TOEFL iBT Practice (Grammar & Vocabulary) — All Questions
5 questions
The number of applicants ___ increased sharply this year. Which choice is correct?
- a.has✓
- b.have
- c.are
- 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.which
- b.who✓
- c.whom
- d.what
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.will rain
- b.would rain
- c.rains✓
- d.rained
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.to respond
- b.respond
- c.responded
- 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.painting✓
- b.to paint
- c.paints
- d.painted
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'.