Grammar Terms: Modal Verbs and Clauses

Question 1

In the sentence "The explorer discovered an ancient map—its edges worn and torn—while crossing the desert," why do the two dashes create a parenthesis and what is their function?

Accepted Answer

The dashes set off extra information that is not essential to the main clause, so they act as a parenthesis that adds an aside for the reader.

Answer

The dashes show that a word is missing, indicating the writer forgot something, which is why they are called a parenthesis.

Answer

The dashes turn the statement into a question, which is the purpose of a parenthesis.

Answer

The dashes join two separate sentences together, which is what a parenthesis does.

Question 2

Read the sentence: "The gardener whose roses bloom early loves to sing." Which choice correctly identifies the relative clause and the relative pronoun that introduces it?

Accepted Answer

whose roses bloom early – whose

Answer

the gardener – who

Answer

bloom early – that

Answer

The gardener whose roses bloom early loves to sing – which

Question 3

In the sentence "The book that I borrowed from the library was very interesting," which part is the relative clause and which relative pronoun introduces it?

Accepted Answer

the clause 'that I borrowed from the library' introduced by the relative pronoun 'that'

Answer

the clause 'I borrowed from the library' introduced by the relative pronoun 'who'

Answer

the phrase 'the book' introduced by the relative pronoun 'that'

Answer

the phrase 'very interesting' introduced by the relative pronoun 'which'

Try three questions

In the sentence "The explorer discovered an ancient map—its edges worn and torn—while crossing the desert," why do the two dashes create a parenthesis and what is their function?

Read the sentence: "The gardener whose roses bloom early loves to sing." Which choice correctly identifies the relative clause and the relative pronoun that introduces it?

In the sentence "The book that I borrowed from the library was very interesting," which part is the relative clause and which relative pronoun introduces it?

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