CLEP COLLEGE COMPOSITION EXAM-68 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS 2024

Ambiguity A possible double meaning that may confuse a listener or reader Colloquial Used in some dictionaries to label words appropriate only in informal speech Brainpower Read More Previous Play Next Rewind 10 seconds Move forward 10 seconds Unmute 0:00 / 0:00 Full screen Consistency The result of staying within one pattern and avoiding confusing shifts in tense or grammatical perspective Convention the customary way of doing things; what a reader or listener expects or is used to Economy The sparing use of words, avoiding unnecessary wordiness or duplication Formal the kind of English appropriate in serious discussion and writing Grammar the study of the forms of words and their arrangement in a language Informal the kind of Standard English we use in casual conversations and personal letters Non-standard the everyday language of those with little formal education; inappropriate in school, business, or writing Redundancy unintentional repetition, needless duplication Slang extremely informal language; often used in a disrespectful manner Standard the language of our institutions- of school, church, business, and government Word parts of speech Phrase group of related words acting together as one part of speech; not containing both a subject and verb Clause group of related words containing a subject and a verb Sentence group of words containing a subject and a verb and expressing a complete thought Paragraph group of sentences organized around a central or main idea Verb a word that expresses action or helps to make a statement Subject a word or words naming person, place, thing, or idea about which something is being said Compound Subject/Compound Verb Two or more subjects or verbs connected by and or or Direct Object A noun or pronoun that answers the question whom or what after an action verb. It receives the action of the verb. Subject Complement/Predicate Nominative A noun or pronoun (or adjective) which follows a be or linking verb and renames or describes the subject. (Think of a be or linking verb as an = sign) Nomative Pronoun used as subject or subject complement (I, you, he, she, it, we, they, who, whoever) Objective Pronoun used as an object of verb or of preposition (me, you, him, her, it, us, them, whom, whomever) Possessive Pronoun shows ownership (my, mine, you, yours, his, her, hers, its, our, ours, their, theirs, whose, whosoever) Pronoun Rule #1 Anyone, everyone, someone, everybody, somebody, anybody, and nobody are singular. The singular pronoun his is used with them Pronoun Rule #2 Avoid double subjects and useless pronouns Pronoun Rule #3 when a pronoun modifies a gerund (a verbal noun), it is used as an adjective and is in the possessive case. Pronoun Rule #4 Never use hisself or theirself, use himself or themselves The principal parts of a Verb 1) the present tense (I break) 2) the past tense (I broke) 3) the past participle (I have broken). This form is used with a helping verb. Verb Rule #1 of is not a substitute for have Verb Rule #2 ought is not preceded by have or had Verb Rule #3 would or should forms of the verb are not used in if clauses Verb Rule #4 use the present subjunctive form in an if clause of a statement that is obviously not true. This is called a condition contrary to fact. The verb most frequently involved is to be. The present of to be in the subjunctive is were. Infinitive usually proceeded by to: it is used as a noun, adjective or adverb. It can never be the main verb of the sentence. Participle used as an adjective. The present participle ends in ing. Past participles have several endings (ed, d, t, n, en) Gerund The ing form used as a noun Adjectives and Adverbs have three degrees of comparison: positive, comparative, and superlative Adjective and Adverb Rule #1 After linking verbs such as look, seem, appear, taste, smell, feel, sound, use adjectives to describe the subject Adjective and Adverb Rule #2 Really is an adverb; real is an adjective. Do not use real to modify another adjective Adjective and Adverb Rule #3 Adjectives do not modify verbs Adjective and Adverb Rule #4 Good is never an adverb Adjective and Adverb Rule #5 Since scarcely and hardly are negative already, they should not be accompanied by another negative Adjective and Adverb Rule #6 Irregardless is not a word. Use regardless Preposition Rule #1 Generally, a sentence should not end with a preposition. However, you may end a sentence with a preposition if it will make the sentence smoother