test questions

Status
Not open for further replies.

palinkasocsi

Member
Joined
Apr 13, 2008
Member Type
Student or Learner
Dear Friends,

I ran into difficulties with a couple of test questions:

1. 'Will' in It's not 8 o'clock yet, so the shop on the corner will still be open - expresses:

a) qualified assumption b) volition c) persistent behaviour d) threat

2. Which is incorrect:

I'd rather you 1) had kept quiet 2) would stop criticising me.

3. 'Might' in Try as I might, I could not lift the box - expresses:

a) slight possibility
b) unfulfilled expectation
c) concession
d) rebuke


Thank you very much.

Palinkasocsi
 
Last edited:

Tdol

No Longer With Us (RIP)
Staff member
Joined
Nov 13, 2002
Native Language
British English
Home Country
UK
Current Location
Japan
What do you think are the correct choices?
 

palinkasocsi

Member
Joined
Apr 13, 2008
Member Type
Student or Learner
My guesses are:

1. qualified assumption
2. 2
3. b

But not sure.

Palinkasocsi
 

corum

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 8, 2010
Member Type
Interested in Language
Native Language
Hungarian
Home Country
Hungary
Current Location
Hungary
2.2 is not incorrect. Which means it is correct. And 2.1 is correct too. That is, neither of the answers is incorrect.
 

palinkasocsi

Member
Joined
Apr 13, 2008
Member Type
Student or Learner
All right. The original item is:

Which one cannot be linked with the rest of the sentence to produce a correct sentence?
I'd rather______ .
A) you had kept quiet
B) you tried harder
C) you didn't call me Piggy.
D) you would stop criticizing me behind my back

What is the correct answer here?
 
Last edited:

corum

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 8, 2010
Member Type
Interested in Language
Native Language
Hungarian
Home Country
Hungary
Current Location
Hungary
All right. The original item is:

Which one cannot be linked with the rest of the sentence to produce a correct sentence?
I'd rather______ .
A) you had kept quiet
B) you tried harder
C) you didn't call me Piggy.
D) you would stop criticizing me behind my back

What is the correct answer here?

Who made this test? A portás csinálta? Az összes válasz jó! All four options work.
 

TheParser

VIP Member
Joined
Dec 8, 2009
Member Type
Other
Native Language
English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
United States
All right. The original item is:

Which one cannot be linked with the rest of the sentence to produce a correct sentence?
I'd rather______ .
A) you had kept quiet
B) you tried harder
C) you didn't call me Piggy.
D) you would stop criticizing me behind my back

What is the correct answer here?

***** NOT A TEACHER *****

Good morning, Palinkasocsi.

(1) Let's see what Mr. Michael Swan says in his Practical English

Usage:

I'd rather you WENT home. = past.

I'd rather you HADn't DONE that. = past perfect.

I'd rather we DIDn't SEE each other any more. = past.

BUT

I WISH (that) you WOULD stop smoking.

Therefore:

I guess we can conclude that (D) may NOT be used to link with the

rest of the sentence.

Have a nice day!
 

palinkasocsi

Member
Joined
Apr 13, 2008
Member Type
Student or Learner
That was my guess too. And what about the other items? See original post.

Palinkasocsi
 

TheParser

VIP Member
Joined
Dec 8, 2009
Member Type
Other
Native Language
English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
United States
That was my guess too. And what about the other items? See original post.

Palinkasocsi

***** NOT A TEACHER *****

Hello again.

(1) I checked my books and the Web. I have an answer.

(2) I hope it is correct.

(3) Your sentence is:

Try as I might, I could not lift the box.

(4) Here are my conclusions for you to accept or reject:

(a) Every book says that a clause that begins with "although, "though,"

etc. is a clause of CONCESSION.

(b) My two favorite grammar books tell me that your sentence =

Try (I) as I might, I could not lift the box

(i) That is beautiful English for something such as:

I could not lift the box +

although/though/even though +

I tried very hard.

***** Have a nice day! Thank you for giving me a chance to review

my knowledge of grammar. It was fun.
 

corum

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 8, 2010
Member Type
Interested in Language
Native Language
Hungarian
Home Country
Hungary
Current Location
Hungary

corum

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 8, 2010
Member Type
Interested in Language
Native Language
Hungarian
Home Country
Hungary
Current Location
Hungary
I would rather you would stop criticizing me behind my back. :tick:
I wish you would stop... :tick:

Both sentences are definitely grammatical. :)
 

corum

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 8, 2010
Member Type
Interested in Language
Native Language
Hungarian
Home Country
Hungary
Current Location
Hungary
Let's see what Mr. Michael Swan says in his Practical English

Usage:

BUT

I WISH (that) you WOULD stop smoking.

Which PEU do you have? I am holding it in my hand. In his Practical English Usage, there is no 'but' and no example sentence that you proposed.
 

TheParser

VIP Member
Joined
Dec 8, 2009
Member Type
Other
Native Language
English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
United States
Which PEU do you have? I am holding it in my hand. In his Practical English Usage, there is no 'but' and no example sentence that you proposed.


PEU (1995 edition)

The "but" was my original contribution.

The "wish" sentence is in section 601 on page 628.
 

corum

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 8, 2010
Member Type
Interested in Language
Native Language
Hungarian
Home Country
Hungary
Current Location
Hungary
PEU (1995 edition)

The "but" was my original contribution.

Oh, I think you should have communicated that. IMO there is no 'but'. BTW, I have the same edition.

We can use 'would rather' to say that a person would prefer somebody to do something.

Does the proposition above go against our sentence:

I would rather you would stop criticizing me,?

No. So far we are okay.

We use a special structure with past tense:

would rather + subject + past tense

Does this agree with the sentence? Again, yes!

To talk about past actions, a past perfect tense is possible.
I would rather you had not done that.
However this kind of idea (past action and past perfect) is usually expressed with 'I wish (see 630).

I wish I had not done that.

You see, that is how Swan introduces the usage of 'wish' into the matter at hand.

I would rather you would stop criticizing me.

Does the sentence violate any rule of grammar in English? No! Is it well-formed then? Yes!
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top