Question 1

Select the letter of the verb that agrees with the subject.
-Jennifer (sing, sings) lullabies to her before bedtime.

Accepted Answer

A)  sing 
B)  sings 
A)  sing 
B)  sings B

Question 2

Select the correct form of has or have and the past participle of the verb in parentheses.
-Alain and Carol __________________________ (purchase) a new boat.

Accepted Answer

A)  has purchase 
B)  have purchase 
C)  have purchased 
A)  has purchase 
B)  have purchase 
C)  have purchased C

Question 3

For each blank in the following sentences, select the present tense helping verb can or the past tense could. To determine whether a sentence is in the present or past tense, look at other verbs in the sentence or look for a time word.
-My girlfriend ______________ practice law now that she has passed the bar exam.

Accepted Answer

A)  can 
B)  could 
A)  can 
B)  could A

Question 4

Select the present tense helping verb can or the past tense helping verb could for the blank in each sentence.
-Heather knows that she ______________________ make good grades while attending the University of Texas.

Accepted Answer

A)  can 
B)  could 
A)  can 
B)  could

Question 5

For each blank in the following sentences, select the present tense helping verb can or the past tense could. To determine whether a sentence is in the present or past tense, look at other verbs in the sentence or look for a time word.
-Before the car was fixed, Damian ___________ see the daylight through the floorboard.

Accepted Answer

A)  can 
B)  could 
A)  can 
B)  could

Question 6

Select the infinitive form of each of the following verbs.
-flying

Accepted Answer

A)  to fly 
B)  to flies 
A)  to fly 
B)  to flies

Question 7

The first sentence in each set contains a two-part verb (to have and a past participle).  The second sentence contains a fixed-form helping verb and a blank.  Select the correct form of the main verb for the second sentence.
-The plane has landed in Pittsburgh. The plane will _________________ in Pittsburgh.

Accepted Answer

A)  land 
B)  lands 
C)  landed 
A)  land 
B)  lands 
C)  landed

Question 8

The first sentence in each set contains a two-part verb (to have and a past participle). The second sentence contains a fixed-form helping verb and a blank. Select the correct form of the main verb for the second sentence.
-Amos has bought a book. Amos could ________________ a book.

Accepted Answer

A)  buy 
B)  buys 
C)  bought 
A)  buy 
B)  buys 
C)  bought

Question 9

Select the sentence that contains a double negative.

Accepted Answer

A)  Jon's glasses are so dirty that he can't see nothing. 
B)  Jon's glasses are so dirty that can see nothing. 
C)  Jon's glasses are so dirty that can't see anything. 
A)  Jon's glasses are so dirty that he can't see nothing. 
B)  Jon's glasses are so dirty that can see nothing. 
C)  Jon's glasses are so dirty that can't see anything.

Question 10

For each blank in the following sentences, select the present tense helping verb can or the past tense could. To determine whether a sentence is in the present or past tense, look at other verbs in the sentence or look for a time word.
-When I ate the pancakes, I __________ taste the buckwheat flour.

Accepted Answer

A)  can 
B)  could 
A)  can 
B)  could

Question 11

Select the infinitive form of each of the following verbs.
-reads

Accepted Answer

A)  to read 
B)  to reads 
A)  to read 
B)  to reads

Question 12

Select the correct form of has or have and the past participle of the verb in parentheses.
-Farmers _________________________ (plant) vegetable crops for centuries.

Accepted Answer

A)  has planted 
B)  have plant 
C)  have planted 
A)  has planted 
B)  have plant 
C)  have planted

Question 13

The following sentences form a paragraph. For each blank, select the correct verb form.
-They _______ actually two good old, tried-and-true, low-tech items: a calendar and a To Do list.

Accepted Answer

A)  is 
B)  are 
A)  is 
B)  are

Question 14

Select the infinitive form of each of the following verbs.
-setting

Accepted Answer

A)  to set 
B)  to sets 
A)  to set 
B)  to sets

Question 15

Select the sentence written in the passive voice.

Accepted Answer

A)  A vaccine for a rare disease was developed by Doctor Chan. 
B)  Doctor Chan developed a vaccine for a rare disease. 
A)  A vaccine for a rare disease was developed by Doctor Chan. 
B)  Doctor Chan developed a vaccine for a rare disease.

Question 16

Select the correct past tense form of each verb. Some verbs are regular; others are irregular.
-The bee ________________________ (rise) from the flowerpot and flew out the door.

Accepted Answer

A)  rose 
B)  rised 
C)  rise 
A)  rose 
B)  rised 
C)  rise

Question 17

The following sentences form a paragraph. For each blank, select the correct verb form.
-They __________ fail.

Accepted Answer

A)  rarely 
B)  rarely never 
A)  rarely 
B)  rarely never

Question 18

The following sentences form a paragraph. For each blank, select the correct verb form.
-Knowing she needed the assistance of Dr. Jacobs, the town veterinarian, she carefully ________ the small bird in a cage and leaves for the vet's office.

Accepted Answer

A)  place 
B)  placed 
A)  place 
B)  placed

Question 19

Select the correct form of has or have and the past participle of the verb in parentheses.
-My grandfather _____________________________ (donate) $100,000 to the American Cancer Society over the years.

Accepted Answer

A)  has donated 
B)  has donate 
C)  have donated 
A)  has donated 
B)  has donate 
C)  have donated

Question 20

Select the present tense helping verb will or the past tense helping verb would for the blank in each sentence.
-Darrel thought he __________________________ have to get a second job when the bank increased his mortgage rate.

Accepted Answer

A)  will 
B)  would 
A)  will 
B)  would

Exam 15: Fixed-Form Helping Verbs and Verb Problems

Select the letter of the verb that agrees with the subject. -Jennifer (sing, sings) lullabies to her before bedtime.

Select the correct form of has or have and the past participle of the verb in parentheses. -Alain and Carol __________________________ (purchase) a new boat.

Select the present tense helping verb can or the past tense helping verb could for the blank in each sentence. -Heather knows that she ______________________ make good grades while attending the University of Texas.

Select the infinitive form of each of the following verbs. -flying

The first sentence in each set contains a two-part verb (to have and a past participle). The second sentence contains a fixed-form helping verb and a blank. Select the correct form of the main verb for the second sentence. -Amos has bought a book. Amos could ________________ a book.

Select the sentence that contains a double negative.

Select the infinitive form of each of the following verbs. -reads

Select the correct form of has or have and the past participle of the verb in parentheses. -Farmers _________________________ (plant) vegetable crops for centuries.

The following sentences form a paragraph. For each blank, select the correct verb form. -They _______ actually two good old, tried-and-true, low-tech items: a calendar and a To Do list.

Select the infinitive form of each of the following verbs. -setting

Select the sentence written in the passive voice.

Select the correct past tense form of each verb. Some verbs are regular; others are irregular. -The bee ________________________ (rise) from the flowerpot and flew out the door.

The following sentences form a paragraph. For each blank, select the correct verb form. -They __________ fail.

The following sentences form a paragraph. For each blank, select the correct verb form. -Knowing she needed the assistance of Dr. Jacobs, the town veterinarian, she carefully ________ the small bird in a cage and leaves for the vet's office.

Select the correct form of has or have and the past participle of the verb in parentheses. -My grandfather _____________________________ (donate) $100,000 to the American Cancer Society over the years.

Select the present tense helping verb will or the past tense helping verb would for the blank in each sentence. -Darrel thought he __________________________ have to get a second job when the bank increased his mortgage rate.

Exploring the Writing Process

Prewriting to Generate Ideas

Developing Effective Paragraphs

Improving Your Paragraphs

Thinking Through Paragraph Patterns

Thinking Through Paragraph Patterns

Moving From Paragraph to Essay

Proofreading to Correct Your Personal Error Patterns

Subjects and Verbs

Avoiding Sentence Fragments

Present Tense Agreement

Past Tense

The Past Participle in Action

Progressive Tenses to Be -Ing Verb Form

Coordination

Subordination

Avoiding Run-Ons and Comma Splices

Semicolons and Conjunctive Adverbs

Relative Pronouns

Ing Modifiers

Nouns

Pronouns

Adjectives and Adverbs

Prepositions

Consistent Tense

Consistent Person

Parallelism

Capitalization

Commas

Apostrophes

Direct and Indirect Quotations

Putting Your Proofreading Skills to Work

Spelling

Look-Alikes-Sound-Alikes

Filters