Water is in a __ state of matter.
There are four main states of matter: solid, liquid, gas, and plasma. The kind of water you can drink is in a liquid state of matter. When water hardens, it turns into ice (which you can put inside your liquid water). When water boils, it turns into a gas called water vapor.
The __ is warm in summer?
Many of us listen to weather reports on the news. It’s all about describing the atmosphere, which is a sort of envelope of gases surrounding the earth. We can do this by looking at the temperature (hot or cold) and humidity (wet or dry) alongside other factors (calm or stormy, cloudy or clear).
Spell the missing word correctly: “I can __ a knot.”
That’s right, “I can tie a knot.” The word has a few different meanings. As a noun, it can mean the necktie that you wear around the collar of a suit. It can also mean a bond between people. As a verb, it means to fasten something together – knots, shoelaces, scarves, etc.
Spell the missing word correctly: “I’m too ___ with work to hang out tonight.”
In the example above, "busy" is a word that describes a person who is too occupied with some activity (like work) to make time for some other activity (like going to a restaurant or cafe with friends). Although the word sounds like “bi-ze,” it’s spelled with a “u” and a “y” as “busy.”
Capitalize the correct words: “will dad help me with fran's event next friday morning?”
Rules for what to capitalize can be a bit tricky at times, however, there are some standard ones to memorize. The first word in a sentence should always be capitalized. Specific names of people, places, or things (called proper nouns) should also be capitalized, and so should days of the week.
The sun is still ___ in the sky.
Correct. “The sun is still visible in the sky” means that you can still see the sun way up high. Most likely, that means it’s sometime in between the morning sunrise and the evening sunset. After that, the sun more or less disappears as the moon takes over for the night.
What’s the best ___ to get to the beach?
Great! The “best route” to get to the beach is another way to say the “best way” to get to the beach. The “best way” depends on what the people going to the beach want. Sometimes, people want the most scenic route, but other times they want the fastest way to get there.
I put my drink in the ___ the keep it cold.
A tongue twister to pronounce, and even harder to write. We prefer the word 'fridge', to stay on the safe side.
The losing side in a war can choose to ___ .
The word “surrender” can be used as a verb meaning to stop resisting an enemy or opponent. It can also be used as a noun that describes the action of surrendering. Most often it’s used when speaking about war, but it can also be used in law, sports, finance, and more.
What is the correct relative pronoun for the following sentence: “I was excited to see a painting by Pablo Picasso, ___ my grandparents always loved.”
The five main relative pronouns are who, whom, whose, which, and that. Each of them connects a dependent clause (like a sentence fragment) with an independent clause (like a complete sentence). The relative pronouns “that” and “which” usually go with things or objects. “Who,” “whom,” and “whose” usually go with people.
I have a monthly ___ to Netflix.
A process is all about the series of steps you take to reach a particular goal. For example, the process of becoming a doctor involves going to school to study medicine and working in a hospital to gain experience. The long and difficult process is important because it leads to highly skilled doctors.
The __ for becoming a doctor is very difficult.
A process is all about the series of steps you take to reach a particular goal. For example, the process of becoming a doctor involves going to school to study medicine and working in a hospital to gain experience. The long and difficult process is important because it leads to highly skilled doctors.
Pick the correct adjective: “Climbing Mount Everest was the ___ thing he ever did.”
The adjective “hardest” modifies the noun “thing” to give us more information about it. What kind of “thing” was it? It was the hardest thing he ever did. Considering the mountain is over 29,000 feet, we certainly believe him. Part of the reason it’s so hard to climb is that there’s less oxygen.
Artists love to __ new pieces of art.
Create is a verb meaning to bring into existence or to produce. Artists are fond of creating pieces of art, musicians love to create new songs, and writers love to create fun stories. Although the word “create” usually applies to creative people, it can also be used in daily life – creating a fuss out of nothing.
Which word is an indefinite pronoun?
An indefinite pronoun does not refer to any specific person, thing, or amount. Some typical indefinite pronouns are: all, another, any, anybody/anyone, anything, each, everybody/everyone, everything, few, many, nobody, none, one, several, some, and somebody/someone.
Which verb completes the sentence: "She ____ on her art project last night.”
The phrase “last night” is an important clue in this sentence. It tells you that it happened in the past. Therefore, the verb “work” should be put in the past tense – and more specifically, the past simple tense. The past simple tense is an easy way to talk about completed actions in the past.
Choose the correct verb: “I __ to eat chocolate cake.”
Since “I”, the pronoun in the sentence above, is a first-person singular pronoun in the present tense, the verb must be the same. The word “want” is the best fit for that. “I shall to eat” and “I can’t to eat” are both incorrect because they don’t need the word “to.”
Choose the best adjective: "The 20-year-old girl was _____ than her younger brother."
The word "taller" is the best adjective for the above sentence. It describes the girl’s relation to her younger brother in terms of height. When comparing two things, we usually use “adjective + -er” if the word is short (taller, smaller, faster). If the word is long, we use “more + adjective” (more beautiful, more intelligent, etc.)
Pick the correct word: “He laughed __ at the film.”
“Happily” is the correct word for this sentence. It’s known as an “adverb,” and its job is to modify, or add extra information, to the verb. The verb is “laughed,” so the adverb “happily” tells us how he laughed. Other adverbs include quietly, loudly, and uncomfortably. Many adverbs end in -ly, so they’re easy to identify.
What’s the object of the preposition in the sentence, “Sheila cooked dinner for her mom.”
The preposition in this sentence is “for.” Its job is to connect nouns or pronouns with other words in the sentence. The object of a preposition comes after the preposition. So, in the case above, the object after the preposition “for” is “her mom.” At, by, on, of, and with are other common prepositions.
Europe is a small ___.
A continent is a big piece of land. From smallest to largest, the seven continents of the earth are Australia, Europe, Antarctica, South America, North America, Africa, and Asia. Australia is a country as well as a continent and Antarctica is largely uninhabited. The other countries, however, are made up of multiple countries with millions of people.
Choose the correct punctuation mark: “Do you want to eat pizza__”
Since this sentence is asking a question, the correct punctuation mark is a question mark. Semicolons are used to connect two closely related clauses. Parentheses are used to give extra information. Quotation marks are used to show that someone is speaking or that you’re repeating words from a book or movie.
What does the following simile mean: “Her words cut him like a knife.”
Saying that someone’s words “cut like a knife” doesn’t mean that the words can literally be used to slice vegetables. It’s a figurative way of speaking that means the words are hurtful. The words someone says feel as if someone is cutting you with a knife – in other words, it’s painful and unpleasant.
Do you ___ we should order takeout tonight?
The word “suppose” is a verb meaning to believe or to put forth as a hypothesis or assumption. When we want to know what another person thinks, we say, “do you suppose we should ___ (order takeout, have a party, go on vacation in the summer)?” Other similar words are to guess, to judge, and to estimate.
Choose the correct way to punctuate the quote.
When we use quotation marks in writing, we have to follow a very specific formula. Quotation marks need to be put around the entire quoted phrase. Commas, question marks, periods, and exclamation marks are usually put inside quotation marks. In the above sentence, the introductory phrase should have a comma after it to introduce the quote.
What punctuation mark goes at the end of the sentence: “He drove to the mall__”
The correct punctuation mark is the period because it’s a simple sentence that’s complete in itself. It’s not one part of a longer sentence that needs a semicolon. It’s not a bit of extra information that needs to be put in parentheses. It’s not part of a word showing possession, so it doesn’t need an apostrophe.
When water boils, it starts to ___ into the air.
Heat water up enough and it changes its state of matter from a liquid to a gas. This is called evaporation. It happens on your stovetop when boiling up some water for tea, and it also happens all over the earth to create clouds. The molecules escape into the air and turn into water vapor.
Which verb is NOT an action verb?
As you might have guessed, an “action verb” is a verb that describes an action. Running, jumping, climbing, swimming, sleeping, and more are all examples of action verbs. The verb “is” is what’s known as a “state of being” verb. Along with am, are, was, were, being, and been, it describes existence.
What does the following metaphor mean: “She runs like the wind.”
The metaphor “she runs like the wind” is used to describe someone who runs very fast. Although the wind doesn’t actually run, it does move quickly through a landscape. This figurative comparison between the fastness of the wind and the fastness of the runner is why the metaphor makes sense.
What’s the antonym of the following capitalized word: “He is the BEST football coach in the country.”
An antonym is a word that has the opposite meaning of another word. For example, the antonym of “tall” is “short.” The capitalized word “best” is a superlative word meaning better than all the rest. The antonym, or opposite, of that word is “worst.” It’s also a superlative word, but it means worse than all the rest.
Which grammatical form is utilized in talking to or about a social superior?
An honorific is a grammatical form that captures the social status of the people involved in a discussion or conversation. Honorific speech, in this situation, pertains to the social status of the speaker compared to the other participants. The three main types of honorifics are Addressee (speaker/listener), Referent (speaker/referent) and Bystander (speaker/bystander)
What word describes a word that sounds similar to the noise it creates?
The word onomatopoeia is derived from the Greek words “onoma,” meaning "name," and “poiein,” meaning "to make." It is used to describe words that sound like what they describe. Some examples include pop, quack, boing, zap, and gargle, which, when you say them, create the sound that the word describes.
What is the name of a word for a person, place, thing or idea?
A noun refers to the name of a person, place, thing, or idea. An adverb is a word that modifies a verb, an adjective, or another adverb. Adjectives are words that describe other words, making your writing and speaking more interesting. In a sentence, verbs are action words that describe what the subject is doing.
Which is the plural form of the word ‘ox’?
Most words ending in x will add -es to the word to take its plural form. For example, foxes and boxes. However, the word ox provides an interesting exception to this rule. Today, only a few en-forms exist; the most common words that still utilize the “-en” plural are oxen and children.
What is the study of the grammatical structures of sentences called?
The grammatical meaning of a sentence is reliant on syntax or syntactic structure. Conjunctions are words that connect other words or phrases to form a sentence. Orthography is a type of language study that focuses on spelling and letters. Prose is a written or spoken form that features a natural flow of speech (as opposed to strict rhyme and rhythmic structures).
In English grammar, what does the tense signify?
Tenses express time reference. The main ones used in different languages are the simple present, past, and future tenses. However, there are also more specific tenses, like the past perfect (for actions completed in the past), past continuous (for actions that continued for a while but ended in the past), future perfect continuous (actions that will continue up until a specific point in the future), and more.
How many moods are there in English grammar?
English features three grammatical moods (also known as modes): the indicative, the imperative, and the subjunctive. The indicative mode is used for neutral and/or factual expressions and observations. The imperative is for commands. Meanwhile, the subjunctive mode is a little more open, covering things like doubts, hopes, possibilities, needs, desires, and projections into the future.
How many types of affixes are there?
An affix, when combined with a word or phrase, creates a derived form. In English, you will find three main affixes: prefixes, infixes, and suffixes. These you have probably heard of before. A prefix, as the name suggests, is found at the beginning of a word (e.g. the “un” in unwilling); a suffix comes at the end of a word, while an infix is thrown in the middle.
Spacing, conventional signs, and typographical devices are features of which grammatical practice?
Punctuation involves the use of spacing, typographical devices, and conventional signs to assist a reader in understanding text. Punctuation helps us understand where to pause and add inflection, allowing us to easily understand the meaning of sentences when reading aloud or in silence. The most common punctuation marks used in the English language are the period (.), comma (,), question mark (?), exclamation point (!) and parenthesis ().
Which figure of speech is defined by the intentional omission of a word or words?
The ellipsis is characterized by a series of dots that signifies a deliberate omission of a word or sentence. It may even indicate the omission of a whole section from a text. Ellipses are often used in journalism to make quotes more succinct. A malapropism is the incorrect use of a common phrase (e.g. “It really gets up my goat”). If you’ve ever invented your own word, you’ve created a neologism. Meanwhile, imagery is the creation of a sense of place and mood through visuals or words.
What is the correct form of the verb "to be" in the present tense, when the subject is "I"?
When the subject of a sentence is "I", the correct form of the verb "to be" in the present tense is "am". For example, "I am happy" or "I am eating breakfast".
Which of the following sentences contains a comma splice?
A comma splice is a common grammatical error where two independent clauses are joined together by a comma without the use of a conjunction. The correct way to fix this sentence would be to add a coordinating conjunction after the comma, such as "and" or "but".
What is the correct way to spell the past tense of the verb "to teach"?
The correct past tense of the verb "to teach" is "taught". For example, "Yesterday, I taught a class on grammar."
Which of the following is a coordinating conjunction?
A coordinating conjunction is a word that connects two independent clauses of equal importance. Common coordinating conjunctions include "and", "but", and "or".
Which of the following is an example of a reflexive pronoun?
A reflexive pronoun is a pronoun that reflects back to the subject of the sentence. Common reflexive pronouns include "myself", "yourself", and "itself".
What is the correct way to spell the plural form of the word "child"?
The correct plural form of the word "child" is "children". For example, "There are five children playing in the park."
Which of the following is an example of a subordinating conjunction?
A subordinating conjunction is a word that connects a dependent clause to an independent clause. Common subordinating conjunctions include "if", "when", and "although".
What is the correct way to spell the comparative form of the adjective "big"?
he correct comparative form of the adjective "big" is "bigger". For example, "The elephant is bigger than the mouse."
Which of the following is a preposition?
A preposition is a word that shows the relationship between a noun or pronoun and other words in a sentence. Common prepositions include "in", "on", and "with".