2019-09-09 TOEFL: test and grammar

Greg Malivuk
[email protected]
http://www.pastebin.com/u/gmalivuk - notes from all classes
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Reading test practice - ETS 1.2
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Questions you got wrong:
1 - fact - B
	Serpentine soils, for example, … = For example, serpentine soils…
	“[subject], for example, [predicate]” is the same as “For example, [subject] [predicate].”
	Your understanding would be, “Serpentine soils are deficient in many minerals, for example calcium.”
12 - purpose - B (Mustard and pennycress are both examples of plants that could be used in phytoremediation to remove those particular minerals.)
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BREAK
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17 - vocabulary - A
23 - paraphrase - D (This is the option that correctly expresses the contrast in the original.)
24 - vocabulary - C (If it’s not disputed, it means people agree and acknowledge that it’s true.)
34 - purpose - B (On the TOEFL, you’ll see the entire text on the right side of the screen, so it will be easier to correctly identify which paragraph is which.)
14 - summary - B D F (D is a summary of paragraph 4, while A C E are smaller details.)
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Grammar: dummy subjects “there” and “it”

“dummy” subjects don’t really mean or refer to anything, but they’re necessary for English grammar

Practice A - Write sentences with the same meaning that begin with “there” or “it”.
1 There has been a great deal of research carried out...
2 There are several criteria scientists use to determine...
	one criterion / many criteria (irregular plural)
3 There is some evidence that animals can solve problems.
4 It appears that scientists were…
  It was possible to teach…
	(Both of these change the meaning a bit, so I wouldn’t recommend them in real life.)
5 It is unusual that animals are able to recognize their own image.
  It is unusual for animals to recognize their own image.
Practice B
1 research
2 some evidence
3 some expressions
4 likely
5 important
6 easy (Actions can be easy, but not clauses.)
7 many examples
8 considered
Practice C
3 There are some basic differences between human and animal behavior.
4 “the chimpanzees’ behavior” = the behavior of some specific chimpanzees
5 There is some evidence to show that dolphins and chimpanzees are two/some of the most intelligent animals.
6 It is not certain whether animals’ intelligence may evolve or not.
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Apostrophe usage for possessives:

the animal’s intelligence = the intelligence of one animal
the animals’ intelligence = the intelligence of several animals
the child’s books = the books of one child
the children’s books = the books of several children
the boss’s books = the books of one boss
the bosses’ books = the books of several bosses

Rule: If the possessive noun is a regular plural (add ‘s’ or ‘es’), put the apostrophe after the ‘s’.
	In all other cases, add the apostrophe and then the possessive ‘s’.
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Grammar: relative clauses

Relative clauses (or adjective clauses) give more information about nouns (subjects or objects), and sometimes about entire sentences.

That’s the homeless man. (adjective + noun) = That’s the man who has no home. (noun + adj. clause)
That’s the man who wrote my favorite series of novels. - there’s no single adjective that would say this
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who = person or people
	He’s the man who wrote my favorite book. (“who” is the subject of “wrote”; he wrote it)
(whom = person or people, as the object, in formal situations)
	He’s the man whom I met yesterday. (“whom” is the object of “met”; I met him)
which = thing or things, or sometimes a whole sentence
	It’s the book which inspired me to become a teacher.
	It’s raining outside, which is why I’m staying at home.
that = “who”, “whom”, or “which”, when it’s NOT after a preposition or comma
	(We can’t use “that” for relative clauses after prepositions or commas.)
whose = possessive (could be a person or a thing in relative clauses)
	He’s the man whose book inspired me. (his book inspired me)
	It’s the car whose engine was replaced. (its engine was replaced)
where = place
	That’s the park where we got married. (we got married there)
when = time
	That was the year when I graduated. (I graduated then)
why = reason (pretty much only to modify the word “reason”)
	That’s the reason why I called you.
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That’s the park where we got married.
That’s the park in which we got married.
That’s the park which we got married in. (uncommon)
That’s the park that we got married in.
That’s the park we got married in.
	- We can remove “that” if it’s not the subject of the relative clause. (Here the subject is “we”.)
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Homework: practice B