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English 105 Business English
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v Instructor Information
v Introduction to Course
v Course Syllabus
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v Notebook
v Important Phone Numbers
v Important Dates
v Weekly Assignments
v Short Lectures
v Pretest
v Mini Reference
v Proofreading
v Powerpoint Presentations
v Pop Quizzes (Extra Credit)
v Practice Quiz Answers
v Real Quiz
v Special Assignment 11 Answers
v Student/Student Discussion Board
v Proofreading Errors Discussion Board
v Check Your Score

Chapter Pretests

Textbook Pretest Answers & Instructor Notes

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ANSWERS TO TEXTBOOK PRETEST

After you have taken the pretest, please grade yourself.

  1. b
  2. d
  3. d
  4. c
  5. c
  6. a
  7. False
  8. c
  9. True
  10. b
  11. a
  12. a
  13. c
  14. b
  15. d
  16. C
  17. "Money, beauty, intelligence, and charm--she has them all,"
  18. here; however,
  19. C
  20. name; then

HAVE YOU COME TO THE RIGHT PLACE (CLASS)?
HERE’S YOUR FORTUNE.

Use this scale as a guide. Have fun!

Number Correct

18-20

 You have a good command of English for your career. This course will serve as a brush up, and you will become an expert.

15-17

 Your English skill is fair. After the practice provided in this course, you’ll have excellent skill in the English required for your career.

12-14

 Your English for your career needs improvement. Because your basic language skill is all right, you’ll enjoy the rapid learning that will result from completing all assignments.

0-11

 You came to the right place! Taking this course is a wise decision. Because you are now motivated to learn English for your career, you’ll capture those principles that escaped you in the past.

REMEMBER: Your past is not your potential.

 

PROFESSOR TAYLOR’S EXPLANATION OF PRETEST SENTENCES AND ANSWERS ON PAGE XV:

If you missed any Pretest questions, please read the following explanations. I’ve written the sentence in correct form followed by the explanation.

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Corrected Sentence

Explanation

 

 

 

  1.  

The carton of books and papers has been lost.

The sentence subject is carton, not the noun books.
  1.  

Etymology is the study of the history of words.

We will study why we might need to know the history (etymology) of some words in Chapter 3.
  1.  

If the first line of the inside address of a business letter is “Mr. Samuel E. Smith,” the preferred salutation is Dear Mr. Smith:

Chapter 14 discusses standard business letter format. Yes, there are rules.
  1.  

Outsource means to use services of workers who are not employees of your organization.

At Coastline Community College we often outsource large printing jobs because we do not have the staff to complete the work in the time frame given.
  1.  

Such a phenomenon has never before occurred.

The word phenomenon is the singular of phenomena. These phenomena have never before occurred, but this phenomenon has never before occurred.
  1.  

George’s wife is the president of the company.

Capitalize specific titles that appear directly before a persons name; i.e., President Sue Smith, George’s wife, is the president of the company. Do not capitalize general title names or general nouns.
  1.  

When preparing slide presentations, the words are relatively unimportant. False.

PowerPoint presentations use the best of both worlds to help people sell their ideas:  words and graphics.
  1.  

After three years of being on this merry-go-round, George decided to get off and change his ways.

In this sentence we are talking about the plural of year: years. No apostrophe is needed because of is a preposition, not a noun. No ownership is shown. If you have a hard time spotting prepositional phrase, just remember that prepositional phrases begin with a little word, have no noun following this word, and end with a noun.

  1.  

When you’re laying out material for a website, place the most interesting and important information at or near the beginning. True

Absolutely. People want to see the most important information a web site has to offer first. The web designer needs to grab the web surfer’s attention and keep him or her at the site.
  1.  

Please give the reports to Frank Hitt and me.

This sentence has an understood subject: You. Notice how the sentence is a polite request or command. The minute you see the preposition to, read the sentence without Frank Hitt. Please give the reports to me. Do you see how this just sounds right? Please give the reports to I or to myself would sound silly.
  1.  

Ms. Denova is the one who we believe danced the hoochie koochie.

Ms. Denova is the one (or woman.) We believe who (she) danced the hoochie koochie. Who stands for the subject nouns or pronouns. A few of these subject nouns are Jim, Kathy, and Sue. A few of the subject pronouns are I, she, he, they, and we.  Whom stands for the object pronouns. They are preceded by prepositions. A few of the object pronouns are me, her, him, and them.
  1.  

If you had gone to work today, you would have seen the sunset.

The past time or tense verb is went. Went would never be used with a helping verb. Had is your tip to use the past participle gone.
  1.  

Which would be easier for you to prepare, a letter or a short report.

We are comparing two items: a letter or a report. This is why we use the comparative form of easy: easier. If we had compared three or more or one with all others, we would have used the superlative form easiest.
  1.  

We hope to receive an 18 percent discount.

Say eighteen and listen to the sound of the first letter. Do you hear the short e sound? Just remember, the vowel or consonant sound is important when deciding whether to use a or an.

A fifteen-year-old boxer is considered an older dog, but an eighteen-year-old cat is considered a teenager. It is not the vowel or consonant that is important. It is the sound of the vowel or consonant.
  1.  

After Shawn worked at the computer all day, his eyes were tired.

Who worked all day? This sentence indicates his eyes worked all day. We rewrote the first part of the sentence and included the subject Shawn.
  1.  

C

For Your Information: Commas and periods always, always go inside quotes.
  1.  

"Money, beauty, intelligence, and charm--she has them all," said George’s friend Jesse.

This is a direct quote that includes a series before the complete sentence. In this instance, use an em-dash (two hyphens typed directly after the series with no spaces before or after the hyphens and a comma after the end of the sentence followed by a quote. This is called an introductory quote. Notice that ," said George's friend Jesse is at the end of the sentence.
  1.  

Mr. Crane is not here; however, I can help you.

Two short sentences are shown. Use the semicolon to separate the sentences. Then insert the transitional word however.
  1.  

C

Yes, this is a long sentence. Business is full of long sentences, and you should not place a comma because you have run out of breath. We’ve mailed you a copy of the new book we told you about appears to be the end of the first sentence. Yet we cannot begin the next sentence with the verb hope. If you say, “Hope it will reach you by the end of the month,” you would sound childlike. If you just have to join the two word groups, make sure you add a subject--a noun or pronoun--to the beginning of the second word group. Here is an example.

 

We’ve mailed you a copy of the new book we told you about, and we hope it will reach you before the end of the month.

  1.  

Greet your clients by name; then welcome them with a smile.

These two sentences are courteous commands. The understood subject of both sentences is “You.” Two complete sentences may be separated with a semicolon. The transitional word then is placed after the semicolon to show both sentences are closely related. We wouldn’t use the comma because the comma is saved for the exclusive use with , and   , but   , or   , nor    and sometimes , yet.



Chapter Pretests (Chapter 1)

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PRETEST FOR CHAPTER 1

Pretest For Chapter 1

PRETEST FOR CHAPTER 1 – Word Power

Print this pretest.
With a brightly colored pen, circle the letter of the correct answer.
Check your answers.
Place pretest behind the notebook divider named Pretest. 
After you have completed the chapter, take the test again. You'll see how much you have learned!

1.     The decline in value of property because of wear and age is called  (a) dividend  (b) an audit  (c) down time  (d) capitalism  (e) depreciation.

2.     The equipment that constitutes a computer system is the  (a) Internet  (b) fax  (c) K  (d) hardware  (e) WYSIWIG.

3.     A written authorization by a stockholder for someone to vote in his or her place is a  (a) retainer  (b) quorum  (c) power of attorney  (d) notary public  (e) proxy.

4.     A barrier that prevents career advancement within an organization is a/an  (a) markup  (b) exemption  (c) glass ceiling  (d) emoticon  (e) bar code.

5.     Software for an accounting-type worksheet is called  (a) spreadsheet  (b) lien  (c) multimedia  (d) Windows  (e) LAN.

6.     Which is correctly spelled?  (a) copywright  (b) copywrite  (c) copy write  (d) copyright  (e) copy-right

7.     The Dow in Dow Jones rhymes with  (a) cow  (b) dough  (c) who.

 



Chapter Pretests (Chapter 2)

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PRETEST FOR CHAPTER 2

Pretest For Chapter 2 – Weather or Knot

 

Circle the incorrect words, and write the correct words on the line below the sentence. If all words are correct, write C in the blank.

 

1.     He choose his final objective, witch was to pear expenses four the company.

        ____________________________________________________

2.     The letter will be on it’s weigh immediately if we don’t loose it.

        ___________________________________________________

3.     I’ll adapt the boy who is the son of an imminent judge.

        ___________________________________________________

4.     What affect do you think the personal change will have on the company?

        ___________________________________________________

5.     People have often been prosecuted because of their religious beliefs.

        ___________________________________________________

6.     This is just between you and I.

        __________________________________________________

7.     The word mischievous has four syllables.

        ___________________________________________________

8.     Do not pronounce the s at the end of Illinois.

            ________________________________________________

Circle the incorrect words, and write the correct words on the line below the sentence. If all words are correct, write C in the blank.

 

1.     He choose his final objective, witch was to pear expenses four the company.

        _________________________________________________

2.     The letter will be on it’s weigh immediately if we don’t loose it.

        ___________________________________________________

3.     I’ll adapt the boy who is the son of an imminent judge.

        __________________________________________________

4.     What affect do you think the personal change will have on the company?

        __________________________________________________

5.     People have often been prosecuted because of their religious beliefs.

        ___________________________________________________

6.     This is just between you and I.

        ___________________________________________________

7.     The word mischievous has four syllables.

        __________________________________________________

8.     Do not pronounce the s at the end of Illinois.

            __________________________________________________

 

Chapter Pretests (Chapter 3)

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PRETEST FOR CHAPTER 3

PRETEST FOR CHAPTER 3 – Ain’t Is in the Dictionary

 

Using a brightly colored pen, circle the letter of the correct answer.

 

1.     The best way to find synonyms is to look in a/an (a) pocket dictionary (b) college dictionary (c) thesaurus (d) English textbook (e) encyclopedic dictionary.

2.     Unabridged dictionaries typically have at least how many entries? (a) 40,000 (b) 100,000 (c) 150,000 (d) 200,000 (e) 250,000

3.     Etymology means the (a) study of insects (b) history of language (c) dictionary listings of famous people (d) study of how words are spelled (e) unusual compound expressions, such as hand-me-down.

4.     Which spelling is correct? (a) accommodate (b) reccomend (c) nation-wide (d) priviledge (e) persue

5.     The dictionary system of symbols, abbreviations, and special words is (a) not the same in all dictionaries (b) standard in all good dictionaries (c) the same in all college dictionaries.

6.     Diacritical marks in the dictionary tell you (a) the preferred way to spell a word (b) how to pronounce a word (c) not to use the word in polite company (d) the part of speech of a word (e) whether or not it is abridged.

7.     If your parents had good grades in English, chances are the dictionary they used in school will be a good one for you to use. (a) True (b) False

8.     One dictionary that gives the earliest definitions first is (a) Webster’s New World (b) American Heritage (c) Random House Webster’s.



Chapter Pretests (Chapter 4)

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PRETEST FOR CHAPTER 4

PRETEST FOR CHAPTER 4 – Grammar for Grown-Ups

 

A. Write the number of the part of speech in the blank beside the definition:

1.     noun                                     _____  first word of a prepositional phrase

2.     pronoun                                _____  modifies a verb, adjective, or adverb

3.     verb                                     _____  joins words, phrases, or clauses

4.     adjective                               _____  describes a noun or pronoun

5.     adverb                                  _____  substitutes for a noun

6.     conjunction                           _____  names a person, place, thing, or idea

7.     preposition                            _____  expresses action or state of being

 

B. In the blanks write the name of the part of speech of each underlined, numbered word.

  8       9    10      11        12                                   13         14

He asked a question but didn’t wait patiently for an answer.

 8. _______________    9.   _______________   10.     _______________     11.     _______________

 

12.  _______________   13.   _______________   14.     _______________

 

C. Write three sentences using the word book as follows:

15. book as a noun _____________________________________________________________________

16. book as a verb _____________________________________________________________________

17. book as an adjective ________________________________________________________________



Chapter Pretests (Chapter 5)

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PRETEST FOR CHAPTER 5

PRETEST FOR CHAPTER 5 – Apples, Tigers, and Swahili

 

Write the letter of the correct answer in the blank. Read all answer choices.

 

1.     Which is correct in this sentence? Two _________ share an office in this building.

        (a) attorneys  (b) attorney’s  (c) attornies  (d) attorneys’  (e) both a and b

2.     Which is correct in this sentence? We brought back two __________ from our trip.

        (a) momentos  (b) momentoes  (c) mementos  (d) mementoes  (e) both c and d

3.     Which is correct in this sentence? His clothes ______________ always on the floor.

        (a) is  (b) are  (c) both a and b

4.     Which is correct in this sentence? My two sisters’ husbands are my _____________ .

        (a) brothers-in-laws  (b) brother-in-laws  (c) brothers-in-law  (d) brother in laws  (e) none of these

5.     Which is correct in this sentence? Our _____________ is closed.

        (a) purchasing department  (b) Purchasing department  (c) Purchasing Department  (d) none of these

6.     Which is preferred in this sentence? The _____________ in this city deserve a raise.

        (a) firemen  (b) firemen and firewomen  (c) firepersons  (d) firefighters

7.     Which is preferred in this sentence? Three ____________ received their licenses today.

        (a) notarys public  (b) notaries public  (c) notary publics  (d) notary’s public  (e) none of these

8.     Which is correct in this sentence? The _____________ is not valid.

        (a) criterion  (b) criteria  (c) neither of these



Chapter Pretests (Chapter 6)

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PRETEST FOR CHAPTER 6

PRETEST FOR CHAPTER 6 – Be Kind to Substitutes

 

Using a brightly colored pen, circle the letter of the correct answer.

 

 1.   Please give it to (a) he and I  (b) him and I  (c) he and me  (d) him and me  (e) a or d.

 2.   (a) We  (b) Us  students want more homework.

 3.   Please give more assignments to (a) us  (b) we students.

 4.   Is he older than (a) I  (b) me?

 5.   Only Ms. Englehart and (a) you  (b) yourself use Excel regularly.

 6.   They voted (a) theirself  (b) themself  (c) theirselves  (d) themselves a bonus.

 7.   (a) Who’s  (b) Whose  on first base?

 8.   He can invite (a) whoever  (b) whomever  he pleases.

 9.   (a) Every one  (b) Everyone  of you might find a job online today.

10.   Fullerton College opens (a) it’s  (b) its  (c) their  (d) there  new building today.



Chapter Pretests (Chapter 7)

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PRETEST FOR CHAPTER 7

PRETEST FOR CHAPTER 7 – Looking for the Action? Then Find the Verbs!

 

In the blank write a correct verb form to fit in the following sentences. If the verb is already correct, write C.

 

___________      1.    Twileen and George talks on the phone every evening.

 

___________      2.    She told him that Anchorage was larger than Boise.

 

___________      3.    Demand for workers keep increasing, causing wages to rise.

 

___________      4.    He been watching TV all day.

 

___________      5.    When the West was young, capital punishment meant being hung.

 

___________      6.    Crouched in front of his car, he stood near her house all day.

 

___________      7.    They had all ran away from the erupting volcano.

 

___________      8.    I said, “He don’t know any better,” but they didn’t believe me.

 

___________      9.    A box of our most expensive tools is on the table.

 

___________     10.     If I was you, I would look at the Internet’s “Monster Board” for a job.

 



Chapter Pretests (Chapter 8)

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PRETEST FOR CHAPTER 8

PRETEST FOR CHAPTER 8 – Words That Describe

 

In the blanks write the correct forms for adverb or adjective errors. If the adjectives and adverbs are correct, write C.

 

___________      1.    I don’t think those type of children can profit from such an activity.

___________      2.    An unknown admirer sent me a $11 gift for a NAACP official.

___________      3.    He won’t go nowhere with me on a sunny day.

___________      4.    Who do you think is more intelligent—Jamie, Annie, or Josie?

___________      5.    After using product X and product Y, which do you think is best?

___________      6.    This car runs quieter than any other car I have had.

___________      7.    She feels badly about making such a serious mistake.

___________      8.    He knows how to toot his own horn and to play the drums good.

___________      9.    She is real smart and speaks French well.

___________     10.     Of our six stores, this one is managed the poorest.

 



Chapter Pretests (Chapter 9)

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PRETEST FOR CHAPTER 9

PRETEST FOR CHAPTER 9 – The Taming of the Apostrophe

 

With a brightly colored pen, correct words with unneeded apostrophes and insert apostrophes and s’s where needed. Write C if the sentence is already correct.

 

_____     1.   Many boss’s seem oblivious to whats going on with worker’s.

_____     2.   A shoe manufacturer recently opened two stores on the citys south side.

_____     3.   His brother-in-laws manager has the recessionary mindset of the early 90’s.

_____     4.   Mens and boys clothes are on sale.

_____     5.   Mr. James companies boosted wages by 30 percent. (name is James)

_____     6.   The CEOs of 100 companies wrote to Ms. Perkins office. (name is Perkins)

_____     7.   We studied Knoxs proposal to offer perks like medical and life insurance to boost all our sales representatives commissions. (name is Knox)

_____     8.   Whistlers Mother hangs in the worlds most famous museum, the Louvre, in Paris.



Chapter Pretests (Chapter 10)

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PRETEST FOR CHAPTER 10

PRETEST FOR CHAPTER 10 – Secret Life of a Sentence Revealed

 

Fill in the blanks with CS for a comma splice, R for a run-on, F for a fragment, and C if the item has none of these three errors.

___   1.  Even in companies that were devastated, and in many cases forced out of business, during the last recession.

___   2.  So far, that tactic has had limited success.

___   3.  Paying higher salaries does not always work, this firm has been looking for data entry clerks for months.

___   4.  Internet’s Careerpath lets you create an online profile.

___   5.  Take your job hunt to the Internet it boosts your access to opportunities.

___   6.  Despite attempts to broaden the supply of workers, demand keeps increasing, putting upward pressure on wages.

___   7.  Hoping you’ll soon send us your order in the enclosed envelope.

___   8.  The picnic was fun, although the ants thought so too.



Chapter Pretests (Chapter 11)

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PRETEST FOR CHAPTER 11

PRETEST FOR CHAPTER 11 – The Pauses That Refresh

 

Using a brightly colored pen, insert commas where needed. If no comma is needed, write C in the blank.

 

___   1.  More than 70 percent of management positions today require computer literacy and someone has to provide that training.

___   2.  The gap between workplace demands for technical expertise and the skills workers have as they enter the labor market provides many opportunities for specialists who can teach computer skills.

___   3.  Traditionally concentrated in small firms copyright and patent lawyers are now in demand by major corporations.

___   4.  The increase in temporary employment which has become more than a $39 billion a year industry has created a huge demand for headhunters.

___   5.  “Electricians pipe fitters and masons are especially in demand” according to U.S. News & World Report.

___   6.  Did the new technician quit because he received a better offer from a Las Vegas Nevada company?

___   7.  Well just because market conditions say you’re worth more doesn’t mean you’re going to get a raise or receive more perks.

___   8.  Either he moves to Puerto Rico within the next month or he doesn’t get the job.



Chapter Pretests (Chapter 12)

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PRETEST FOR CHAPTER 12

PRETEST FOR CHAPTER 12 – Punctuation Potpourri

 

Use a brightly colored pen to insert all needed punctuation in the following sentences. If no punctuation is needed, insert C in the blank.

 

___   1.  As the result of yesterdays storm most subscribers lines lost service making even high capacity AT&T unable to take care of its customers.

___   2.  Tell Jonathan to ask a friend for a frank opinion of his speech including whether he uses double negatives aint or the be verb incorrectly.

___   3.  You may send us all the papers then well file a claim for the breakage.

___   4.  In most offices in the United States Great Britain and Canada acronyms and abbreviations form a part of business conversation.

 ___  5.  Albert Schweitzer said Ethics is the maintaining of life at the highest point of development.

___   6.  According to the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse employers can legally review e-mail sent to and from employees.

___   7.  If therefore you want to send e-mail to a friend you should request permission from your employer.

___   8.  The CEO wrote We are able to spread the cost over only thousands not millions of cars.



Chapter Pretests (Chapter 14)

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PRETEST FOR CHAPTER 14

PRETEST FOR CHAPTER 14 – Take Your Show on the Road

 

A.    Name the required parts of a business letter in order following the printed letterhead. Do not include the optional parts.

1.     ______________     2.   _______________      3.                           _______________            4.                                 ______________

5.      _______________   6.                           _______________      7.         _______________

 

B.    Fill in the blanks.

 8.   Most interoffice memos and e-mail require the following headings: ______________  ______________
        ______________  ______________

 9.   Rewrite the following sentence so that it has a positive tone: We hope you won’t be disappointed.

        ____________________________________________________________________________________

10.   When preparing a slide presentation for your company, be sure to use the same font and type size on any given slide.  True/False



Answers to Chapter Pretests

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Answers to Chapter Pretests

Answers to Chapter Pretests

CHAPTER 1:       1. e       2. d       3. e       4. c       5. a       6. d       7. a

CHAPTER 2:       1. chose  which  pare  for  2. its  way  lose  3. adopt  eminent  4. effect  personnel
5. persecuted  their  6. me  7. three  8. C

CHAPTER 3:       1. c       2. e       3. b       4. a       5. a       6. b       7. b       8. a

CHAPTER 4:       A.  7, 5, 6, 4, 2, 1, 3  B.  8. pronoun  9. verb  10. adjective  11. noun  12. conjunction

                              13. adverb  14. preposition  C. 15.  Noun: I read the book.  Verb: Did you book your reservations?  Adjective: I shopped at the new book store.

CHAPTER 5:       1. a       2. e       3. b       4. c       5. c       6. d       7. b       8. b

CHAPTER 6:       1. d       2. a       3. a       4. a       5. a       6. d       7. a       8. b       9. a    10. b

CHAPTER 7:       1. talk  2. is  3. keeps  4. has been  5. hanged  6. stayed  7. run  8. doesn’t  9. C  10. were

CHAPTER 8:       1. types  2. an $11  an NAACP  3. anywhere  4. most  5. better  6. more quietly  7. bad
8. well  9. really  10. most poorly

CHAPTER 9:       1. bosses  what’s  workers  2. city’s  3. law’s  90s  4. men’s  boys’  5. James’s  6. Perkins’
7. Knox’s  representatives’  8. Whistler’s  world’s

CHAPTER 10:     1. F      2. C      3. CS    4. CS    5. R      6. C      7. F      8. C

CHAPTER 11:     1. literacy, and  2. C  3. firms, copyright  4. employment, industry,  5. Electricians, pipe fitters,  demand,”  6. Las Vegas, Nevada,  7. Well,  8. month,

CHAPTER 12:     1. yesterday’s storm, subscribers’ service, high-capacity  2. speech, negatives, ain’t,
3. papers; then we’ll  4. States, Great Britain, and Canada,  5. said, “Ethics development.”
6. Clearinghouse,  7. If, therefore, friend,  8. wrote, “We thousands—not millions—

CHAPTER 14:     A.  1. date  2. inside address  3. salutation  4. body  5. complimentary close  6. hand-
written signature  7. typed name B. 8. to, from, date, subject  9. We hope you will be pleased
10. False
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