skills for basic toefl test

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2. SKILL 1: SUBJECTS AND VERBS
 You know that a sentence in English should have a subject and a verb. Perhaps the
sentence is missing either the subject or the verb or both, or perhaps the sentence
has an extra subject or verb.
 The phonewas ringing continuously for hours.
_____
 A) Loudly
 B) In the morning
 C) The phone
 D) The bells
 Newspapers are deliveredevery morning and every evening.
________
 A) delivery
 B) are delivered
 C) on time
 D) regularly
 will be
The plane _____ landing at the airport in five minutes.
 A) it is
 B) it really is
 C) is descending
 D) will be

3. SKILL 2: OBJECTS OF PREPOSITIONS
 An object of preposition is a noun or a pronoun that
comes after a preposition such as in, at, of, to, by,
behind, and on to form a prepositional phrase. The trip
(to the island) (on Saturday) will last (for three hours).
 To Mike the party was a big surprise.
_____
 A) really
 B) the party
 C) funny
 D) when
 A preposition is followed by a noun or pronoun that is
called an object of the preposition. If a word is an object
of a preposition, it is not the subject.

4. SKILL 3: PRESENT PARTICIPLES
 Present participles can cause confusion because a present participle can be
either an adjective or a part of the verb. A present participle is the –ing form
of the verb. It is part of the verb when it is preceded by some form of the
verb be.
 The train is arriving at the station now.
– VERB
 A present participle is an adjective when it is not accompanied by some
form of the verb be.
 The train arriving at the station now is an hour late.
 ADJECTIVE
 now
The film _____ appearing at the local theater is my favorite.
 A) now
 B) is
 C) it
 D) was
 REMEMBER: THE PRESENT PARTICIPLE CAN BE (1) PART OF THE
VERB OR (2) AN ADJECTIVE.

5. SKILL 4: PAST PARTICIPLES
 Past participles can cause confusion because a past participle can be either
an adjective or a part of the verb. The past participle is the form of the verb
that appears with have or be. It often ends in –ed, but there are also many
irregular past participles in English.
 The mailman has left a letter in the mailbox.
 VERB
 The classes were taught by Professor Smith.
 VERB
 A past participle is an adjective when it is not accompanied by some form of
be or have.
 The letter left in the mailbox was for me.
 ADJECTIVE
 The classes taught by Professor Smith were very interesting.
ADJECTIVE
 just
The bread _____ baked this morning smelled delicious.
 A) has
 B) was
 C) it
 D) just