Question 1

Instructions: The following sentences form a passage. Select the correct past tense verb for each blank. As a morning breeze gusted inland off the bay, buzzards, terns, and gulls ____ the air currents overhead.

Accepted Answer

"Rode" is the correct past tense form of "ride" for buzzards, terns, and gulls, referring to their flight in the air currents. "Rided" is not a correct past tense verb form.

Question 2

Instructions: The following sentences form a passage. Select the correct past tense verb for each blank. In the cabin of a docked craft, a slender white-haired man and a woman in a terry cloth robe ____the morning newspaper.

Accepted Answer

The correct past tense of the verb "read" is "read". "Readed" is not a correct verb form.

Question 3

Instructions: For the following sentences, select the letter of the incorrect past tense verb in each group. In the movie Jurassic Park , scientists cloned dinosaurs that then escaped and threatened the safety of their keepers; this story leaded people to wonder if such a thing could happen with Lyuba, but that isn t likely.

Accepted Answer

The word "leaded" is incorrect as the past tense of "lead" should be "led".

Question 4

Instructions: The following sentences form a passage. Select the correct past tense verb for each blank. It ____ only 6 a.m.

Accepted Answer

The sentence is in the past tense and requires a past tense verb. "Was" is the past tense of "is" and is the correct choice. "Be" is a present tense verb and would be incorrect in this context.

Question 5

Instructions: The following sentences form a passage. Select the correct past tense verb for each blank. Wings outstretched, they ____ beautiful patterns in the sky.

Accepted Answer

"Made" is the correct past tense form of the verb "make," whereas "maked" is not a correct form. Therefore, option A is the correct answer.

Question 6

Instructions: The following sentences form a passage. Select the correct past tense verb for each blank. Fishing parties and canoeists ____off in their boats as they headed south into the bay or paddled northwest into the canals of the Everglades.

Accepted Answer

The correct past tense verb to use is "set" as it is the simple past tense form of the verb "set." "Setted" is not a correct form of the verb in English.

Question 7

Instructions: Select the correct past participle for each blank. In a small town in northern California, the world s longest-burning light bulb has ____ for over a century.

Accepted Answer

The past participle of "glow" is "glowed." "Glown" is not a valid past participle.

Question 8

Instructions: Select the correct past participle for each blank. The bulb has ____ only three times over the years, during moves between fire stations.

Accepted Answer

"Dimmed" is the correct past participle in this sentence because it is used to describe the action of the bulb becoming less bright in the past. "Dim" is an adjective that describes the current state of the bulb being less bright, so it does not fit grammatically in this sentence.

Question 9

Instructions: For the following sentences, select the letter of the incorrect past tense verb in each group. When the media first reported Lyuba s discovery, many people questioned whether cloning the mammoth would be the next step and be concerned about the consequences of resurrecting an extinct species that would have no natural environment and might harbor unknown diseases.

Accepted Answer

The verb "be" should be changed to "were" to match the past tense of "questioned."

Question 10

Instructions: Select the correct past participle for each blank. In fact, a backup generator was ____ by the fire station in case of a blackout.

Accepted Answer

"Installed" is the past participle of "install," and fits the sentence structure correctly in the past tense.

Question 11

Instructions: For the following sentences, select the letter of the incorrect past tense verb in each group. As temperatures rose and falled over thousands of years, the fluctuations damaged Lyuba s cells and rendered her specimen useless for cloning.

Accepted Answer

The correct past tense of "fall" is "fell", not "falled".

Question 12

Instructions: The following sentences form a passage. Select the correct past tense verb for each blank. A few hardy souls ____ by diving from the dock into the still, cold lagoon water.

Accepted Answer

The verb "awoke" is the past tense form of "awaken," meaning to become conscious or aware. This is the correct verb choice to show that the hardy souls were already awake and chose to jump into the lagoon. The verb "awaked" is not a correct form of the past tense verb "awaken."

Question 13

Instructions: The following sentences form a passage. Select the correct past tense verb for each blank. In contrast, white egrets ____ motionless in the tall grass near the water.

Accepted Answer

The correct form of the past tense for the verb "stand" is "stood". "Standed" is not a valid word in the English language. Therefore, the correct choice is B.

Question 14

Instructions: The following sentences form a passage. Select the correct past tense verb for each blank. Several folks ____ their eggs and ____ their coffee in the waterfront coffee shop.

Accepted Answer

The correct past tense verbs for the sentence are "ate" and "drank." "Eated" and "drinked" are not proper English past tense verbs.

Question 15

Instructions: The following sentences form a passage. Select the correct past tense verb for each blank. The day ____ early at Flamingo in Everglades National Park.

Accepted Answer

"Began" is the correct past tense form of the verb "begin." "Beginned" is not a correct past tense form.

Question 16

Instructions: The following sentences form a passage. Select the correct past tense verb for each blank. Huge brown pelicans ____ on the posts of the dock.

Accepted Answer

"Lounged" is the correct past tense verb for this sentence as it is the simple past tense of "lounge." "Loungied" is not a valid past tense form of this verb.

Question 17

Instructions: The following sentences form a passage. Select the correct past tense verb for each blank. Joggers ____ advantage of the early morning cool air; they ____ along the well-marked trails in their multicolored sweatsuits.

Accepted Answer

The correct past tense of "take" is "took" and the correct past tense of "run" is "ran." Therefore, option A is the correct one. Option B is incorrect because "taked" and "runned" are not proper English past tense forms.

Question 18

Instructions: Select the correct past participle for each blank. Donated to the Livermore Fire Department in 1901, the bulb is ____ closely by firefighters and city historians to keep its light burning brightly.

Accepted Answer

The sentence is in the present tense and the word "watched" indicates a completed action in the past. Therefore, the correct past participle is "watched."

Question 19

Instructions: For the following sentences, select the letter of the incorrect past tense verb in each group. Despite such challenges, on March 13, 2012, a Siberian research institute with access to mammoth remains signed an agreement with one of the world s most controversial geneticists, Hwang Woo-Suk of South Korea. They sayed that they would clone a mammoth together.

Accepted Answer

The past tense of "say" is "said," not "sayed."

Question 20

Instructions: The following sentences form a passage. Select the correct past tense verb for each blank. People ____ going early here, too.

Accepted Answer

"Got" is the past tense of "get", which is the correct verb to use in this context.

Quiz 1: Writing Effective Paragraphs