Grammar and Sentence Types

Which of these is a simple sentence?

• A'Although it rained, we went out.'
• B'I ran and my sister followed.'
• C'The old dog slept by the fire.'✓
• D'When the bell rang, everyone left.'

Answer: A simple sentence has one main clause; 'The old dog slept by the fire' has one subject and one verb. The others have two clauses: a compound one joined by 'and' and two complex ones.

Why is 'The door creaked open, but nobody was there.' a compound sentence?

• AIt contains a subordinate clause introduced by 'but'
• BIt has only one main verb and a single subject
• CIt begins with a fronted adverbial of time
• DIt joins two main clauses with a coordinating conjunction✓

Answer: Both 'The door creaked open' and 'nobody was there' could stand alone, and 'but' is a coordinating conjunction joining them. 'But' does not introduce a subordinate clause.

Which of these sentences is complex?

• A'The bus was cancelled because the road was flooded.'✓
• B'The road flooded in the night.'
• C'The road flooded and the bus was cancelled.'
• D'Flooded roads! Cancelled buses!'

Answer: 'Because the road was flooded' is a subordinate clause attached to the main clause, which makes the sentence complex. Joining two main clauses with 'and' makes a compound sentence.

From a short story: Silence. Then a click, small and metallic, from somewhere behind the wardrobe. Aisha held her breath. She told herself it was the pipes, or the old house settling, or her own imagination, which had always been far too lively for a girl who lived alone. The click came again.

In the sentence beginning 'She told herself…', what does the list of possible causes joined by 'or' suggest?

• AAisha is trying to talk herself out of being frightened✓
• BAisha knows for certain what has made the clicking noise
• CAisha is listing jobs she must do around the old house
• DAisha is explaining the noise calmly to someone else

Answer: 'She told herself' shows self-reassurance, and offering three alternatives joined by 'or' shows she does not actually know the cause. She is alone, so she is not explaining to anyone else.

In 'The man who lived next door had vanished', what is 'who lived next door'?

• AA main clause
• BA minor sentence
• CA coordinating conjunction
• DA relative (subordinate) clause✓

Answer: 'Who lived next door' adds information about 'the man' and cannot stand alone, so it is a relative clause, a type of subordinate clause. The main clause is 'The man… had vanished'.

From a short story: Silence. Then a click, small and metallic, from somewhere behind the wardrobe. Aisha held her breath. She told herself it was the pipes, or the old house settling, or her own imagination, which had always been far too lively for a girl who lived alone. The click came again.

What is the effect of opening with 'Silence.' and ending with 'The click came again.'?

• AThe short sentences show that Aisha is calm and has drifted off to sleep
• BThe short sentences slow the pace to describe the house in great detail
• CThe short sentences show that the cause of the sound has been explained
• DThe short sentences build tension around the sound and leave the threat unresolved✓

Answer: The one-word minor sentence and the short final sentence frame the extract with stillness and threat; the click returning immediately undoes Aisha's reassurances. Her held breath shows she is not calm, and nothing is explained.

From a newspaper article written in 1863 by an invented reporter, describing an underground railway. Descending the steps into the gaslit tunnel, through a fog of steam and sulphur that stings the eyes and blackens the collar, past crowds of clerks and labourers and ladies clutching their skirts, the traveller at length arrives upon a platform where, with a shriek that makes the very walls tremble, the engine bursts out of the darkness.

Which best describes the sentence form of this extract?

• ASeveral short simple sentences, each separated by a full stop
• BOne long complex sentence with many subordinate parts✓
• CA list of minor sentences, none of which contains a main verb
• DTwo simple sentences joined together by a coordinating conjunction

Answer: The whole extract is a single sentence: the main clause 'the traveller at length arrives upon a platform' is surrounded by participle phrases ('Descending…'), prepositional phrases ('through…', 'past…') and a relative clause ('where…'). There is only one full stop.

From a newspaper article written in 1863 by an invented reporter, describing an underground railway. Descending the steps into the gaslit tunnel, through a fog of steam and sulphur that stings the eyes and blackens the collar, past crowds of clerks and labourers and ladies clutching their skirts, the traveller at length arrives upon a platform where, with a shriek that makes the very walls tremble, the engine bursts out of the darkness.

What is the effect of delaying the main clause ('the traveller at length arrives') until late in the sentence?

• AIt makes the journey into the tunnel seem quick and effortless
• BIt hides who is making the journey until the final word of the sentence
• CIt shows the writer is unsure which details are the most important
• DIt makes the reader endure the long descent with the traveller✓

Answer: The reader must wade through the steam, sulphur and crowds before reaching the main verb, just as the traveller must before reaching the platform; 'at length' stresses the wait. The traveller is named before the end, and the build-up is deliberate.

From a speech by a student to school governors: How many more summers will we spend sweltering in classrooms that were built for a different century? How many more exams will be sat in rooms where the thermometer reads thirty degrees? We have asked politely. We have written letters. Now we are asking you, the governors, to act. Install the ventilation. Fit the blinds. Give us rooms we can actually learn in.

Which sentence type is used in 'Install the ventilation. Fit the blinds.'?

• AImperative sentences that give commands✓
• BInterrogative sentences that ask questions
• CExclamative sentences that show surprise
• DDeclarative sentences that state facts

Answer: Each sentence begins with a verb in command form ('Install', 'Fit') with no stated subject, which makes it imperative. They end with full stops, not question marks.

From a speech by a student to school governors: How many more summers will we spend sweltering in classrooms that were built for a different century? How many more exams will be sat in rooms where the thermometer reads thirty degrees? We have asked politely. We have written letters. Now we are asking you, the governors, to act. Install the ventilation. Fit the blinds. Give us rooms we can actually learn in.

What is the effect of the speech moving from questions to statements to commands?

• AIt moves from anger to calm acceptance that nothing will change
• BIt shows the speaker becoming less sure about the argument
• CIt shifts from addressing the governors to addressing the other pupils
• DIt builds from the problem to a demand for action, raising urgency✓

Answer: The rhetorical questions present the problem, the declaratives ('We have asked politely') show patience has been tried, and the imperatives demand action. The speaker becomes more forceful, not less sure, and speaks to 'you, the governors' throughout.

From a twenty-first-century novel: We ran down to the river and we took off our shoes and we waded in up to our knees, and the water was so cold it made our teeth ache, and Ben slipped on a green stone and sat down with a splash, and we laughed until we couldn't breathe.

Which feature of sentence structure is most prominent in this extract?

• ARepeated use of rhetorical questions to involve the reader
• BRepeated use of the passive voice to hide who is acting
• CRepeated use of semicolons to separate the long clauses
• DRepeated use of 'and' to link clause after clause✓

Answer: The extract is one sentence with clause after clause joined by 'and' (polysyndeton). It contains no questions or semicolons, and the verbs are active ('we ran', 'Ben slipped').

From a twenty-first-century novel: We ran down to the river and we took off our shoes and we waded in up to our knees, and the water was so cold it made our teeth ache, and Ben slipped on a green stone and sat down with a splash, and we laughed until we couldn't breathe.

What is the effect of joining the clauses in this way?

• AIt creates a breathless, excited rush that captures childish joy✓
• BIt creates a slow, careful pace that shows the children's caution
• CIt creates a formal, serious tone suitable for a written report
• DIt creates confusion about the order in which events happened

Answer: Running clause into clause without a full stop makes the sentence tumble forward like the children, ending with laughter 'until we couldn't breathe'. Events are told in clear order, so there is no confusion.

From a twenty-first-century news article: In a statement issued last night, the company said: 'Mistakes were made in the handling of customer data, and a number of accounts were accessed without authorisation. Lessons have been learned.' The statement did not say who made the mistakes, who accessed the accounts, or what the lessons were. Customers affected have still not been contacted.

Which grammatical feature runs through the company's statement?

• AThe imperative mood
• BThe passive voice✓
• CDirect address to 'you'
• DFirst-person 'I' and 'me'

Answer: 'Mistakes were made', 'accounts were accessed' and 'Lessons have been learned' all use the passive voice: the action is described but the person doing it is left out.

'Darkness. Cold. Then footsteps.' What are these?

• AMinor sentences used for dramatic effect✓
• BCompound sentences joined by conjunctions
• CComplex sentences with subordinate clauses
• DRhetorical questions aimed at the reader

Answer: Each lacks a main verb, so they are minor sentences (fragments), used deliberately to build tension. 'Then' links ideas in time but does not join clauses.

From a twenty-first-century news article: In a statement issued last night, the company said: 'Mistakes were made in the handling of customer data, and a number of accounts were accessed without authorisation. Lessons have been learned.' The statement did not say who made the mistakes, who accessed the accounts, or what the lessons were. Customers affected have still not been contacted.

How does the journalist suggest the company is using this feature?

• ATo avoid naming who was responsible, so that it dodges blame✓
• BTo make its apology sound personal and sincere to every customer
• CTo name the staff responsible so that customers can complain
• DTo make the statement sound informal and friendly to readers

Answer: The journalist points out that the statement 'did not say who made the mistakes, who accessed the accounts', showing that the passive voice hides responsibility. A statement with no named actor is the opposite of personal.

From a short story: Although the bridge had swayed in every storm for fifty years, nobody had ever crossed it with a full cart. Petra looked at the frayed ropes, then at the river boiling below, then at the cart, which held everything her family owned. If she turned back now, they would lose a day. If she went on, they might lose everything.

What type of sentence is 'If she turned back now, they would lose a day.'?

• AA compound sentence: two main clauses joined by 'and'
• BA simple sentence: one main clause and no other clause
• CA complex sentence: a subordinate clause, then a main clause✓
• DA minor sentence: a fragment that has no main verb

Answer: 'If she turned back now' cannot stand alone, so it is a subordinate (conditional) clause; 'they would lose a day' is the main clause. One main clause plus a subordinate clause makes a complex sentence.

From a short story: Although the bridge had swayed in every storm for fifty years, nobody had ever crossed it with a full cart. Petra looked at the frayed ropes, then at the river boiling below, then at the cart, which held everything her family owned. If she turned back now, they would lose a day. If she went on, they might lose everything.

What is the effect of the two parallel 'If…' sentences at the end?

• AThey weigh up two risky choices, showing her dilemma✓
• BThey show Petra has already decided to turn back
• CThey list the possessions kept in the cart
• DThey describe the history of the bridge in more detail

Answer: The matching structure sets the two options side by side, and the escalation from 'lose a day' to 'might lose everything' shows the stakes. Her choice is left open.

From a twenty-first-century blog about a theme park: The queue took ninety minutes. The ride took ninety seconds. Was it worth it? I genuinely have no idea, because I spent most of those ninety seconds with my eyes shut, screaming a word my grandmother would not approve of, while my eleven-year-old nephew sat beside me eating a lolly and asking if we could go again.

What is the effect of the two short, parallel sentences at the start?

• AThey show the writer thought the long wait in the queue went quickly
• BThey present the ride as long, slow and relaxing for the writer
• CThe contrast between ninety minutes and ninety seconds creates comic anticlimax✓
• DThey give technical information about the safety of the ride

Answer: The matching sentence forms invite comparison, and the drop from 'ninety minutes' to 'ninety seconds' is funny because the wait is so much longer than the ride. Nothing suggests the queue felt quick.

'The window was smashed during the night.' Why might a writer choose the passive voice here?

• ATo show clearly who smashed the window
• BTo turn the sentence into a command
• CTo set the sentence in the future tense
• DTo focus on the event when the culprit is unknown✓

Answer: The passive voice puts the thing affected (the window) first and can leave out who did it, which suits a situation where nobody knows. Naming the culprit would use the active voice.

From a twenty-first-century blog about a theme park: The queue took ninety minutes. The ride took ninety seconds. Was it worth it? I genuinely have no idea, because I spent most of those ninety seconds with my eyes shut, screaming a word my grandmother would not approve of, while my eleven-year-old nephew sat beside me eating a lolly and asking if we could go again.

How does the long final sentence contrast with the opening sentences?

• AIt piles up clauses to recreate the chaos of the ride and the writer's panic✓
• BIt slows down to give a calm, factual review of the ride's features
• CIt repeats the same information as the opening sentences in more detail
• DIt shows that the writer enjoyed the ride as much as the nephew did

Answer: After short, controlled sentences, the long sentence strings together 'because', 'while' and a series of details (eyes shut, screaming) that mimic loss of control, ending on the calm nephew for comic contrast. The writer clearly did not enjoy it as the nephew did.

From a twenty-first-century memoir: I found the photograph in a shoebox last week, and suddenly I am seven again. It is my birthday. Dad is lighting the candles with a match that keeps going out, and Mum is laughing at him, and the cake leans badly to one side. Nobody knows yet that it is the last birthday we will have in that house.

What change of tense does the writer make in the extract?

• AFrom the present tense to the past tense
• BFrom the future tense to the past tense
• CFrom the past tense to the present tense✓
• DFrom the present tense to the future tense

Answer: 'I found the photograph' is past tense; from 'suddenly I am seven again' the memory is told in the present tense ('It is', 'Dad is lighting').

Which sentence function is used in 'What a mess you've made!'?

• AInterrogative
• BImperative
• CExclamative✓
• DDeclarative

Answer: An exclamative sentence begins with 'What' or 'How' and expresses strong feeling, ending with an exclamation mark. Although it starts with 'What', it is not asking a question.

From a twenty-first-century memoir: I found the photograph in a shoebox last week, and suddenly I am seven again. It is my birthday. Dad is lighting the candles with a match that keeps going out, and Mum is laughing at him, and the cake leans badly to one side. Nobody knows yet that it is the last birthday we will have in that house.

What is the effect of this change of tense?

• AIt shows that these events are happening to someone else entirely
• BIt makes the memory feel distant, faint and hard to recall
• CIt shows that the writer is planning a party for the future
• DIt makes the memory feel vivid and immediate, as if it is being relived✓

Answer: Switching to the present tense at 'suddenly I am seven again' pulls the reader into the moment as the writer relives it, with precise details such as the match 'that keeps going out'. The detail makes it vivid, not faint.

From a gas safety leaflet: If you smell gas, do not switch any lights on or off. Open the doors and windows. Turn off the supply at the meter if you can do so safely. Leave the building and call the emergency number from outside. Do not return until an engineer tells you that it is safe.

Which sentence type is used most in this extract?

• AInterrogative
• BExclamative
• CImperative✓
• DMinor

Answer: Almost every sentence gives a command beginning with a verb ('Open', 'Turn off', 'Leave', 'Do not return'), so the leaflet is dominated by imperatives. There are no questions or exclamations.

From a gas safety leaflet: If you smell gas, do not switch any lights on or off. Open the doors and windows. Turn off the supply at the meter if you can do so safely. Leave the building and call the emergency number from outside. Do not return until an engineer tells you that it is safe.

Why is the conditional clause 'If you smell gas' placed at the very start?

• AIt suggests that gas leaks are very common in most people's homes
• BIt creates suspense by hiding what the leaflet is really about
• CIt tells readers at once which situation the instructions cover✓
• DIt shows that the writer is unsure whether the advice is correct

Answer: Putting the condition first lets a reader instantly recognise whether the advice applies to them, which matters in an emergency. It makes the topic clear rather than hiding it.