ISEE Lower Level Verbal : Conjunctions and Sentence Logic in Phrase-Based Sentence Completions

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for ISEE Lower Level Verbal

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Example Questions

Example Question #141 : Phrase And Clause Based Sentence Completions

Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.

She worked very hard, __________.

Possible Answers:

but still did poorly

less hard than him

although she performed well

yet achieved great success

but was very determined

Correct answer:

but still did poorly

Explanation:

This is another problem where the key to solving it rests with recognizing the correct use of a conjunction. The correct answer is " . . . but still did poorly" because the word "but" is used to change the direction of a sentence to cause it to mean the opposite. As in "I am tired, but I refuse to go to sleep" or "I am thirsty, but cannot find any water." The answer choice " . . . less hard than him" contains no conjunctions, but simply does not fit the structure of the sentence.

Example Question #142 : Phrase And Clause Based Sentence Completions

Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.

I am very thirsty, but __________.

Possible Answers:

she is also thirsty

I am very hungry

no wonder I cannot finish my work

it seems reasonable to have a drink

I cannot find anything to drink

Correct answer:

I cannot find anything to drink

Explanation:

The key to solving this problem is the use of the conjunction "but." This suggests that even though the speaker is thirsty he cannot actually have a drink. The correct answer is therefore " . . . I cannot find anything to drink." Most of the other answer choices would make sense if the conjunction was "and" instead of "but."

Example Question #143 : Phrase And Clause Based Sentence Completions

Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.

__________ worked hard to provide for their family.

Possible Answers:

The father

My mother

The mother and father

The puppy

My sister

Correct answer:

The mother and father

Explanation:

The key to solving this problem is the pronoun "their" this tells you that there has to be more than one subject of the sentence. If it was "My mother" then it would be "her/our" family; if it was "The father" then it would be "his" family. The correct answer is therefore "The mother and father . . . " because this reflects the plurality of "their."

Example Question #144 : Phrase And Clause Based Sentence Completions

Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.

__________, but it is worth it.

Possible Answers:

The highway is nicely paved

The air is clean

The food is cheap

The dinner is expensive

The water is pure

Correct answer:

The dinner is expensive

Explanation:

The use of the phrase "but it was worth it" suggests that there must have been some cost or sacrifice involved. Only one of these answer choices reflects something costly that might still be worth it - "The dinner is expensive . . . "

Example Question #145 : Phrase And Clause Based Sentence Completions

Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.

__________ to survive and thrive.

Possible Answers:

The less time spent working

Out here I feel very alone

People need clean water

The night is cold and dark

This time of year is always boring

Correct answer:

People need clean water

Explanation:

To begin with "thrive" means do well. So, which of these answer choices fits best with " . . . to survive and thrive"? The correct answer is "People need clean water . . . " All the other answer choices do not fit with the structure of the sentence and some of them would cause the sentence to feel incomplete.

Example Question #146 : Phrase And Clause Based Sentence Completions

Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.

The children played in the park whilst __________.

Possible Answers:

she will go to the supermarket

he is at the minister's

the weather will be better tomorrow

it is easy to practice piano

their mothers chatted

Correct answer:

their mothers chatted

Explanation:

The conjunction "whilst" means the same thing as "while," both words are used to describe something that is happening at the same time as something else is happening. For example, "I went to the store, while she cooked dinner." So, the correct answer of this sentence must reflect something that could be done whilst the children played in the park. The correct answer is therefore " . . . their mothers chatted." This problem could have been a little tricky because some of the answer choices seem correct until you notice that they are in the incorrect tense. The sentence is in the past tense, but some of the answer choices are in the present or future tense.

Example Question #147 : Phrase And Clause Based Sentence Completions

Select the answer choice that is closest in meaning to the word in capital letters.

The pain was unbearable __________.

Possible Answers:

and I felt hopeful

but I felt helpful

but I felt helpless

and I felt hopeless

although I felt hopeless

Correct answer:

and I felt hopeless

Explanation:

You likely will have noticed that all of these answer choices are quite similar. The key to solving this problem is simply to recognize which conjunction matches correctly with the context of the sentence. Also "unbearable" means impossible to endure, hard to cope with, hard to deal with. So, if the pain was "unbearable" it makes sense that the speaker would feel "hopeless" (without hope). The conjunctions "but" and "although" would only make sense if they related to the speaker actually feeling okay about their "unbearable" pain.

Example Question #148 : Phrase And Clause Based Sentence Completions

Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.

She did not practice for her musical recital __________

Possible Answers:

and played surprisingly poorly 

because she played surprisingly poorly 

and performed poorly 

and also arrived on time 

because she performed poorly

Correct answer:

and performed poorly 

Explanation:

To solve this problem you need to be careful of conjunctions and pick the answer that best reflects what might happen to someone who did not practice for a music "recital" (performance, show). The correct answer is " . . . and performed poorly." The correct answer cannot contain the word "because." She did not practice as a result of playing poorly, it was the other way around. 

Example Question #149 : Phrase And Clause Based Sentence Completions

Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.

I am not allowed to swim __________.

Possible Answers:

because the waves are too big

although I have a good swimmer

however I am a dreadful swimmer

because I am competent swimmer

although I am a terrible swimmer

Correct answer:

because the waves are too big

Explanation:

To solve this problem you need to determine which of these answer choices best represents a reason why someone might not be allowed to swim. You also have to pay attention to the conjunctions being used. The answer choices that contain the conjunctions "although" or "however" cannot be correct because these words cause the sentence to mean the opposite. The correct answer is " . . . because the waves are too big" because this contains the correct conjunction and explains why someone might not be allowed to swim. Additionally, "dreadful" means terrible, very bad; "competent" means capable, able, good enough.

Example Question #150 : Phrase And Clause Based Sentence Completions

Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.

In order to live together peacefully, the two friends had to ______________ each other's faults, for if they focused on every little annoyance, they would eventually hate each other.

Possible Answers:

judge

overlook

condemn

love

analyze

Correct answer:

overlook

Explanation:

The second part of the sentence indicates that the two friends knew that they couldn't pay too much attention to each other's faults. When we do not focus on something, we "overlook" it. This means that we ignore it, at least as much as we can.

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