In spite of her new haircut and glasses is the only correct response because it completes the thought while recognizing proper grammatical structure. The other options may appear correct, at a glance, but each is written improperly.
The phrase he was an exception to the rule is the only correct response, because it shows a contrast between Daniel’s sleeping habits and typical sleeping behavior, while recognizing proper grammatical structuring. The other options hint at the same thought, but are poorly constructed or gibberish.
The phrase we found five kittens hidden under our porch is the simplest way to communicate the thought while recognizing correct grammatical structures and without altering the information. All the other options confuse the idea and/or confuse the composition in some way.
The phrase because we could find no one to watch our son communicates the same idea as the original sentence with a slight change in word choice. The other options do not retain the same thought, altering the information slightly.
The phrase so we filled it with perennial plants is an independent clause that completes the sentence logically and with recognition of proper grammatical structures. The other responses hint at the correct answer, but none of them complete the sentence properly.
The correct response completes the thought while retaining the tense of the rest of the sentence. The incorrect options change the tense and introduce other problems.
This answer respects the rules of English grammar. The other responses hint at the same thought, but garble the information in various ways.
The idiom taken aback is something that new English speakers would learn after learning the basics. It should be known at this level, or at least be discernible from the other responses, which are gibberish or simply incorrect.
The idiom one in a million is common in English. The other responses are nonsensical and incorrect versions of the idiom. Some also contain grammatical errors.
The phrase public speaking, learning, and educating is the only response that correctly completes the thought with respect to meaning and grammatical rules. When listing things in a series, the terms need to be in the same form. The words speaking, learning, and educating are all in the ing form
The phrase as she raised her own children is the only correct response because it respects the verb tense established in the first half of the thought. The other choices do not fit with regard to tense or grammar.
We are looking here for the noun oversight and not a form of the verb oversee. An oversight is the thing that caused Ruben not to graduate and not an action on his part. Using the term oversight record makes the word oversight into an adjective describing a record, which is incorrect in this case.
The phrase because of her height and agility is the only totally correct response. The other options have conjunctions that are incorrect, and only because correctly completes the sentence.
Each incorrect response either changes the meaning of the sentence, making it nonsense, or includes a verb that is clearly incorrect, given the context of the sentence.
The three incorrect responses are common ways that sentences like this one begin. But none of them make a complete thought as well as in spite of his idiosyncrasies. This response is also clearly correct because of the information given at the end of the sentence.
The phrase never one to sweat the small stuff is an idiomatic way to express the information mirrored in the second half of the sentence. Even if an ESL student is unfamiliar with this figure of speech, they should be able to deduce the correct response, or at least narrow it down, because the other responses don’t work for various reasons, grammatical and logical.
The phrase anthropology, economics, and law is the only response that lists three fields of study and lists them in the same form, which is grammatically correct when listing items in a series. The other responses deviate in some way.
The phrase in what was to be makes the verb tense consistent through throughout the sentence. The other responses either alter the tense or the meaning of the sentence and none of them are correct.
All incorrect responses have either the wrong verb form or present other problems of grammar and logic. The phrase Doris feels that she is completes the sentence with internal consistency.
Each incorrect response makes the sentence flawed. The phrase I weaved through the backstreets is very nearly correct, but because the sentence lacks a semi-colon between the two independent clauses, it is also incorrect. The correct answer makes a complete thought.
The phrase under fire from is identified as the correct answer through idiomatic grammatical knowledge. The other responses either make the sentence incoherent or verbally inconsistent. None of them expresses the idiom in the way it is commonly known.
Each incorrect response bears strong similarity to the correct response, but each is flawed in some way. The verb tenses and incorrect use of conjunctions make them responses that are not correct.
The phrase so he circled the block until it was time respects the form, tense, and meaning of the sentence, unlike the other options.
This is the only response that completes the sentence with internal consistency. Some meaning may be discernible when other phrases replace it, but none of them are correct. The word their implies more than one person and the sentence tells us we are only talking about one, Marie.
Because we are talking about girls, the words they and their are the necessary words found in the correct answer. Another response is further invalidated because the word didn’t contradicts the implication of their behavior as revealed in the first part of the sentence.
The phrase Because of his versatility is the only grammatically correct response. To choose this answer, one would have to understand various forms of words and how they are used correctly. The incorrect responses alter words until the sentence doesn’t work anymore.
The phrase To change with the times is a version of a familiar idiom that correctly completes the sentence. Even in other options where the idiom is stated correctly, it does not fit grammatically, or the meaning of the sentence is changed.
To pick the correct response, one must identify the phrase with several correct word forms. The only one that has them is but found that the noise. The others contain some portion of the correct response, but are not entirely correct.
The phrase I couldn’t make out the year on the coin is the only correct response. It contains an idiom, make out, the correct form of which the test-taker will have to identify. The other responses also contain other various problems that rule them out because they make the final sentence inconsistent or meaningless.
The incorrect responses alter the meaning and ruin the structure of the sentence in various ways. Saying because he couldn’t remember the steps to make a peanut butter sandwich is the only response that retains the meaning and grammatical integrity of the sentence.
The first half of the sentence shows a positive result that will be consistent with information to come. The phrase even though Margo initially feared rejection completes the “story” consistently and is written properly. One of the other responses is written correctly but doesn’t make sense or match the meaning of the first. The others are written incorrectly and alter the original meaning.
The phrase but she barked at every other sound suspiciously is the only response that retains the meaning of the original sentence. Other responses alter the intent in some way or make it grammatically incorrect.
The phrase “but I don’t normally watch sports” is the only answer that makes a logically consistent, grammatically correct sentence. The other options work structurally, but each changes the meaning of the original statement in some way.
The phrase Roger surprises us with his strength is correct, but requires a small inference to be made by the test-taker. If he is “surprisingly” strong, then it can be inferred he would surprise “us”. The other responses are wrong because they cause errors in meaning, tense, and/or structure
Each incorrect response introduces various redundancies, grammatical problems, and incorrect information. The phrase my Spanish 101 class simply resolves the sentence while retaining the original’s meaning.
he idiom out of hand is the key to understanding this sentence. Because it is present in the original statement, the test-taker should be able to deduce the correct response, even if the idiom is unfamiliar. The other responses make the sentence incoherent or alter its original meaning.
The phrase Murphy enjoyed the peace and quiet is the correct response because it is the only one that retains the meaning and tense of the original. The others alter one or both of these in some way.
The correct response given is the only one that retains the meaning of the original sentence. The others alter the information until it is rather absurd. This will only be noticed by paying close attention to meaning, because two of the three options still read like correct sentences.
Each of the correct responses completes a correctly written sentence, but each one changes the meaning. The first sentence establishes that subterranean and below ground are synonymous.
Each of the incorrect responses forms a complete thought, but none of them reflects the correct meaning of the word adjacent in the original sentence, which means near to or beside. Only they live right beside me reflects this meaning.
The correct response retains the meaning of the original sentence and does not add any previously unstated information. Each incorrect response is grammatically strong but changes the meaning of the sentence.
The phrase even though she was such a strong swimmer completes the sentence to reflect the meaning of the original sentence. Any of the other options will change the first sentence’s meaning.
The phrase you feel sure that you know the answer means having confidence as it is used in the first sentence. All of the other responses may be true of someone speaking in class, but each alters the original meaning in some way.
The expression don’t deviate from has the same meaning as follow…exactly in the original sentence. The word deviate may be unknown, but the test-taker can observe that every other option clearly alters the meaning of the sentence.
The phrase they wished they had followed them when the flooding started is the correct response because it shows that they knew what they were supposed to do and that they did something else, anyway. The other responses change this meaning.
The phrase even the hardest situations didn’t stop Ron is the correct response because all the other options change the meaning of the original sentence in some way. The sentence tells the readers that Ron had years of training, so it stands to reason that he would hold up well in hard situations.
The original sentence implies, though it doesn’t clearly state, that the meteor woke Rose up from her drowsiness. The incorrect options don’t account for this shade of meaning like awakening Rose from her near slumber does.
The first sentence implies that Diego did not always like studying piano, but that his parents made him stick with it and that it all paid off with a career as a concert pianist. The other sentence options do not adhere to this meaning.
The phrase even though I don’t know how they could afford it holds the same meaning, even though it is stated in different words than the original sentence. The other options either add or take away meaning from the first sentence, making them incorrect choices.
Each incorrect response makes a structurally intact sentence, but only the phrase “to buy our weekly groceries, I frequently forget to buy eggs* maintains the meaning of the original sentence.
