Fill in the blanks with an appropriate word or phrase.
1There was ............... anything in the box.
Wrong!
Use "hardly" to mean almost nothing in this negative-like sentence.
2There are ............... books lying on the table.
Wrong!
Use "a few" with countable plural nouns such as books.
3............... on tiptoe, he reached for the apple.
Wrong!
Use "Standing" as a present participle to describe what he was doing when he reached.
4Would you mind ............... a bit?
Wrong!
After "mind", use the gerund "moving".
5There ............... two hundred children watching the game.
Wrong!
Use "were" because the real subject is the plural phrase "two hundred children".
6You need not ............... the meeting on Monday.
Wrong!
After the modal expression "need not", use the base verb "attend".
7He used ............... poems when he was a student.
Wrong!
Use "to write" after "used" for a past habit.
8I ............... have bought it.
Wrong!
Use "needn't" before perfect "have bought" to say the purchase was unnecessary.
9This is ............... any other Christmas gift I have ever had.
Wrong!
Use the comparative phrase "better than" before "any other".
10She ............... plays for television.
Wrong!
Use "does not write" with the third-person singular subject "She".
Answers
- There was hardly anything in the box.
- There are a few books lying on the table.
- Standing on tiptoe, he reached for the apple.
- Would you mind moving a bit?
- There were two hundred children watching the game.
- You need not attend the meeting on Monday.
- He used to write poems when he was a student.
- I needn’t have bought it.
- This is better than any other Christmas gift I have ever had.
- She does not write plays for television.
