TOEFL PBT Test / Structure and Written Expression Practice Questions

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The Structure and Written Expression section contains sentences that test your knowledge of important structural and grammatical elements of standard written English. These sentences include a variety of topics and give no particular advantage to individuals in any specific field of study.
When topics have a national context, they refer to the United States or Canadian history, culture, art, or literature. However, you do not need to have a prior knowledge of these contexts to answer the structural or grammatical points being tested.
Before completing these practice questions,you might wish to print out an answer sheet.

[h=2]Directions and Practice Questions for Section 2[/h] Following are directions and examples of the types of questions you will find in the Structure and Written Expression section of the TOEFL® test. If you would like to see the correct answers for the Structure and Written Expression questions, use the answer key to check your answers.

This section is designed to measure your ability to recognize language that is appropriate to use in standard written English. There are two types of questions in this section, with special directions for each type.
[h=2]Structure[/h] Directions: Questions 1–4 are incomplete sentences. Beneath each sentence you will see four words or phrases, marked A, B, C and D. Choose the one word or phrase that best completes the sentence. Then, on your answer sheet, find the number of the question and fill in the space that corresponds to the letter of the answer you have chosen.
Look at the following examples:
Example I
Geysers have often been compared to volcanoes _______ they both emit hot liquids from below the Earth's surface.

1. due to
2. because
3. in spite of
4. regardless of

The sentence should read, "Geysers have often been compared to volcanoes because they both emit hot liquids from below the Earth's surface." Therefore, you should choose answer B.
Example II
During the early period of ocean navigation, ________ any need for sophisticated instruments and techniques.

1. so that hardly
2. where there hardly was
3. hardly was
4. there was hardly

The sentence should read, "During the early period of ocean navigation, there was hardly any need for sophisticated instruments and techniques." Therefore, you should choose answer D.
[h=3]PRACTICE QUESTIONS[/h] 1. Refrigerating meats ________ the spread of bacteria.

• retards
• retarding
• to retard
• is retarded

2. Throughout the animal kingdom, ________ bigger than the elephant.

• whale is only the
• only the whale is
• is the whale only
• only whale is the

3. The fact ________ money orders can usually be easily cashed has made them a popular form of payment.

• of
• that
• is that
• which is

4. The first article of the United States Constitution gives Congress ________ to pass laws.

• the power
• has the power
• the power is
• of the power

[h=2]Written Expression[/h] Directions: In questions 5–10, each sentence has four underlined words or phrases. The four underlined parts of the sentence are marked A, B, C and D. Identify the one underlined word or phrase that must be changed in order for the sentence to be correct. Then, on your answer sheet, find the number of the question and fill in the space that corresponds to the letter of the answer you have chosen.
Look at the following examples:

The sentence should read, "Guppies are sometimes called rainbow fish because of the males' bright colors." Therefore, you should choose answer A.

The sentence should read, "Serving several terms in Congress, Shirley Chisholm became an important United States politician." Therefore, you should choose answer B.
[h=3]PRACTICE QUESTIONS[/h]

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[h=2]Structure and Written Expression[/h]

1. A
2. B
3. B
4. A
5. C
6. A
7. A
8. C
9. D
10. D