Explain to your students the difference in sentence structure between declarative sentences and questions.

Your test should be typed and turned in as a single pdf document in D2L’s mid-term folder.
PART 1 For each of the next 10 questions, identify the error (1/2 point), show how to fix the error (1/2
point), and thoroughly explain why it is an error in a way that is appropriate for an ELL (2 points).
NOTE: many exercises in the workbook give reasons like “don’t forget to use the ‘-s’ or “Do not use ‘am,’
‘is,’ or ‘are’ with the wrong subject.” These are neither appropriate nor sufficient answers for your
students or for this test. You need to be much more specific – not lengthy, just specific. One, two or
three sentences of explanation should be more than sufficient for each sentence.
Example: She are one of the good students. The error is “are.”
Correct : She is one of the good students.
Explanation: This is a subject verb agreement error. The correct form for the verb “to be” in
the present tense for a subject that is “he, “she” or “it” (the 3
rd person singular)
is the form “is.”
Each of the following ten sentence has an error. Correct the sentences without changing the basic,
intended meaning of the sentence.
1. Will he goes to the lake with us on Saturday?
2. The dogs are my favorite kind of pet.
3. How long the storm lasted?
4. Byron is seeing Diane for three months now.
5. Brian wrote so good on the test that he doesn’t have to take the next writing class.
6. Writing about dinosaurs is a best idea so far.
7. The team we played against was not having a chance to beat us.
8. I watching television when the power went out.
9. Bill’s dad took Bill and I to the basketball game.
10. Our class will meet in April twenty-third for the final exam.
PART 2 In the following sentences identify the subjects (Sub), the simple predicates (V – verb only), the
direct objects (DO), indirect objects (IO), subject complements (SC), and object complements (OC). Then
identify whether the verb is intransitive, monotransitive, intensive/linking, ditransitive, complex
transitive or auxiliary. (1/2 point for each element correctly identified.)
1. Nancy Pelosi just appointed Donald Trump “Dictator for Life.”
2. The baby slept soundly through the night.
3. Bob gave Doug a swift kick in the pants.
4. Bubba shot the jukebox last night.
5. Sarah looks ravishing.
PART 3 Answer the following completely.
6. Explain to your students the difference between negating a sentence where the verb “to be” is
used and a sentence where any other verb is used. Your explanation should be valid for both
simple past and simple present tenses. (2 points)
7. Explain to your students the difference in sentence structure between declarative sentences and
questions. What are the simple rule(s) for making the transformation from a declarative
sentence to a question? Your explanation should be valid for both “to be” and non-“to be”
verbs. (2.5 points)
8. You are sitting in an ESL classroom as an observer, and, during the course of the lesson, the
teacher says “When we talk about the future, we always use “will” and the present tense of the
verb.” You know that this statement is incorrect and a gross oversimplification of English
grammar. Write a letter to the teacher (500 – 700 words) in which you point out the teacher’s
errors and give explanations of all the other ways (at least 4 ways other than “will”) that we talk
about the future. Be specific as you explain the various usages (meanings) of the other ways we
talk about the future, and give at least one clear example of each. Also include explanations of
any other errors and give good, clear examples for every point you bring up here as well. (5
point