Select the phrase in the following sentence that is not used correctly. Before their hospitalization, the children had rarely eaten three meals a day.

Correct Answer: C

Rationale: The phrase 'had rarely' is not used correctly in the sentence. The correct form should be 'rarely eaten' instead of 'had rarely' to convey the past tense of the children's eating habits before their hospitalization. 'Had rarely' is incorrect because it does not match the structure needed to describe the children's eating habits in the past. Choices A, B, and D are grammatically sound and fit appropriately in the sentence.

Correct Answer: A

Rationale: The correct answer is 'and.' The sentence requires a conjunction that shows the need for both a thorough cleaning and washing the windows. The word 'and' is used to connect two actions that must be performed, indicating a list of tasks that should be completed in the lounge. Choices B, C, and D are incorrect because 'or' would imply a choice between cleaning and washing the windows, 'but' would suggest a contrast or contradiction between cleaning and washing the windows, and 'yet' is used to show a contrast or unexpected result, which is not suitable in this context where both actions are necessary.

Correct Answer: D

Rationale: The word 'although' is the best fit in the sentence because it indicates a contrast between the fact that the emergency room was not busy last night and the head nurse's decision not to let anyone end her shift early. 'Although' sets up a contrast by acknowledging the first part of the sentence while introducing the surprising or unexpected information that follows. Choices A, B, and C do not provide the appropriate contrast needed in this context. 'Because' implies causation, 'Provided that' implies a condition for something to happen, and 'As if' implies a comparison rather than a contrast.

Correct Answer: C

Rationale: The word 'our' is the best substitute for the underlined words 'the doctor's and my' in the sentence. Using 'our' indicates joint possession, making the sentence more concise and natural. Choice A, 'his', is singular possessive and does not reflect the joint ownership implied by the sentence. Choice B, 'their', is plural possessive and does not align with the singular subjects 'the doctor and I'. Choice D, 'mine', is possessive for the first person singular pronoun and does not convey the shared ownership of the notes by both individuals.

Correct Answer: B

Rationale: The sentence starts with 'Before I had finished supper,' indicating that the action of James texting you on your cell phone had occurred before the completion of another past action (finishing supper). The past perfect tense 'had texted' is used to express an action that happened before another action in the past, making the sentence grammatically correct. Choice A is incorrect because it uses the present continuous tense, which is not suitable for indicating an action that occurred before finishing supper. Choice C is incorrect as it uses the simple present tense, which does not convey the sequence of events correctly. Choice D is incorrect as it presents the present continuous tense, which is not appropriate for the context of the sentence.

Correct Answer: B

Rationale: The word 'whose' in the sentence should be 'whose.' 'Whose' is the correct possessive form used to indicate that the diploma belongs to the doctor. 'Who's' is a contraction for 'who is' or 'who has,' which does not make sense in this context. The other words in the sentence - 'That,' 'hung,' and 'partition' are all used correctly in the sentence.

Correct Answer: A

Rationale: The correct word to use in this sentence is 'volunteered' as it indicates an action that Cathy did in the past. The sentence suggests that Cathy was engaging in volunteering at the hospital for the first time, so the past tense form 'volunteered' is the most appropriate choice. Choice B ('volunteering') is incorrect because it is the present participle form and does not fit the past tense context of the sentence. Choice C ('was volunteered') is passive voice and implies that someone else made Cathy volunteer, which is not the intended meaning. Choice D ('volunteer') is incorrect as it is the base form of the verb and does not match the past tense requirement of the sentence.

Correct Answer: B

Rationale: The correct sentence should be: 'Because of a major accident on the freeway, the emergency room was overcrowded.' A comma is needed after 'freeway' to separate the introductory dependent clause from the independent clause that follows. Choice A (Period) is incorrect as it would create two separate sentences. Choice C (Exclamation point) is incorrect as there is no exclamation in the sentence. Choice D (Semicolon) is incorrect as it is used to separate closely related independent clauses.

Correct Answer: A

Rationale: The word 'stealthy' is used incorrectly in the sentence. The correct adverb form of the word should be 'stealthily' to modify the verb 'moving.' Therefore, it should be 'Moving stealthily, the sneaky little boy reached for the cookie jar on the topmost shelf.' Choices B, C, and D are all used appropriately in the sentence. 'Sneaky' describes the boy, 'reached' is the action verb, and 'topmost' correctly describes the location of the cookie jar.