Multiple Choice Questions

gxnn

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Hi, dear fellow forumites, how are you?

I'd like you to give some simple explanation about the two questions below:

1.The question is_____ we can rely on him.
A. who B. whether C. if D what
(The answer given by the textbook is C, but I think both B and C are correct.)

2.More people will eat out in restaurants___they do today.
A. than B. when C. while D. as.
(The answer given by the textbook is D, but I think it should be A.)

Thank you for your help.
 
I'll take a stab at this. Hopefully my profs won't scowl at me :)

1.The question is_____ we can rely on him.
A. who B. whether C. if D what
(The answer given by the textbook is C, but I think both B and C are correct.)
C is correct. The formal rule is to use "if" when you have a conditional sentence (as you have here). "Whether" is used when you are showing that two alternatives are possible. You may be thinking, "the alternative is that we can not rely on him!". Yes, this is implied - but this sentence does not explicitly state two alternatives (e.g. whether or not we can rely on him), so "if" is correct.
2.More people will eat out in restaurants___they do today.
A. than B. when C. while D. as.
(The answer given by the textbook is D, but I think it should be A.)
The answer is "D", but I can't quite put my finger on the reason why. Breaking it into two pieces, More people will eat out in restaurants is a clause having simple future verb tense.

Let's first look at your choice. "Than" could be used in comparisons as a conjunction (as in "my wife is younger than I am") and as a preposition ("She is shorter than me"). It's a preposition when numbers/amounts are compared. This is probably the biggest clue because the word more precedes and modifies the noun people, telling us "how many". That is called a quantifier determiner and represents a continuous number of people - we can not count them, but it is an amount (an "uncountable noun"). A prepositional phrase is a group of words that lacks either a verb or a subject, but here we have both (they do) - so I think we've eliminated this choice.

As is used as a conjunction, joining two clauses. More people will eat out in restaurants as they do today. might need a comma, but does appear to be two clauses joined by a conjunction.

Maybe one of our neighborhood English profs will weigh in :)
 
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Another questions I would like you to answer or give comment,ladies and gentlemen, thank you.

1. It is a sentence from the speech given by President Xi Jinping and translated by Chinese news agency: Inclusiveness, shared benefits and win-win outcomes is what we should pursue.
I think the word "is" should be "are", because there are three subjects in this sentence and the subject closest to this word is also in plural form.

2. It is not uncommon for there ____ problems of communication between the old and the young.
A. being B. would be C.be D. to be
It is a question of an examination of postgraduate student in translation and the authority gives the answer D (to be) to be correct. But in my opinion, it should be A (being)
 
I'll take a stab at this. Hopefully my profs won't scowl at me :)


C is correct. The formal rule is to use "if" when you have a conditional sentence (as you have here). "Whether" is used when you are showing that two alternatives are possible. You may be thinking, "the alternative is that we can not rely on him!". Yes, this is implied - but this sentence does not explicitly state two alternatives (e.g. whether or not we can rely on him), so "if" is correct.

The answer is "D", but I can't quite put my finger on the reason why. Breaking it into two pieces, More people will eat out in restaurants is a clause having simple future verb tense.

Let's first look at your choice. "Than" could be used in comparisons as a conjunction (as in "my wife is younger than I am") and as a preposition ("She is shorter than me"). It's a preposition when numbers/amounts are compared. This is probably the biggest clue because the word more precedes and modifies the noun people, telling us "how many". That is called a quantifier determiner and represents a continuous number of people - we can not count them, but it is an amount (an "uncountable noun"). A prepositional phrase is a group of words that lacks either a verb or a subject, but here we have both (they do) - so I think we've eliminated this choice.

As is used as a conjunction, joining two clauses. More people will eat out in restaurants as they do today. might need a comma, but does appear to be two clauses joined by a conjunction.

Maybe one of our neighborhood English profs will weigh in :)
As for the second sentence... Using "than" would make it a sentence fragment because it would require a contrast to "today".

Using "as" turns this sentence into an example sentence. It would be a declamatory statement suggesting that the conditions described in an earlier statement would lead to a comparable outcome (subtly different than a noun comparison).

In other words... The correct answer seems wonky here, because we have no context clues defining the subject in this sentence. Actually, it isn't even stated. It's assumed.
 
Another questions I would like you to answer or give comment,ladies and gentlemen, thank you.

1. It is a sentence from the speech given by President Xi Jinping and translated by Chinese news agency: Inclusiveness, shared benefits and win-win outcomes is what we should pursue.
I think the word "is" should be "are", because there are three subjects in this sentence and the subject closest to this word is also in plural form.

2. It is not uncommon for there ____ problems of communication between the old and the young.
A. being B. would be C.be D. to be
It is a question of an examination of postgraduate student in translation and the authority gives the answer D (to be) to be correct. But in my opinion, it should be A (being)
1. You are correct in your belief here. In fact, all three subjects are plural and are not being used as adjectives to a "greater subject".

2. D is correct because "being" is the present participle which limits the statement to only be "in the moment". "To be" is the infinitive form, suggesting that this generalized statement applies to all tenses of verb in use.
 
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