fifty‐year‐
old hardware store 5. clerk whom loves the violin and decides that he 6. wanted to hire an orchestra, rent an auditorium, and give a concert. [B.] But he faces several obstacles as he works to achieve his dream. [C.] His family members think that he is crazy to consider spending thousands of dollars on this enterprise. 7. [D.] Nevertheless, they decide that he needs 8. counseling and they send him to a psychiatrist. [E.] The final blow occurs when the manager of the orchestra tries to wriggle out of his contract when he finds out 9. who Harry is—a rank amateur. [F.] Even his violin teacher discourages him from performing, believing that only 10. ridicule and scorn is in store for him. 11. 12. But Harry perseveres, he plays to a crowd of a hundred, most of them friends. Even though a string goes flat during the 13. concert he manages to perform reasonably well. And most readers 14. find themselves enthusiastically applauding Harry because of his determination and good nature, pleased that he achieves his dream in a way that finally earns him the admiration of his friends and family. At the end of the 15. story, their is no doubt about the point: we should ignore others’ expectations and follow our dreams. B. dreams, no matter how unusual it seems C. dreams, no matter how unusual they seem D. dreams; no matter how unusual they seem 4. A. NO CHANGE B. protagonist, and main character, C. protagonist and main character and hero D. protagonist 5. A. NO CHANGE B. clerk, whom loves C. clerk who loves D. clerk; who loves 6. A. NO CHANGE B. wanted: C. wants D. wants— 7. A. NO CHANGE B. Consequently, C. However, D. On the other hand, 8. A. NO CHANGE B. counseling, and C. counseling; and D.counseling: and 9. A. NO CHANGE B. whom C. whomever D. whosoever 10. A. NO CHANGE B. ridicule and scorn was C. ridicule and scorn are D. ridicule and scorn were 11. To make this paragraph most logical, sentence E should be placed A. where it is now B. after sentence A C. after sentence C D. after sentence F 12. A. NO CHANGE B. perseveres, and plays C. perseveres, and he plays D. perseveres; and he plays 13. A. NO CHANGE B. concert, C. concert; D. concert— 14. A. NO CHANGE B. ourselves C. himself and herself D. theirselves 15. A. NO CHANGE B. their are C. there is D. there are