Accuplacer Practice Test 2022 (Next Generation) [PDF]

Find the error, if any, in this sentence: "I cannot except that you won't go to the dance with me!" I cannot accept that you won't go to the dance with me! Explanation: The easiest way to remember the difference in meaning between these two words is to look at their letters—accept has two c's that are like open arms, just waiting to hug and embrace and accept whatever is being offered, whereas except has a big X just waiting to reject and exclude something ("I will take all of the cookies except that one with the bite taken out of it"). Find the error, if any, in this sentence: "It is clear to see that the stock market is going to have it's ups and downs; it is important not to overreact to the volatility." It is clear to see that the stock market is going to have its ups and downs; it is important not to overreact to the volatility. Explanation: It's is a contraction of it is or it has; it never shows possession. To test whether you need it's or its, try substituting the phrase it is or it has. If either of those work, you need the apostrophe. If neither of them make sense in your sentence, you don't need the apostrophe. Find the error, if any, in this sentence: "Heavy rains and thunderstorms continue to roll through the area; therefore, all flights are cancelled until tomorrow." no error Explanation: This question tests your knowledge of semicolon use. In this case, a semicolon is used to join two independent clauses. All is well! Find the error, if any, in this sentence: "Katie did not have no time to pick Kevin up before the game." Katie did not have any time to pick Kevin up before the game. Explanation: This sentence had a double negative, which is a big no-no. Just like in math, double negatives actually create a positive, which was not the intent of the sentence. Find the error, if any, in this sentence: "The wily fox escape the dogs who were chasing after it." The wily fox escaped the dogs who were chasing after it. Explanation: The verbs need to match in subject and tense. In this case, the first verb, escape, did not match its subject in number (fox = singular, escape = plural) and it did not match the other verbs in tense (escape = present tense, were chasing = past tense). Find the error, if any, in this sentence: "The book was thrown on the bed by Madi." No error, but the sentence would be stronger if written in active voice: "Madi threw the book on the bed." Explanation: Remember, while not grammatically incorrect, sentences written in passive voice can create weak, ineffectual writing. Try to always use active voice so that instead of the subject of the sentence being a victim of whatever action is being done, it can be the doer. Find the error, if any, in this sentence: "The piano keys was broken." The piano keys were broken. Explanation: This is a subject-verb agreement issue. The word keys is plural, but was is singular. It would be correct to say, "The piano key was broken." Find the error, if any, in this sentence: "The DVD's were on sale for $5 each." The DVDs were on sale for $5 each. Explanation: Remember, apostrophes are for contractions or possession only. There shouldn't be an apostrophe to pluralize acronyms or abbreviations (nor should you use them in dates—it was the 1970s, not the 1970's). Find the error, if any, in this sentence: "We visited Barcelona, Spain; Marseille, France; Rome, Italy; and Athens, Greece on our European cruise." no error Explanation: Although it may seem like a lot of semicolons in one sentence, they are all necessary to separate the list of locations. In this case, the commas separate the city from the country and the semicolons separate those four locations. Find the error, if any, in this sentence: "On the advise of my lawyer, I refuse to answer that question." On the advice of my lawyer, I refuse to answer that question. Explanation: Advice and advise are often confused. Advice is a noun, a recommendation about what to do. Advise is a verb, to recommend something. They cannot be used interchangeably. To know which one to use, determine which part of speech the word is in a sentence. If it is acting as a noun (a "something"), use advice; if it is acting as a verb (something someone is doing), use advise. Find the error, if any, in this sentence: "Mom was sure Brian would loose his wallet if he kept it in his pocket while skateboarding." Mom was sure Brian would lose his wallet if he kept it in his pocket while skateboarding. Explanation: One o makes a big difference. In the case of lose vs. loose, loose means to unfasten or set free (Mark got the turtle loose from the plastic noose.). But, lose one "o" and now you've changed the word to mean being deprived of or unable to find something. Remember, you lose one o and you get a satisfying "oo" when you loosen your tight belt. Find the error, if any, in this sentence: "Stay true to your own principles and you will never be sorry." no error Explanation: Sometimes, principle gets confused with principal. Remember, the leader of a school can be your "pal," so that's the one that refers to a person.