TOEFL EXERCISE ON VERB

EXERCISE ‘VERB’ FOR TOEFL

1.        Almost everyone fails __ the driver's test on the first try.

a.    passing             b. to have passed         c. to pass                      d. in passing

2.        When the silkworm (a) gets through to lay (b) its (c) eggs, it dies (d).

3.        If endangered species ___ saved, rain forests must be protected.

a.     are to be           b. be                            c. can be                      d. will be                     

4.        The average spoken sentence in conversational English takes 2.5 seconds _______.

a.    For to complete                        b. completing   c. to complete              d. by completing

5.        Only twenty years ago, most doctors agreed truthful with their terminally ill patients, a trend that has reversed itself in modem medical practice.

a.       don’t to be       b. not to be                  c. we shouldn’t been    d. not to been

6.        William Torrey Harris was one of the first educators interested ________a logical progression of topics in the school curriculum.

a.    in establishing              b. for establishing        c. establishing              d. to establish

7.        North American Indian tribes used sign language ___ with tribes that spoke a different language or dialect.

a.    to communicating     b. for communicate              c. to communicate     d. for communicated

8.        Art tends to be ___ more after the death of the artist, but most literary works tend to decrease in value when the writer dies.

a.    price                 b. worthy         c. worth           d. value                       

9.        Adult eagles let their offspring __ nests near their original nesting area.

a.    build                b. builds           c. building        d. to build

10.    A barometer (a) is a device with a sealed (b) metal chamber designed to reading(c) the changes in the pressure of air (d) in the atmosphere.

11.    If a person does not have an attorney, the court __ one.

a.    will appoint      b. appointed     c. would appoint          d. appointing

12.    Since lightning was probably significant in the formation of life, understanding it (a) might help (b) us to understanding (c) life itself (d).

13.    Iowa __ of flat-topped hills erected by the ancient Mound Builder people as temples and burial sites.

a.    with a larger number                            c. having a large number

b.    has a large number                               d. a large number

14.    If the oxygen supply in the atmosphere (a) was (b) not replenished by plants (c) , it would soon be exhausted (d).

15.    ­­­________ the eight Ivy League schools are among the most prestigious colleges in the United States.

a.    it is generally accepted that                  c. accepting that it is

b.    that it is accepted                                 d. that is accepted

16.    The Girl Scouts, which was found (a) by Juliette Gordon Low in 1912 (b), has grown (c)to a current membership of more than (d)three million girls.

17.    To relieve pain caused by severe bums, prevent infection, and treat for shock, _____ immediate steps.

a.    taking               b. to take                      c. taken                        d. take

18.    If gasoline vapour _______with air, combustion will occur.

a.    mixed               b. had mixed                c. mixes           d. mixture

19.    Vermont, commonly known as the Green Mountain State, refused ________until 1791.

a.    to join the Union                                  c. the joining of the Union

b.    joining the Union                                 d. join the Union

20.    Air constricted between the vocal chords makes them _______ , producing sounds.

a.    to vibrate          b. vibrating                  c. vibrate          d. the vibration

ANSWER KEY

1.        (C) The verb fail requires an infinitive in the complement. Choices (A) and (D) are –ing forms, not infinitives. Choice (B) is an infinitive, but it expresses a past time, and does not maintain the point of view established by the verb fails.

2.        (B) Because the verb phrase to get through requires an -ing form in the complement, to lay should be laying.

3.        (A) If is used before the noun endangered species and the present verb are followed by the infinitive to be to express the result of a condition with must. Choice (B) is a verb word, not a present verb. Choices (C) and (D) are modals.

4.        (C) The infinitive to complete is used to express purpose. Choice (A) includes the unnecessary word for. Choice (B) is an –ing form, not an infinitive. Choice (D) expresses manner, not purpose.

5.        (B) Not is used before the infinitive to be in the clause after the verb agreed. "Doctors agreed that they shouldn't be truthful" would also be correct. The verb agree requires an infinitive in the complement. Choice (A) is an infinitive, but the negative don 't is used instead of not. The modal in Choice (C) requires a verb word, not the participle been. Choice (D) uses not as the negative, but been is a participle, not an infinitive.

6.        (A) In is used after interested. The -ing form establishing is used after the preposition in. The preposition in Choice (B) is for, not in. Choice (C) does not have the correct preposition, in. Choice (D) is an infinitive, not a preposition with an -ing form.

7.        (C) The infinitive to communicate is used to express purpose. Choice (A) is an -ing form after the preposition to, not an infinitive. In Choice (B), for, not to, is used. In Choice (D), for is used with a past verb.

8.        (C) The subject art is used before the verb phrase tends to be followed by worth and the indefinite amount more to express value. The words in Choices (A), (B), and (D) are related in meaning to worth, but they are not idiomatic expressions with to be.

9.        (A) Let is used as a causative to express permission before the complement their offspring followed by the verb word build. Choice (B) is a present verb, not a verb word. Choice (C) is an -ing form. Choice (D) is an infinitive.

10.    (C) An infinitive is used to express purpose. To reading should be to read.

11.    (A) A present verb in the condition requires a present modal such as will in the result. Will expresses future time. Choice (B) is a past form, not a present modal. Choice (C) is a past modal. Choice (D) is an -ing form.

12.    (C) An infinitive is used to express purpose. To understanding should be to understand.

13.    (B) Every English sentence must have a subject and a main verb. Choices (A), (C), and (D) do not include a main verb.

14.    (B) In contrary-to-fact clauses, were is the only accepted form of the verb BE. Was should be were.

15.    (A) The anticipatory clause it is generallyaccepted that introduces a subject and a verb, schools are. Choice (B) is a subject clause that requires a verb, not a subject and verb. he clauses in Choices (C) and (D) do not introduce a subject and verb.

16.    (A) The word order for a passive sentence is a form of BE followed by a participle. Found should be was founded. Found means "discovered." Founded means "established."

17.    (D) An infinitive that expresses purpose such as to relieve pain introduces a verb word that expresses a manner to accomplish that purpose. Choice (A) is an -ing form, not a verb word. Choice (B) is an infinitive. Choice (C) is a participle.

18.    (C) For scientific results, a present form in the condition such as mixes requires a present or future form in the result, will occur. Choice (A) is a past, not a present, form. Choice (B) is had followed by a participle. Choice (D) is a noun.

19.    (A) The verb refuse requires an infinitive in the complement. Choice (B) is an -ing form, not an infinitive. Choice (C) is a noun. Choice (D) is a verb word.

20.    (C) A form of make with something such as the vocal chords [them] and a verb word expresses a causative. Choice (A) is an infinitive, not a verb word. Choice (B) is an -ing form. Choice (D) is a noun.