How far have you come?
Dahlia Bartley, Contributor

How are you all today? First, let me check the answers to the exercise you were given last week. You were asked to examine the following sentences and then add the apostrophe where it was needed.

1. The girls room will have to be painted before she returns home.

2. I will tell Mr. James children about his success.

3. Someones history book was left on the table.

4. That book is not yours.

5. The ladies meeting will begin at three.

6. He got the biscuit from his brother-in-laws house.

7. The cat is now sitting on its favourite couch.

8. The childrens room is nicely decorated.

9. Ours is the task to unearth good talent.

10. The house belongs to John and Marva Brown.

You would be correct to say that the apostrophe is not needed in the fourth, seventh, ninth and tenth sentences. Remember yours, its and ours are possessive pronouns and do not need the apostrophe. In the order of the sentences, you would have written girl's, Mr. James', Someone's, ladies', brother-in-law's, children's. I know you did not encounter any difficulty here. As I stated last week, there is more to be done with pronouns and we will return to the topic before long.

Now, as you get closer to the examination period, I am sure you would love to know that you are on the right track. One way to find out just how well you are doing is through testing. Here then is a brief multiple choice test for you. Be sure to do well.

Usage

Some of the following sentences are unacceptable because of faulty grammar, idiom, or vocabulary. When you find an error, write the corresponding letter. If there is no error, write D.

1. The mother left the baby (A)laying (B)on the carpet, when she heard the doorbell (C)ring. (D)No error.

2. Neither the (A)President's address nor the stringency of the laws (B)were able to quell the (C)rioters after the election. (D)No error.

3. (A)Of the two girls who (B)were reported to the teacher, Jane's behaviour was the (C)worst. (D)No error.

4. I was (A)scared by the (B)amount of (C)people in the yard. (D)No error.

5. He (A)was accused (B)for being in (C)too much of a hurry. (D)No error.

6. Because the rain (A)was falling so (B)heavy, we took (C)refuge in an old shed. (D)No error.

7. Prices are (A)raising fast (B)nowadays and not many people can afford (C)luxury items. (D)No error.

Sentence completion

From the list of words below this passage, choose the words that fit most appropriately into the numbered blank space in the passage.

An estate where fields of sugar cane had once ___ 8______ like an open secret across the land, had been ______9_______ into a village that _____10______ some three thousand people. An English landowner, Mr. Creighton, had died, and the estate fell to his son through whom it _____11_____ to another son who in his turn died, surrendering it to yet another. __12______had lived and died in this ______13______ corner of a small British colony, the oldest and least adulterated of British colonies: Barbados or Little England as it was called in the local school ____ _14_____. To the east, where the land rose gently to a hill, there was a large brick building _____15______ by a wood and a high stone wall that ____16_____ bits of bottle along the top. The landlords lived there ___17_____ the trees within the wall.

	A	B	C	D
8.	lived	crept	developed	hidden
9.	converted	taken	spread	altered
10.	inhabited	lived	populated	absorbed
11.	arrived	belonged	passed	revealed
12.	Animals	Generations	Crops	Stories
13.	sharp	school	new	remote
14.	texts	yards	buses	language
15.	near	called	surrounded	submerged
16.	sent	grew	bore	thick
17.	under	amidst	behind	without

Equivalent sentences

Each sentence in this section is followed by four sentences. Choose the one which is nearest in meaning to the original sentence.

18. The people in the market were as varied and curious as the wares they offered for sale.

A. The wares for sale in the market were as different and as strange as the people selling them.

B. The people in the market selling the various and unusual wares were of many races.

C. A large variety of curios, were offered for sale in the market to many different people.

D. The people in the market were curious about the variety of goods offered for sale.

19. When Mr. Peets was transferred on promotion from South Point to Maraval, Mrs. Adams succeeded him.

A. Mrs. Adams worked at Maraval after Mr. Peets left on promotion.

B. Mr. Peet was succeeded by Mrs. Adams when he was promoted to a post at Maraval.

C. Both Mr. Peets and Mrs. Adams were transferred on promotion: Mr. Peets to Maraval and Mrs. Adams to South Point.

D. In order to get a promotion, Mr. Peets had to be transferred to Maraval to allow Mrs. Adams to work at South Point.

20. Recent floods have made the route impassable.

A. People are unable to travel because of the floods.

B. Because of heavy showers, commuters were forced to detour.

C. The road cannot be used as a result of the floods.

D. Travelling has been brought to a standstill because of floods.

21. So engrossed was he in his task that he did not hear his sister enter the room.

A. His task was so difficult that he did not observe his sister's entry.

B. He did not hear his sister enter the room because of the job he was doing.

C. His sister's entry did not attract his attention because he was engrossed in what he was doing.

D. Such was his preoccupation with what he was doing that he was aware of his sister's entry.

22. The competitors in the long jump event were daunted by the performance of Bill Jones.

A. Bill Jones was the best participant in the long jump event.

B. Since Bill Jones jumped so well, the other competitors in the event were discouraged.

C. The long jump event daunted all the competitors expect Bill Jones.

D. No one expected to do better than Bill Jones in the long jump event.

23. His books are interesting and provocative.

A. His books tend to make the reader angry.

B. His books are most exciting.

C. His books are concerned with controversial topics.

D. His books are appealing and stimulate discussion.

24. Mary still wanted to marry John even though he had lost all his money.

A. Mary agreed to marry John although he had lost all his money.

B. The loss of all John's money did not affect Mary's wish to marry him.

C. John's money did not matter to Mary who still wanted to marry him.

D. Mary intended to marry John even if he lost all his money.

I will give you the answers next week. See you then.

Omari performs during Wolmer's Girls' ISCF concert. - Anthony Minott/Freelance Photographer

Dahlia Bartley teaches at Glenmuir High School.