GED Language Arts (RLA) › Completing Sentences
1 Grasshoppers are intriguing insects that have both served as potent symbols in literature \[Question 1\]. 2 Also called locusts, \[Question 2\]. 3 Grasshoppers may be best known from the Aesop’s fable “The Ant and the Grasshopper,” in which ants and grasshoppers \[Question 3\].
4 Yet grasshoppers have also caused terrible famine \[Question 4\] Ancient Egypt, China, and the Rocky Mountains. 5 Farmers today attempt to control grasshoppers swarms \[Question 5\]. 6 On the other hand \[Question 6\] is sometimes used as a term of endearment. 7 What do you think about grasshoppers?
Which of the following phrases best completes Sentence 5?
with a mixture of fire, pesticides, and natural fungi species
with a mixture of fire, pesticides, or natural fungi species
with a mixture of fire, pesticides, with natural fungi species
in a mixture of fire, pesticides, and natural fungi species
including a mixture of fire, pesticides, or natural fungi species
Because we are listing the components of a mixture, we need to use the conjunction “and” and not “or” or “with.” Because the idea that precedes the bracketed part of the sentence is “control grasshopper swarms,” the word “with” fits better than “in” or “including.” These two rules eliminate all but one answer choice: “with a mixture of fire, pesticides, and natural fungi species.”
1 Grasshoppers are intriguing insects that have both served as potent symbols in literature \[Question 1\]. 2 Also called locusts, \[Question 2\]. 3 Grasshoppers may be best known from the Aesop’s fable “The Ant and the Grasshopper,” in which ants and grasshoppers \[Question 3\].
4 Yet grasshoppers have also caused terrible famine \[Question 4\] Ancient Egypt, China, and the Rocky Mountains. 5 Farmers today attempt to control grasshoppers swarms \[Question 5\]. 6 On the other hand \[Question 6\] is sometimes used as a term of endearment. 7 What do you think about grasshoppers?
Which of the following phrases best completes Sentence 6?
, “young grasshopper”
, young grasshopper
: young grasshopper,
, “young grasshopper,”
: “young” grasshopper
“On the other hand” is an introductory clause that requires a comma to separate it from the main part of the sentence. Since the term “young grasshopper” is being discussed as a term, quotation marks are the best choice of punctuation. Lastly, since the words “young grasshopper” are integral to the meaning of the sentence’s main (independent) clause, we don’t use a comma between “grasshopper” and “is.”
1 Writer’s block is a challenge that faces many creative people \[Question 1\]. 2 Inventors and theoreticians alike have long speculated about the possible \[Question 2\]. 3 Some people believe that it comes from lack of preparation \[Question 3\]. Recently, neurological and psychological studies have identified potential underlying causes of creative block \[Question 4\]. 5 Still others assert that a lack of resources (including time, money, and community) \[Question 5\].
6 People faced with writer’s block \[Question 6\] may take comfort in the fact that many of the world’s greatest artists have struggled similarly. 7 Take Ludwig van Beethoven, Vincent van Gogh, and Frida Kahlo as just a few examples of individuals who \[Question 7\] prevailed in creating lasting masterpieces. 8 \[Question 8\] then an artist can always try consulting with peers, taking a break, or turning their attention to a new art form altogether. 9 After all, through \[Question 9\] a person can overcome almost any artistic impediment.
Which of the following phrases best completes Sentence 5?
is the root culprit of writer’s block
, is the root culprit of writer’s block
, are the root culprit of writer’s block
are the root culprit of writer’s block
None of these other choices
To get this question right, you may want to consider the sentence without the parentheses. The thing that is the root culprit of writer’s block is a “lack,” a singular noun, so the proper verb tense is “is,” not “are.” Similarly, the sentence does not require a comma in it without the parentheses (indeed, the parentheses serve as markers for a parenthetical clause that could otherwise be separated with commas), so it does not require a comma at all.
1 Reason and emotion are often seen \[Question 1\] in other words, people believe the two can’t coexist. 2 Pure rationality is often considered \[Question\].3 Emotion, on the other hand \[Question 3\]. 4 However, scientists have recently discovered that the reason-emotion binary is in fact a false dichotomy. 5 \[Question 4\] the two are not mutually exclusive, and emotion often aids reason in filtering out poor, dangerous, or distracting choices. 6 This symbiosis is particularly obvious in decision making \[Question 5\]. 7 All in all, one should strive to make choices using \[Question 6\].
Which of the following phrases best completes Sentence 7?
both one’s head and one’s heart
both, one’s head and one’s heart
both your head and heart
, both your head and your heart
None of these other choices
Since the beginning of Sentence 7 uses the 3rd-person pronoun “one,” the end should maintain that usage. We can therefore rule out those answer choices using the 2nd-person pronoun “you.” No comma is necessary in this part of the sentence.
1 Overfishing is a serious threat \[Question 1\]. 2 Essentially, it means that humans are depleting the ocean’s supply of fish, crustaceans, sea mammals, kelps, and other \[Question 2\]. 3 The problem \[Question 3\] when sailors killed vast numbers of whales for their valuable blubber. 4 Since then, industrial fishing fleets and increased consumer demand have led to \[Question 4\] everything from sharks to blue fin tuna. 5 Even species that are not typically eaten \[Question 5\] have become accidental “bycatch” and are thereby threatened with endangerment. 6 If the process is not reversed soon, \[Question 6\].
What is the correct way to complete Sentence 6?
scientists predict that every oceanic ecosystem will have collapsed by the year 2050
it is predicted by scientists that every oceanic ecosystem will have collapsed by the year 2050
scientists predict that the collapse of every oceanic ecosystem by the year 2050
scientists, having predicted that every oceanic ecosystem will collapse, estimate that this disaster will occur by the year 2050
scientists predicting the collapse of every oceanic ecosystem by the year 2050
Some of these choices are overly wordy: “it is predicted by scientists that every oceanic ecosystem will have collapsed by the year 2050” and “scientists, having predicted that every oceanic ecosystem will collapse, estimate that this disaster will occur by the year 2050.” Others are simply grammatically incorrect: “scientists predict that the collapse of every oceanic ecosystem by the year 2050” leads to a sentence fragment, as does “scientists predicting the collapse of every oceanic ecosystem by the year 2050.”
1 Reason and emotion are often seen \[Question 1\] in other words, people believe the two can’t coexist. 2 Pure rationality is often considered \[Question\].3 Emotion, on the other hand \[Question 3\]. 4 However, scientists have recently discovered that the reason-emotion binary is in fact a false dichotomy. 5 \[Question 4\] the two are not mutually exclusive, and emotion often aids reason in filtering out poor, dangerous, or distracting choices. 6 This symbiosis is particularly obvious in decision making \[Question 5\]. 7 All in all, one should strive to make choices using \[Question 6\].
Which of the following phrases best completes Sentence 6?
, which calls upon a complex series of both rational and intuitive processes
, calling upon a complex series of both rational and intuitive processes
that happens to call upon a complex series of both rational and intuitive processes
; this calls upon a complex series of both rational and intuitive processes
, happening upon a complex series of both rational and intuitive processes
While two of these options are technically grammatically correct, the best choice is “, which calls upon a complex series of both rational and intuitive processes.” The other grammatical option is to make the two halves of the sentences each independent clauses and separate them with a semicolon: “; this calls upon a complex series of both rational and intuitive processes.” This option, however, is clunkier and uses the imprecise pronoun “this.”
1 Learning a new musical instrument can be frustrating, challenging, rewarding, and exhilarating. 2 While some experts recommend jumping in on your own \[Question 1\]. 3 For example \[Question 2\] or you might pay a pianist to show you scales. 4 It’s important to remember that \[Question 3\] the payoff will be well worth it. 5 If you find yourself on the brink of giving up \[Question 4\]. 6 Of course, some instruments have a steeper learning curve \[Question 5\]. 7 Learning the bagpipes, for instance, may be a process that \[Question 6\].
Which of the following phrases best completes Sentence 5?
, imagine yourself performing your favorite song to an audience of admiring fans
, imagine yourself: performing your favorite song to an audience of admiring fans
imagine yourself: performing your favorite song to an audience of admiring fans
imagine yourself; you are performing your favorite song to an audience of admiring fans
, imagine yourself, performing your favorite song, to an audience of admiring fans
Other than a comma to separate the first half of the sentence (a dependent clause) from the second half (an independent clause), no punctuation is necessary here. It’s good to note that the use of second person (“you” and “your”) is fine in this context, since it appears consistently in the rest of the passage.
1 Baby elephants have an extensive gestation period of around two years, \[Question One\]. 2 Although they can walk soon after they are born, baby elephants are quite feeble for the first few weeks of their lives. 3 Around three months after birth, baby elephants are capable of foraging for their own food \[Question 2\]. 4 They communicate with their mothers by intertwining or touching their trunks \[Question 3\]. 5 Young elephants are very intelligent, \[Question 4\]. 6 That is to say, all ages of elephants can communicate, interpret human behavior, use tools, and even mourn their dead.
Which of the following phrases best completes Sentence 1?
, which gives the fetus ample time to develop.
, because the fetus has ample time to develop.
, however, this means that the fetus will not have ample time to develop.
, however, this hastens the fetus’s development.
, which complicates the fetus’s development.
The use of “extensive” in Sentence 1 makes it clear that a two-year gestation is unusually long. It stands to reason that the rest of the sentence is explaining that this excessive gestation period allows the elephant fetus adequate time to develop.
1 Grasshoppers are intriguing insects that have both served as potent symbols in literature \[Question 1\]. 2 Also called locusts, \[Question 2\]. 3 Grasshoppers may be best known from the Aesop’s fable “The Ant and the Grasshopper,” in which ants and grasshoppers \[Question 3\].
4 Yet grasshoppers have also caused terrible famine \[Question 4\] Ancient Egypt, China, and the Rocky Mountains. 5 Farmers today attempt to control grasshoppers swarms \[Question 5\]. 6 On the other hand \[Question 6\] is sometimes used as a term of endearment. 7 What do you think about grasshoppers?
Which of the following phrases best completes Sentence 3?
exemplify the contrasting human traits of diligence and indolence
exorcise the contrasting human traits of diligence and indolence
indemnify the contrasting human traits of diligence and insolence
execute the contrasting human traits of diligence and insolence
execrate the contrasting human traits of diligence and inference
This question is dependent on your vocabulary recognition. In the Aesop’s fable that this sentence discusses, ants and grasshoppers provide examples of, or “exemplify,” human behaviors. The sentence also explains that the two human behaviors are contrasting, which leaves us with “diligence” (hard work) and “indolence” (laziness). None of the other pairs contrast.
1 Learning a new musical instrument can be frustrating, challenging, rewarding, and exhilarating. 2 While some experts recommend jumping in on your own \[Question 1\]. 3 For example \[Question 2\] or you might pay a pianist to show you scales. 4 It’s important to remember that \[Question 3\] the payoff will be well worth it. 5 If you find yourself on the brink of giving up \[Question 4\]. 6 Of course, some instruments have a steeper learning curve \[Question 5\]. 7 Learning the bagpipes, for instance, may be a process that \[Question 6\].
Which of the following phrases best completes Sentence 4?
, while the learning process may be exasperating,
the learning process is exasperating,
while the learning process is exasperating
: while the learning process could have been exasperating
; while the learning process was exasperating,
Sentence 4 is constructed in a way that suggests that the missing piece is a parenthetical clause. Such clauses are always separated from the main body of the sentence by commas and are always dependent clauses. With this in mind, the only option that works grammatically is “, while the learning process may be exasperating,”.