Grammar-based sentence completions - TOEIC

In this sentence, we're looking for an adjective to describe "Paul's appearance." Since we are specifically told that "he was wearing tattered sheets for pants," it is only reasonable to describe his appearance as "disheveled," which means messy or not in proper order.

While "debated" can also be used as a verb, in this case it is the correct adjective to describe the "topic" of Paul Williamsonbergfriend's disappearance. It is important to recognize the way in which a word with more than one possible application is being used in a given sentence.

The correct answer is "or." This sentence presents a choice between two things--a computer or a television. The biggest clue that "or" is the correct conjunction is the word "either." The other conjunctions are not appropriate in this sentence.

The correct answer is "and." This is the best choice because the conjunction "and" joins ideas together. The phrase, "men who had played for years as well as men who were still in college" indicates that both types of people were involved, not just one. Some key words are "as well as," a phrase meaning the same thing as "and." For those reasons, the best choice is "and."

The best choice is "but." We know that this sentence requires the word "but" because there is a contrast--at first the speaker thought one thing, but then changed her mind. The other options link sentences in different ways that aren't appropriate in this sentence.

The correct answer is "or." We know that the speaker is making a choice between two things, and cannot do both activities since they both take place at 7:00pm, which is why the answer is not "and." The conjunctions "but" and "so" do not make sense in this sentence. The best choice is "or."

The correct answer is "but." In this sentence, the meaning of "but" can be understood the same way as the word "however." This sentence has a contrast--the subject wants to do something but cannot. If the sentence conveyed an alternative we might consider "or" but this sentence does not. The only conjunction that shows this contrast in meaning is "but," so it is the best choice.

The correct answer is "so." The conjunction "so" shows a cause and effect relationship, which is the case in this sentence: the subject was in the sun too long, which caused a sunburn. The word "so" is similar in meaning to the word "therefore." The sentence would not make sense if the other conjunctions ("or", "but", and "for") were placed in the blank. That is why the best choice is "so."

Here, a "call" is a thing made with a phone, not the direct verb of the clause. The context that is important here is the phone. "Call" is the only noun listed that is related to a telephone.

The correct answer is "exam." We know from the sentence that the subject was trying to pass something but failed. The nouns "experiment" and "estimation" are not things that can be passed. An "attempt" is a try, and although the subject did try to pass the exam, he was not successful. The best answer is "exam."

The best choice is "disruption;" a word meaning a disturbance or commotion, which is what would occur if someone dropped plates in a quiet restaurant. "Tranquility," meaning an environment of calm, is the opposite of what would happen. "Separation" is a state of being moved apart, as is "break," so both of these choices do not make sense in this sentence. The best choice is "disruption."

The possessive pronoun their indicates that a noun is needed, so the only two options are progress and progression. Progression is a noun describing the act of progressing, whereas progress (when used as a noun and not a verb) can be used to measure space or distance.

The correct answer is "Doctors." This sentence requires a plural noun to agree with the plural pronoun "their" later in the sentence. The other answer choices are all singular, which is why the only answer choice that fits grammatically is "doctors."

The correct answer is "man." We know that we need a singular noun, and also a male because the sentence states "his shirt." The subject of the sentence must agree with the pronoun. Since the other options are plural and/or feminine, they are incorrect.

The correct answer is "shoes." This answer is correct because it is plural. We know that we need a plural subject because it has to agree with the plural verb, "were." "Shirt," "shoe," and "backpack" are all singular, so they do not agree with the plural verb "were." That is why the best choice is "shoes."

The correct answer is "cats." This is a plural noun, and we know we need a plural noun because of the plural verb "were." The other options are singular, so they would be incorrect if inserted into this sentence. Therefore, the best choice is "cats."

The correct answer is "sailors." We know this is the correct answer because it is a plural noun. The subject of the sentence has to be plural because the verb "have to wear" is in plural form. The other options are singular, so they would be grammatically incorrect in this sentence. The best choice is "sailors."

This question is a simple interrogation of correct pronoun usage. The only possible correct answer is thus "her" since "Kathy" is the object of the second main clause.

This question simply asks you to select the correct interrogative pronoun. Since the question is querying Paul's (suspicious) tardiness with regard to his exit interview, the only possible correct answer is "when."

Here, we are looking for an appropriate pronoun to use in the introductory phrase, one that would avoid a dangling modifier. A dangling modifier occurs when the pronoun used in an introductory clause does not match the subject of the main clause. Since "William Gardis" is the subject of the main clause, the masculine pronoun "his" is the only appropriate choice.