Sentence Correction Home Exercise 02, DIRECTIONS for questions 6 to 10:

 DIRECTIONS for questions 6 to 10:  each of the following questions consists of a sentence, with some parts of it underlined, which could be erroneous. From among the choices given, you to select an answer the is the best possible replacement for the underlined part of the key sentence. While choosing the right answer, please pay particular attention to the syntax, idiom, usage and economy of words being used. 

  6.       Affording strategic proximity to the Strait of Gibraltar, Morocco was also of interest to the French through the first half of the twentieth century because they assumed that if they did not hold, it their grip on Algeria was always insecure.

A.      If they did not hold it, their grip on Algeria was always insecure

B.      Without it their grip on Algeria would never be secure

C.      Their grip on Algeria was not ever secure if they did not hold it

D.      without that, they could never be secure about  their grip on Algeria

7.       After a few weeks’ experience, apprentice jewelers can usually begin to discriminate, though not with absolute certainty, genuine diamonds from imitation diamonds.

A.      Genuine diamonds from imitation diamonds

B.      Genuine diamonds apart from imitations

C.      Between genuine diamonds and imitation diamonds

D.      Among genuine diamonds and imitation diamonds.

8.       After crude oil, natural gas is the United States Second biggest fuel source and supplied almost exclusively from reserves in North America.

A.      After crude oil, natural gas is the United States second biggest fuel source and supplied almost exclusively from reserves in North America.

B.      Natural gas, after crude oil the United States second biggest fuel source, supplied almost exclusively from reserves in North America.

C.      Being supplied almost exclusively from reserves in North America, natural gas, the United States second biggest fuel source after crude oil.

D.      Natural gas, the United States’ second biggest fuel source after crude oil, is supplied almost exclusively from reserves in North America.

9.        After gradual declension down to about 39 hours in 1970, the workweek in the United States has steadily increased to the point that the average worker now puts in an estimated 164 extra hours paid labor a year.

A.      After gradual declension down

B.      Following a gradual declension down

C.      After gradual declining down

D.      After gradually declining

10.   After July, anyone disposing of or servicing refrigerators must capture the cholorofluocations in the refrigerant chemicals.

A.      Anyone disposing of or servicing

B.      Those who dispose or service

C.      Anyone disposing of or who services

D.      The disposal or repair of

Answer:  

6.       B     Option A is wrong as it should convey a future possibility (on the other hand, it uses was, a word with certain meaning). D contains a misplaced pronoun that, which needs to be replaced by it. Option C distorts the idea significantly by indicating a past event while we need to indicate a future possibility. Hence B.

7.       C   Discriminate is always followed by the preposition between. Given this fact, we can safely rule out all options but D, which happens to be the best choice.

8.        D   there is quite an elementary mistake in terms of indicate

9.       D     Declension does not need down after it as the world itself implies a downward trend. Consequently, options A, B and C are safely ruled out.

10.       A     dispose must be followed by of to make it meaningful in the context given to us. It rules out options B and D. Option represents a non-parallel structure by using disposing of and services as supposedly equivalent forms. Hence A.