9. Correct sentence: I can’t understand why we’re still waiting or I can hardly understand why we’re still waiting. The double negative needs to be removed from the sentence.
10. Correct sentence: Denise is quicker than anyone else on the team. The double comparison more
quicker needs to be removed from the sentence.
Practice 7
1. Sylvan likes eggs fried in butter. Correct placement of modifier. 2. When I was three, Grandpa took me fishing. or Grandpa took me fishing when I was three. Clarify
modifier—who was three? 3. While we were barbecuing our steaks, a hungry salesman walked into the backyard. Clarify modi-
fier—who was barbecuing? 4. The study focused on the effects of violence on television, in video games, and in music videos. Cre-
ate parallel structure. 5. She not only voted against the new policy but also hoped to convince others to vote against it as well.
Create parallel structure. 6. The film Apocalypse Now took Joseph Conrad’s novel Heart of Darkness and set it in Vietnam during
the war. Eliminate redundant it. 7. I really like to read science fiction. Eliminate unnecessary repetition.
8. At Woodstock, Jimi Hendrix played an electrifying version of “The Star-Spangled Banner.” Replace wordy phrase that was electrifying with adverb.
Practice 8
1. b. 2. a.
3. d. 4. c.
5. b.
Practice Quiz
1. b. The sentence needs the adverb well to modify the verb prepared. 2. b. The verbs need to be in the past tense.
3. a. The sentence requires the contraction you’re for you are. 4. c. The past tense was and participle solved are required here; the sentence is in the past tense.
5. a. The helping verb had is correct. 6. d. The past tense of cost is cost.
7. c. The verbs need to be in the present tense. 8. a. The sentence needs the subjunctive were.
9. d. The pronoun each requires the singular verb was.
10. c. The antecedent is neither and requires the pronoun his.
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11. a. The sentence requires the verb lie, which does not require a subject; the participle is lying. 12. d. Use who when referring to people.
13. a. Use fewer when referring to plural nouns people. 14. b. The sentence has an incorrect double negative.
15. a. Use the infinitive after hope. 16. c. Luggage is a non-count noun and needs a singular verb was.
17. c. The sentence requires a subject pronoun he. 18. c. Use of with opposite.
19. b. The sentence requires an adverb to modify the verb read. 20. d. The sentence lacks parallel structure; the last part of the sentence should be another adjective trou-
bling rather than a verb phrase it troubled him.
C h a p t e r 4 : L i s t e n i n g C o m p r e h e n s i o n
1. c. Roger implies that the notebook belongs to Jennifer. He suggests this by saying “That looks like Jen- nifer’s handwriting.” Choice a is incorrect because the man answers “no” to the question. Choice b is
illogical; if it was the woman’s notebook, she wouldn’t be asking Roger if it were his. Roger may not
know for sure whose notebook it is choice d, but because he recognizes Jennifer’s handwriting, choice c is the best answer.
2. b. The woman suggests that the man discuss his situation with his advisor before making a decision. She advises him to talk to his advisor, so choices a and d are incorrect. She also advises him to talk to
his advisor before making any changes, so choice c is incorrect. 3. a. Choice b is incorrect, because Woman 2 says she wishes she could go. Choice c is incorrect, because
it is not logical for Woman 1 to ask Woman 2 about her plans to go on the trip if she were not part of
the class. Choice d is incorrect because the idiom swamped with work means overwhelmed with work; it
does not indicate the physical location of a swamp.
4. b. The woman’s response indicates that the man can contact Gabriel through his cell phone, so it is
logical to assume that that is what the man will do. There is no indication that the man will go pur-
chase a cell phone choice a. The man’s concern is that he will keep Gabriel waiting because he must
meet with his professor, so it is not logical to assume that he will either postpone his meeting with his
professor choice c or call his professor on the cell phone choice d—besides, there is no indication
from the conversation that he has his professor’s cell phone number or that his professor even has a cell phone.
5. d. The main issue in this conversation is where they should go for lunch. Man 1 proposes one restau- rant, while Man 2 proposes another. Only one speaker mentions how hungry he is, so choice a is
incorrect. Man 2 states that he’s in the mood for Chinese food, but that is not the same as saying how
much he likes Chinese food, so choice b is incorrect. Man 1 mentions the location of the pizzeria, but that is not the issue they discuss, so choice c is also incorrect.
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