A Question from CLIFF's ...

[raghuveer_v]

This is for Cliff's Toefl Prep. Guide, Structure Review, Mini Test 3,

Q 48. That these students have improved their grades because of their participation in the test review class.

Correct Answer : A (That)
Correction:
These students have improved their grades because of their participation in the test review class.

Now,

I feel C (because of their) can also be the answer, in which case the correction could be ...

That these students have improved their grades is because of their participation in the test review class.

Yes, that looks a bit awkward, but isn't it grammatically correct?

It could be seen as a modifcation of ...

It is because of their participation in the test review class that these students have improved their grades.

What do you say?





Raghuveer.

[Erin]

This is for Cliff's Toefl Prep. Guide, Structure Review, Mini Test 3,

Q 48. That these students have improved their grades because of their participation in the test review class.

Correct Answer : A (That)
Correction:
These students have improved their grades because of their participation in the test review class.

Now,

I feel C (because of their) can also be the answer, in which case the correction could be ...

That these students have improved their grades is because of their participation in the test review class.

Yes, that looks a bit awkward, but isn't it grammatically correct?

It could be seen as a modifcation of ...

It is because of their participation in the test review class that these students have improved their grades.

What do you say?

Raghuveer.

Strictly speaking, Cliff's is right because

That these students have improved their grades

is a noun clause and must have a noun complement after it (another noun or adjective) to modify it. And

because of their participation in the test review class.

is neither; it's an adverb clause.

HOWEVER, your logic is sound and is S-O-O-O close to the way that many people actually speak that I'd have to say that TOEFL would NOT have this sort of sentence on the test.

Several years ago I sent an e-mail to TOELF asking them essentially whether they'd put a question on the grammar section that represents the mistakes that native speakers make. The example I used in my e-mail was "like" as a subordinating conjunction, i.e., "like" + a sentence. Here's an example that might make this clearer:

Don't do it like I do it.

Strictly speaking this should be:

Don't do it as I do it.

or

Don't do it like me.

Anyway, all three forms of this sentence are very, VERY common in American English, and I was wondering whether they'd put this type of question on the test.

The response from TOEFL was an unequivocal NO. You will notice, then, that on official TOEFL tests, all the answers to the grammar questions are not debatable; they are what I describe as "100%;" i.e., nobody would disagree.

So, yes, I agree with you--I don't think this is a valid test question.



Erin

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[raghuveer_v]

Thanks Erin!



Raghuveer.