LESSON 13 Independent Clauses (PETERSON’S TOEFL SUCCESS)

(PETERSON’S TOEFL SUCCESS)

LESSON 13

Independent Clauses

The structures practiced in this lesson are the ones that are most often tested in the Structure section. Approximately 20 percent of all problems in the section (usually three or four per test) involve incomplete main clauses. ABOUT CLAUSES All sentences consist of one or more clauses. A simple sentence consists of one clause. For example: People need vitamins. The man took a vitamin pill. Judy lives in northern California. In the summer, Tom walks to his office. A compound sentence consists of two independent clauses joined by a coordinating conjunction (such as and and but). Such as: The man took a vitamin pill, and he drank a glass of orange juice. Judy lives in northern California now, but she was raised in Ohio. A complex sentence consists of an independent clause (called the main clause) and a subordinate (dependent) clause. Subordinate clauses may be adverb clauses, noun clauses, or adjective clauses. In the sentences below, the independent clauses are italicized: The man took a vitamin pill because he had a cold. (independent clause + adverb clause) I didn’t realize that Nancy was here. (noun clause) Tom walks to his office, which is located on Broadway, every day during the summer. (independent clause + adjective clause) All three types of subordinate clauses are commonly seen in the Structure part of the test, and each is considered in separate lessons (Lessons 14, 15, and 16). The emphasis in this chapter, however, is on the basic components of independent clauses. MISSING SUBJECTS, VERBS, OBJECTS, AND COMPLEMENTS All clauses have a subject and a verb. Clauses with an action verb often take a direct object as well. Subjject Verb Object People need vitamins The verb missing from an independent clause may be a single-word verb (need, was, took, had, walked) or a verb phrase consisting of one or more auxiliary verbs and a main verb (will need, has been, should take, would have had, had walked). The verbs may be active (need, take) or passive (was needed, is taken). The missing subject and direct object may be a noun (people, vitamins, Tom), a noun phrase (some famous people, a vitamin pill, my friend Tom), or a pronoun (he, she, it, and they are subject pronouns; him, her, it, and them are object pronouns). After the verb to be and certain other nonaction verbs, a subject complement is used rather than a direct object. (Subject complements are also known as predicate nominatives and predicate adjectives.) Subjject Verb Object She The teacher is seemed an architect upset In the Structure section of TOEFL test, it is common for any of these elements or a combination of two or more of these elements to be missing from the stem. The most common problem in structure involves a missing verb. A missing subject and a missing subject-verb combination are common as well. The missing element may also be part, of rather than all of, the verb or noun phrase. Sample Items The art of storytelling ________ almost as old as humanity. (A) that is (B) is (C) it is (D) being The correct answer is (B). It supplies the missing verb. Choice (A) is incorrect because the word that is used to connect a relative clause to a main clause; in this sentence, there is only one verb, so there can only be one clause. Choice (C) is incorrect because there is an unnecessary repetition of the subject (The art of storytelling it . . .). Choice (D) is not correct because an -ing form (being) cannot be the main verb of a clause. ____________ a few of the sounds produced by insects can be heard by humans. (A) Only (B) There are only (C) That only (D) With only The correct answer is (A). It completes the noun phrase that is the subject of the sentence. The expletive There in choice (B) is incorrectly used. In choice (C), the word That creates a noun clause, but each clause must have its own verb. (Produced is used as a participle, not a main verb, in this sentence.) Choice (D) is incorrect because a preposition may not be used directly before the subject. ______________________ when lava cools very rapidly. (A) Because pumice is formed (B) To form pumice (C) Pumice is formed (D) Forming pumice The correct answer is (C). It supplies an independent clause to join to the adverb clause when lava cools very rapidly. Choice (A) consists of an adverb clause; two adverb clauses cannot be joined to form a complete sentence. Choices (B) and (D) are incorrect because they do not contain main verbs, and an independent clause must contain a main verb. (To form and forming are not main verbs.) Only choice (C) could serve as an independent clause because it contains a subject (Pumice) and a full verb; the passive verb is formed. Sample Items (Continued) Duke Ellington wrote _____________________________ during his career. (A) that over a thousand songs (B) over a thousand songs (C) over a thousand songs were (D) there were over a thousand songs The correct answer is (B). The direct object is missing from this sentence. In choice (A), the connecting word that is used unnecessarily. In choice (C), the verb were is used unnecessarily because there is only one clause and it has a verb (wrote). In choice (D), the phrase there were is not needed between a verb and its direct object. Before the invention of the printing press, books _________________. (A) that were very rare (B) were very rarely (C) were very rare (D) as very rare The correct answer is (C). Choice (A) incorrectly forms an adjective clause; an adjective must be joined to a main clause. Choice (B) contains an adverb; after the verb to be, an adjective is required. Choice (D) lacks a verb. Choice (C) correctly supplies a verb (were). CLAUSES WITH THERE AND IT Some clauses begin with the introductory word there or it rather than with the subject of the sentence. These introductory words are sometimes called expletives. The expletive there shows that someone or something exists, usually at a particular time or place. These sentences generally follow the pattern there + verb to be + subject. For example: There are many skyscrapers in New York City. There was a good movie on television last night. The expletive it is used in several different situations and patterns: It is important to be punctual for appointments. (with the verb to be + adjective + infinitive) It was in 1959 that Alaska became a state. (with the verb to be + adverbial + noun clause) It takes a long time to learn a language. (with the verb to take + time phrase + infinitive) It was David who did most of the work. (with the verb to be + noun + relative clause) It and there, along with the verb and other sentence elements, may be missing from the stem. Sample Items In Michigan, ___________________ over 600 feet deep. (A) salt deposits (B) where salt deposits are (C) having salt deposits (D) there are salt deposits The correct answer is (D). Choice (D) correctly supplies an introductory word (there), a verb, and a subject. Choice (A) lacks a verb. Choice (B) contains a subordinator, used to introduce a clause; there is only one verb, however, so there can only be one clause. Choice (C) also lacks a main verb. _________ a tomato plant from seventy-five to eighty-five days to develop into a mature plant with ripe fruit. (A) It takes (B) To take (C) That takes (D) By taking The correct answer is (A). Choice (A) correctly completes the sentence with the introductory word It and a verb. Choices (B) and (D) do not supply main verbs. Choice (C) incorrectly creates a noun clause. EXERCISE 13 Focus: Completing structure problems involving incomplete independent clauses. (Note: Three or four items in this exercise do NOT focus on missing subjects, verbs, complements, or introductory words; these items are marked in the answer key with asterisks.) Directions: Choose the one option—(A), (B), (C), or (D)—that correctly completes the sentences. 1 In the United States, ____________________ is generally the responsibility of municipal governments. (A) for water treatment (B) water treatment (C) where water treatment (D) in which water treatment 2 Crop rotation _______________ of preserving soil fertility. (A) it is one method (B) one method (C) a method is one (D) is one method 3 ______________________ the dollar as its monetary unit in 1878. (A) Canada adopted (B) Adopted by Canada, (C) It was adopted by Canada (D) The Canadian adoption of 4 _______ almost impossible to capture the beauty of the aurora borealis in photographs. (A) Being (B) It is (C) There is (D) Is 5 ______________ two major art museums, the Fogg and the Sadler. (A) Harvard University has (B) At Harvard University (C) Harvard University, with its (D) There at Harvard University 6 American actress and director Margaret Webster ___________________ for her production of Shakespearean plays. (A) who became famous (B) famous as she became (C) becoming famous (D) became famous 7 ____________ gas tanks connected to welding equipment, one full of oxygen and the other full of acetylene. (A) It is two (B) Of the two (C) There are two (D) Two 8 __________________ is more interested in rhythm than in melody is apparent from his compositions. (A) That Philip Glass (B) Philip Glass, who (C) Philip Glass (D) Because Philip Glass 9 ______________________________ by cosmic rays. (A) The earth is constantly bombarded (B) Bombarded constantly, the earth (C) Bombarding the earth constantly (D) The earth’s constant bombardment 10 _____________ primary colors are red, blue, and yellow. (A) There are three (B) The three (C) Three of them (D) That the three 11 _______________ who was elected the first woman mayor of Chicago in 1979. (A) It was Jane Byrne (B) Jane Byrne (C) That Jane Byrne (D) When Jane Byrne 12 Every computer consists of a number of systems __________ together. (A) by working (B) work (C) they work (D) that work 13 On the moon, __________ air because the moon’s gravitational field is too weak to retain an atmosphere. (A) there is no (B) where no (C) no (D) is no 14 The Glass Mountains of northwestern Oklahoma _______________ with flecks of gypsum, which shine in the sunlight. (A) they are covered (B) covered them (C) that are covered (D) are covered 15 In some cases, ___________ to decide if an organism is a plant or an animal. (A) difficult if (B) it is difficult (C) the difficulty (D) is difficult 16 The first American novelist to have a major impact on world literature _____________________________. (A) who was James Fenimore Cooper (B) James Fenimore Cooper was (C) it was James Fenimore Cooper (D) was James Fenimore Cooper

ANSWER KEY