TOEFL iBT Practice (Grammar & Vocabulary) — All Questions

The number of applicants ___ increased sharply this year. Which choice is correct?

• a.have
• b.are
• c.has✓
• d.were

The phrase 'the number of' is treated as singular, so it takes the singular verb 'has'. (By contrast, 'a number of applicants have' would be plural.)

The scientist ___ discovered the vaccine received an award. Which relative pronoun is correct?

• a.whom
• b.who✓
• c.what
• d.which

The relative pronoun refers to a person ('the scientist') and is the subject of 'discovered', so 'who' is correct. 'Which' is for things, and 'whom' is for objects.

If it ___ tomorrow, we will cancel the outdoor event. Which choice is correct?

• a.rained
• b.would rain
• c.rains✓
• d.will rain

This is a first conditional about a real future possibility. The 'if' clause uses the present simple 'rains', while the main clause uses 'will cancel'.

She avoided ___ to the question directly. Which choice is correct?

• a.respond
• b.responded
• c.to respond
• d.responding✓

The verb 'avoid' is followed by a gerund (the -ing form), so 'responding' is correct. Verbs like enjoy, avoid, and finish take gerunds, not infinitives.

He enjoys reading, writing, and ___. Which choice keeps the sentence parallel?

• a.painted
• b.painting✓
• c.paints
• d.to paint

Items in a series must share the same grammatical form. Since 'reading' and 'writing' are gerunds, the third item must also be a gerund: 'painting'.