<ol>
<li>Someone who uses a personal computer (A. to perform) only (B. such tasks as) word processing and sending e-mail (C.need not) buy the most (D. advanced) model available on the market.</li>
</ol>
<p>I was able to get this one correct by ear, but what is the grammar concept behind (C.need not)? Is it subjunctive?</p>
<p>29 Quincy took Dan to Derek's home (A. for a visit), (B.never imagining) that five years (C.would pass) before (D.seeing) Derek again.</p>
<p>This one completely stumped me. I felt that there was something wrong with (D.seeing), and I thought the last question would be too easy to be a no error without anything sounding particularly weird, so I selected D.</p>
<p>But what is the grammar principle behind it? It should probably be "before he saw" right? What dictates this?</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Jean Toomer was (A. not only) the author of Cane, a novel whose publication (B. has been viewed) (C. as marking) the beginning of the Harlem Renaissance, but also a respected (D. among Quakers).
Can someone tell me the answer^^^ and why? I know what the answer is, but doesn't make much sense to me...</p></li>
<li><p>The famous filmmaker (A. had a tendency) (B. of changing) his recollections, perhaps (C. out of boredom) (D. at having) to tell interviewers the same story over and over.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>It's an idiom mistake, but which of the answer choices contains the idiom mistake?!?!? I was very confused... How do I tell?</p>
<ol>
<li><p>“need not” is the same is “does/do not need.” It’s not subjunctive.</p></li>
<li><p>If it’s “seeing,” then the sentence suggests that “five years” would be “seeing” Derek, since “five years” is the nearest subject.</p></li>
<li><p>“a respected” will need a noun after it, unless the “a” is a typo, in which case D should be “by Quakers” (idiom: “respected by”)</p></li>
<li><p>the idiom is “tendency to” + base form, so in this case “tendency to change”</p></li>
</ol>
<p>For number 25, I would say that the error is the wrong phrase following the word “tendency,” so the error is in B. You have a point, though, that you could also correct this sentence by replacing A with something like “had a habit.” </p>
<p>@WasatchWriter @marvin100
sorry, the corrected #18 looks like this
“18. Jean Toomer was (A. not only) the author of Cane, a novel whose publication (B. has been viewed) (C. as marking) the beginning of the Harlem Renaissance, but also a respected advisor (D. among Quakers).
Can someone tell me the answer^^^ and why? I know what the answer is, but doesn’t make much sense to me…”
the answer is actually “E” no error, but I feel that there should be an error with (C. as marking)… </p>
<ol>
<li>(By painting them) this afternoon, the walls would be completely dry by tomorrow evening.
a. If they would have been painted
c. Were they to be painted</li>
</ol>
<p>c sounded correct by ear, and it is correct, but someone PLEASE explain the grammar mechanics behind it!</p>
<ol>
<li><p>C) is fine because “viewed as -ing” is idiomatic.</p></li>
<li><p>@Jor26029 is correct. Your ear will mislead you on conditionals–“would” only goes on the “then” side, never on the “if” side for past conditions. “Were they to be painted” is another way of saying “If they were to be painted,” and both are correct for subjunctive mood.</p></li>
</ol>