MUST-KNOW Grammar Rules

for
TOEFL ITP

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 Parts of Speech Overview

A noun is a person, a place, a thing or an idea (table, school, dogs, flowers).

A verb shows the action or state of being of a subject (is, am, kick, love)

A pronoun is used when replacing a noun (he, him, she, herself).

An adjective modifies a noun (beautiful, big, old, important).

An adverb modifies a verb, an adjective or adverb (deeply, violently, fast, sometimes)

A preposition is a word used to link nouns, pronouns, or phrases to other words within a
sentence. (in, on, at, under)

A conjunction connects words, phrases or clauses (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so).

An interjection is a word that expresses emotion (wow, oh, oops, yuck).

Direction: Identify the underlined part of speech.

1. A few minutes after we sank into our seats, the train whistled out of the station
and the conductor made his way down the aisle.
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2. Canadian lawmakers approved landmark legislation on Tuesday to fully legalize
marijuana.
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3. A freakish storm had caused the cancellation of all flights in and out of New York
City and a subsequent rush on rental cars.
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4. The students were in finals week and the coaching staff was busy setting up the next
season, but they all remembered me and were happy to catch up.
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5. That diversity may be best seen at the town, a small business incubator full of
refugees selling their native clothing and food.
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6. Witnesses described the vehicle involved in the shooting, and the description
was broadcast to officers in the area.
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7. One of the Chinese restaurants in Texas has been forced to shut his business down
for good after customers took advantage of a $25 all-you-can-eat deal.
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8. Customers paid the fee and received a membership card that entitled them to
unlimited food for the month.
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9. Some customers reportedly shared their card around with family and friends,
drastically increasing the volume of meals being consumed on a single purchase.
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10.Xi commended Kim for making positive efforts for realizing denuclearization and
maintaining peace on the peninsula,” adding that the situation there has been put
back on the right track of seeking settlement and that the situation on the peninsula
was developing towards peace and stability.
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 Phrase, Clause and Sentence

Phrase
A phrase is a group of two or more words that does not have the subject and verb
combination and does not form a predicate.

For example: A school building, a gas station, at the hospital, through the tunnel,
to pass the final exam, etc.

Types of phrases

Noun phrase: The big bad wolf is crawling slowly through the woods.
Prepositional phrase: Without knowing what to do, Emily decided to tell the
truth to her parents.
Infinitive phrase: To speak English fluently, you have to practice every day.
Appositive phrases: Romeo and Juliet, a famous love story, was written by
Shakespeare.
** Gerund phrase: Running is good for your health.
Drinking too much water can be bad for your stomach.
You have to avoid driving your car under the influence.

** Participial phrases is a verbal phrase that functions as an adjective and it used to

modify a noun or pronoun: V.3 (with –ed or –en ending) or V.ing

For example
 Hijacked by a group of terrorists, the plane was forced to stop at Heathrow
Airport.
 Wearing the bright, colorful, strange dress, Patricia must have lost her taste
in fashion.
 Exhausted from work, Lily went back to bed once she got home.
 I saw Michael canoeing along the river.
 The ancient castle destroyed by the severe storm has never been rebuilt.

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 Clause
Clauses are groups of words that have both subjects and predicates. There are two
types of clauses; independent clause and subordinate clause.

Independent clause is a clause which sometimes can act as a sentence.

For example: The rain started to fall.

A subordinate clause cannot be on their own.

For example: While I was walking along the street,

Sentence
A complete sentence has a subject and predicate, and can often be composed of
more than one clause.

For example:
 He started his journey up on Monday.
 In the document, North Korea promises to get rid of nuclear weapons.
 During the historic summit in Singapore, US President Donald Trump and the
North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un met.
 Adam West, the actor who played Batman in the 1960s TV series, died last
week aged 88.
 He puts the lighter near the river and the river gets on fire!

Direction: Identify if the underlined(s) in each sentence is a phrase, a clause or a sentence.

1. He went to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

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2. Believers practice self-discipline during this month by fasting.
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3. The human body is simply not meant to be in the sea for 100 days.
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4. Both Google and Apple introduced ways for people to limit the time that they spend
on their phones.
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5. You can develop something called ‘salt mouth’ which is when your tongue and
throat swell up because of salt water exposure.
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6. With some costumes costing as much as $20,000, the festival is an opportunity for
participants to show off their economic power.
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7. Tourists have flooded this beach with as many as 4,000 visitors arriving on boats
every day.
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8. Kilauea volcano on the Island of Hawaiʻi, the biggest of the Hawaiian Islands,
explosively erupted this May and has been a serious threat ever since.
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9. Buying beer in plastic bags is a local custom in east China’s Qingdao City where
almost every streets shop is equipped with Tsingdao beer barrels and sterilised
plastic bags.
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10. Julia Hobsbawm, a social health expert, said that people living in cities of developed
economies often spend too much time on their phones which can stop them from real
relationships and living offline lives.
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 Finite and Non-Finite Verb Overview
Finite Verb;
 show tense
She works in Bangkok. She has worked in Bangkok.

 show changes in number and person

He works. They work. I am. You are.

 Be constructed with an auxiliary/modal

I am working. I should be working.

Non-Finite Verbs do not indicate person, number or tense.

 Present participle: -ing words

walking, tiring, working

 Past participle: -ed words

walked, tired, worked

 Infinitive: the root of any verb (no tense or person ending)

(to) walk, (to) tire, (to) work

Direction: Identify finite verb (F) and non-finite verbs of the following sentences.

1. The battle for Twenty-First Century Fox reflects a new imperative among
entertainment and telecommunications firms.
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2. After six months of integration planning we're even more enthusiastic and confident
in the strategic fit.
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3. The President has approved a resolution that condemns and apologizes for the
centuries of human slavery that were supported and promoted by its former
lawmakers.
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4. Cardi also talked about gun control laws, saying that she feels they should be
tightened and involve a mental health evaluation.
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5. The family of a 12-year-old who committed suicide has filed a lawsuit against the
young girl's school district, claiming it failed to protect her from months of intense
bullying.
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6. The search involving 350 personnel and at least half a dozen boats has turned up
items of clothing, bags and traces of oil from the ferry but just several victims.
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7. The councilman said he still can't shake the pain caused by the massacre at his
church three years ago in which nine parishioners were killed.
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8. While she was out for a routine jog at around 7:30 a.m. on Sunday in Bridgewater,
Massachusetts, about 33 miles south of Boston, a man pulled his SUV over, ran
toward her and tried to drag her into his vehicle.
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9. More than 3,000 people have been vaccinated with an experimental vaccine in the
first-ever attempt to stop an emerging Ebola epidemic.
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10.For almost a week, tens of thousands of foreign and local fans have been turning the
heart of Moscow into a street party each night, gathering in the area around the
Kremlin in a huge tide of chanting, dancing and drinking, which doesn't recede until
the very early hours of the morning.
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Effective Reading Strategies
for
TOEFL ITP

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1) Go directly to questions, scan answers and highlight key words.

What is the main idea of the passage?

(A) In modern society we must make more time for our neighbors.
(B) The traditions of society are timeless.
(C) An accepted way of measuring time is essential for the smooth functioning of society.
(D) Society judges people by the times at which they conduct certain activities

2) Use the “Line Numbering.”

In line 7, the phrase ‘‘this tradition’’ refers to

(A) the practice of starting the business day at dawn
(B) friendly relations between neighbors
(C) the railroad’s reliance on time schedules
(D) people’s agreement on the measurement of time

3) Don’t expect to understand every word. Try to guess the meaning of the vocabulary that
you don’t know by looking at the words and sentences around it. If you still cannot guess
the meaning, move on and forget about it.

4) Time management
 Total time for reading section: 55 minutes
 Total questions: 50
 Total passages: 5
 Words in each passage: between 250 – 400 words

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 Types of questions

1. Main idea questions

 What is the topic of the passage?
 What is the subject of this passage?
 What is the main idea of this passage?
 What is the author’s main point in the passage?
 With what is the author primarily concerned?
 Which of the following would be the best title?

2. Stated detail questions

 According to the passage, …
 It is stated in the passage that…
 The passage indicates that …
 The author mentions that…
 Which of the following is true…?

3. Unstated detail questions

 Which of the following is not stated…?
 Which of the following is not mentioned…?
 Which of the following is not discussed…?
 All of the following are true except…

4. Implied detail questions

 It is implied in the passage that…?
 It can be inferred from the passage that…?
 It is most likely that…
 What probably happened…?

5. Vocabulary in context questions

 What is the meaning …?
 Which of the following is closest in meaning to…?
 …could best be replaced by which of the following?

6. “Where” questions
 Where in the passage…?
Note: Answers can be found in any lines listed in the answer options.

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