<p>If you guys could please explain to me why each question is wrong, that would be great. </p>
<ol>
<li>Themes of family and history figure prominently in Martín Espada's [poetry, one poem tells of the journey of a father and son and their going] to Puerto Rico to search for their ancestor's grave. </li>
</ol>
<p>A.
B. poetry; one poem tells of the journey of a father and son
C. poetry, one of which tell of a father and son's journey
D. poetry, and one poem had told of the journey taken by a father and son who goes
E. poetry; one poem telling of a father and son's journeying</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Interest [to revive] the ancient Olympic Games [as] an international event grew [when] the ruins of the ancient city of Olympia [were uncovered] by German archaeologists in the mid-nineteenth century. [no error[
(i have no idea when to use the infinitive of a verb and when to use a gerund)</p></li>
<li><p>Maxine Hong Kingston's [surprisingly] unconventional book The Woman Warrior [blends] Chinese myth with American reality, fiction with fact, [and] memory with imagination [to create] a fascinating tale. [no error]
Same with number 2, i have no idea when to use the infinitive or the gerund of a verb</p></li>
<li><p>While many people [believe] that television commercials are quite harmful to children, [others] contend that [such] advertising has very little [or no] negative effect.
Isn't it suppose to be "to no" negative effect?</p></li>
<li><p>[They had never before been] in a museum with such an extensive collection, they had a difficult time deciding how to make the most of the limited time they could spend there.
A
B. They never before were
C. Never before had they been
D. Never before having been
E. Because of never before being
why isn't it E?</p></li>
<li><p>[Were I to be granted] a whole month in which to do whatever I wanted, I would travel throughout Africa and see as much of that continent as I could.
A
B. If I would have been granted
C. With me being granted
D. Granting me
E. By being granted</p></li>
</ol>
<p>why isn't it B?</p>
<p>Thanks in advance</p>
<ol>
<li><p>The comma in the original joins 2 independent clauses. This error is called a comma splice. B is correct because a semicolon can join 2 independent clauses. A relative pronoun could wok, but C has a subject-verb disagreement. “one” doesn’t fit “tell”; “tells” is required. A coordinating conjunction could work, but D has a verb tense error: the first clause is in the present, but “had told” is past perfect. The same tense is required. “tells” would be correct. A participle (“telling”) could work, but E joins the first clause to the participial phrase with a semicolon. A comma is required for that construction.</p></li>
<li><p>There is no rule that guides this one. In American English, “Interest to verb” is not idiomatic, and that’s all one can say about it. “Interest in reviving” is the correct idiom. </p></li>
<li><p>When you say gerund, you seem to be thinking “any verb that ends in -ing.” Sometimes that is a gerund, but more often it is a participle, which is what you seem to be imagining here: “creating a fascinating tale.” I think the difference here is that the infinitive more strongly suggests a cause-effect relationship, and maybe even a purposeful one, between the things that get blended and the creation of the fascinating tale. A participle more often suggests simple simultaneity.</p></li>
<li><p>“to no” would be fine, except that it changes the meaning. “little or no” is also idiomatically correct.</p></li>
<li><p>In theory, E could work. “Because of” needs to be followed by a noun. You could correctly write “Because of Bob,” for example. “being” is a gerund in this case, and a gerund is a noun, so it could fit, and modifying it with “never before” shouldn’t change that. All I can say is that it sounds quite unidiomatic to write “Because of gerund.” I’ve run a dozen examples through my head, and none of them sounds right.</p></li>
<li><p>I think your instinct is telling you that the word “if” is required here. That’s almost correct. “If” often introduces a phrase in the subjunctive mode: “If I were . . .” But the subjunctive does not require “if,” and in A, you find a somewhat old-fashioned example of this. “Were I” is equivalent to “If I were.” So that is why A is correct. B is not correct because “would have been granted” tries to shift the action into the true past, when what is required is a hypothetical future. Also, “would have been” never follows if. To achieve the same verb tense, one could write “If I had been . . .” (but again, that is not the correct tense for this situation).</p></li>
</ol>
<p>I’ve cited mostly usage rules here, and most of them involve things that experienced readers simply know instead of puzzling out. The only way to learn this stuff is to read read read for years and years.</p>