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100 advanced grammar questions along with their answers:
- What is the difference between “its” and “it’s”? Answer: “Its” is a possessive pronoun indicating ownership, while “it’s” is a contraction of “it is” or “it has.”
- Which is correct: “between you and me” or “between you and I”? Answer: “Between you and me” is correct because “between” is a preposition that takes the objective case pronoun “me” instead of the subjective case pronoun “I.”
- What is an independent clause? Answer: An independent clause is a clause that can stand alone as a complete sentence and expresses a complete thought.
eg:
The waves crashed onto the sandy shore.
- What is a subordinate clause? Answer: A subordinate clause is a clause that cannot stand alone as a complete sentence and functions as a dependent clause within a sentence.
eg:
Because she got home late, she missed her dinner.
- What is the difference between “who” and “whom”? Answer: “Who” is used as a subject or subject complement, while “whom” is used as an object or object complement.
- What is the difference between “affect” and “effect”? Answer: “Affect” is a verb meaning to influence or produce a change, while “effect” is a noun meaning a result or consequence.
- What is a dangling modifier? Answer: A dangling modifier is a phrase or clause that does not clearly and logically modify a word or phrase in the sentence.
eg:
Changing his diaper, the baby was glad to be clean.
Walking toward the forest, the sun began to set.
Walking toward the forest, I watched as the sun began to set.
As I started walking towards the forest, the sun began to set.
When the sun was setting, I walked towards the forest.
- When do you use a semicolon? Answer: A semicolon is used to join two closely related independent clauses or to separate items in a list when the items themselves contain commas.
- What is the subjunctive mood? Answer: The subjunctive mood is used to express a hypothetical or contrary-to-fact situation.
eg:
I wish I were an astronaut.
I insist he stop talking.
- What is a gerund? Answer: A gerund is a verb form ending in “-ing” that functions as a noun.
- What is the difference between “lie” and “lay”? Answer: “Lie” means to recline or rest, while “lay” means to place or put something down.
- What is the difference between “who” and “whom”? Answer: “Who” is used as a subject or subject complement, while “whom” is used as an object or object complement.
- What is an antecedent? Answer: An antecedent is a word, phrase, or clause that a pronoun refers to or replaces.
- What is an infinitive? Answer: An infinitive is the base form of a verb preceded by the word “to” (e.g., “to eat,” “to sleep”).
- When do you use a colon? Answer: A colon is used to introduce a list, to provide an explanation or example, or to separate two independent clauses when the second clause explains or amplifies the first.