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S.E.E.P. Language Notes
Sentence Types
You should be able to properly identify, construct, punctuate and correct the following sentence types:
Sentence Type Example
 Declarative sentence We went to the movies.
 Interrogative sentence  Where did you go last night?
 Imperative sentence  Take out the garbage, please.
 Exclamatory sentence  The Senators have won the Stanley Cup!
 Simple sentence  Tom reads novels.
 Compound sentence  Tom reads novels, but Jack reads comics.
 Complex sentence  Although Tom reads novels, Jack reads comics
 Compound-complex sentence  While Tom reads novels, Jack reads comics, but Sam only
reads magazines.
Common Sentence Errors
These are some of the more common errors found on the exam. Other areas are also examined, such as
spelling, punctuation and commonly confused words (e.g. “their,” “they’re,” and “there”).
Examples of Language Application Questions
Literary Terms
Their first pizza was initially designed to be an “edible plate” with the thick crust around the edge
serving as a handle.
In the above sentence, the reference to pizza as an “edible plate” is an example of
a) personification
b) a simile
c) a metaphor
Parallel Structure
A system that is monitored costs approximately $30 each month, requires professional installation and
will summon the police to your home.
The above sentence would be best written as:
a) A system that is monitored costs approximately $30 each month, you will require professional
installation and it will summon the police to your home.
b) A system that is monitored costs approximately $30 each month, requires professional installation,
and summons the police to your home.
c) A system that is monitored costs approximately $30 each month, and summons the police to your
home after being professionally installed.
Sentence Types
But just as hiring the right employee is important, getting financing for your new venture is key!
The above sentence
a) is a declarative sentence
b) is an exclamatory sentence
c) is an interrogative sentence
Simple, Compound and Complex sentences
A loan officer at a bank will not entrust money to an entrepreneur without a business plan, as a result,
the entrepreneur's plans will go up in smoke.
The above sentence would be better written as follows:
a) An entrepreneur's plans will go up in smoke, as a result, a loan officer at a bank will not entrust
money to an entrepreneur without a business plan.
b) A loan officer at a bank will not entrust money to an entrepreneur without a business plan; as a
result, the entrepreneur's plans will go up in smoke.
c) Without a business plan, a loan officer at a bank will not entrust money to an entrepreneur, as a
result, the entrepreneur's plans will go up in smoke.
Spelling
Before they know it, piece and harmony seem like a thing of the passed.
Which TWO words are incorrectly spelled in the above sentence?
a) “know” and “piece”
b) “harmony” and “passed”
c) “piece” and “passed”
Verb Tenses
Many people are unaware that the Rideau Canal has been originally built as a military defence to
protect Canada.
The above sentence should be corrected by
a) changing “has been originally built” to “has originally been built”
b) changing “has been originally built” to “was originally built”
c) changing “has been originally built” to “originally has been built”
Vocabulary in Context
If you're keen enough to follow this advice, your business will be a profitable and satisfying enterprise.
In the above sentence, "keen" means:
a) smart
b) piercing
c) witty
Sample Language Task
(i) Read the paragraph below and answer the questions that follow.
(ii) Circle the letter that corresponds with the best answer in the multiple choice
questions, or write your responses in the space provided after each question.
(iii) Note that the numbers at the beginning of each sentence are there for easy reference.
1. The ancient Greeks who were accomplished bakers invented pizza over two thousand years
ago. 2. Their first pizza was initially designed to be an “edible plate” with the thick crust around
the edge serving as a handle. 3. Early pizzas had no tomatoes but featured cheese, herbs,
vegetables, and fish or meat. 4. Tomatoes were not grown in Italy until the mid 1500’s, and
crazy as it sounds, people had the notion they were poisonous. 5. It is not until 1889 that an
Italian pizza maker, Raffaele Esposito, put tomatoes on pizza for the first time. 6. He wanted to
honour the Italian Queen with a pizza the same colours as the flag he needed something red. 7.
To go with the white mozzarella cheese and green basil. 8. Would you believe the first North
American pizzeria opened in 1905 and that by the 1920’s pizzerias were becoming widespread.
9. However it was not until soldiers started returning from Italy at the end of World War II that
pizzas started to become as popular as they are today. 10. Pizza is enjoyed by millions and it’s
easy to make, delicious to eat.
Circle the letter which corresponds with the best answer.
1. Sentence 1 should be corrected by adding
a) a comma after the word “Greeks”
b) a comma after the word “Greeks” and the word “bakers”
c) a comma after the word “Greeks” and the word “pizza
2. In Sentence 2, the reference to pizza as an “edible plate” is an example of
a) personification
b) a simile
c) a metaphor
3. Sentence 3 should be corrected by
a) changing “pizzas” to “pizza’s”
b) changing “tomatoes” to “tomatos”
c) is correct as it is
4. In Sentence 4 the word “notion” means
a) conviction
b) impression
c) fear
5. Sentence 5 contains a
a) verb tense error
b) misplaced comma
c) faulty pronoun reference
6. Sentence 6
a) is an example of a run on sentence
b) does not have a subject
c) does not need a comma
7. Sentence 7 is an example of
a) a run-on sentence
b) a compound sentence
c) a sentence fragment
8. Sentence 8 should conclude with
a) a question mark
b) quotation marks
c) an exclamation mark
9. Sentence 9 requires
a) a comma after “Italy”
b) a comma after “However”
c) a comma after “popular”
10. Sentence 10 would be better written as follows
a) “Pizza is enjoyed by millions, easy to make and delicious to eat.”
b) “Pizza, easy to make and enjoyed by millions, delicious to eat.”
c) “Delicious to eat and is enjoyed by millions, pizza is easy to make.”