This post provides the answer key and detailed explanations for the 50 MCQs Exercise on Sentence Kinds and Structure, designed in line with the PMDC-approved MDCAT syllabus and the format seen in MDCAT and NUMS Past Papers. Each explanation not only confirms the correct option but also helps students understand why a particular sentence is classified as declarative, interrogative, imperative, or exclamatory—and how it fits into sentence structures like simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex. These explanations are essential for building a solid foundation in grammar and improving accuracy in the English section of medical entry tests.
Q.1
Correct option: A. Simple
Explanation: The sentence “Go clean your room” is a simple sentence because it contains a single independent clause with one subject (implied “you”) and one verb phrase (“go clean”). It expresses a complete thought without additional clauses.
Q.2
Correct option: D. Compound-Complex
Explanation: The sentence “Although it was raining and the roads were slippery, we decided to go for a bike ride” is compound-complex because it has one dependent clause (“Although it was raining and the roads were slippery”) and two independent clauses (“it was raining and the roads were slippery” and “we decided to go for a bike ride”). The coordinating conjunction “and” links the two ideas in the dependent clause.
Q.3
Correct option: B. Compound
Explanation: The sentence “Our class made 25
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e25atthefund−raiser,andwe′regoingtodonateittothefoodbank“iscompoundbecauseitconsistsoftwoindependentclauses(“Ourclassmade25 at the fund-raiser” and “we’re going to donate it to the food bank”) joined by the coordinating conjunction “and.”
Q.4
Correct option: A. Simple
Explanation: The sentence “Don’t wait!” is simple because it is a single independent clause with an implied subject (“you”) and a verb (“wait”). It expresses a complete thought without additional clauses.
Q.5
Correct option: C. Complex
Explanation: The sentence “When I grow up, I want to be a fireman” is complex because it contains one dependent clause (“When I grow up”) and one independent clause (“I want to be a fireman”). The dependent clause cannot stand alone as a complete sentence.
Q.6
Correct option: B. Compound
Explanation: The sentence “I want a new doll, but I haven’t saved enough money yet” is compound because it has two independent clauses (“I want a new doll” and “I haven’t saved enough money yet”) connected by the coordinating conjunction “but.”
Q.7
Correct option: B. Compound
Explanation: The sentence “Jamal wants to go to the movies, but he doesn’t have enough money” is compound because it consists of two independent clauses (“Jamal wants to go to the movies” and “he doesn’t have enough money”) joined by the coordinating conjunction “but.”
Q.8
Correct option: C. Complex
Explanation: The sentence “If I want to get a good grade, I’ll have to study more” is complex because it includes one dependent clause (“If I want to get a good grade”) and one independent clause (“I’ll have to study more”). The dependent clause acts as a condition for the independent clause.
Q.9
Correct option: B. Compound
Explanation: The sentence “I batted third in the lineup, and I hit a home run” is compound because it contains two independent clauses (“I batted third in the lineup” and “I hit a home run”) joined by the coordinating conjunction “and.”
Q.10
Correct option: D. Compound-Complex
Explanation: The sentence “I want to do well in school because I want to go to college, but I have a lot of trouble with math” is compound-complex because it has two independent clauses (“I want to do well in school” and “I have a lot of trouble with math”) and one dependent clause (“because I want to go to college”). The coordinating conjunction “but” links the independent clauses, and the dependent clause explains the reason.
Q.11
Correct option: C. Complex
Explanation: The sentence “If you want to go to the mall, you’ll have to clean your room” is complex because it consists of one dependent clause (“If you want to go to the mall”) and one independent clause (“you’ll have to clean your room”). The dependent clause sets a condition for the independent clause.
Q.12
Correct option: D. Compound-Complex
Explanation: The sentence “The team went out for pizza after the game, but Zach had to go home so that he could work on his history paper” is compound-complex because it contains two independent clauses (“The team went out for pizza after the game” and “Zach had to go home”) and one dependent clause (“so that he could work on his history paper”). The coordinating conjunction “but” joins the independent clauses, and the dependent clause explains Zach’s action.
Q.13
Correct option: B. Compound
Explanation: The sentence “Eve knew traffic would be bad, so she left twenty minutes early” is compound because it has two independent clauses (“Eve knew traffic would be bad” and “she left twenty minutes early”) connected by the coordinating conjunction “so.”
Q.14
Correct option: C. Complex
Explanation: The sentence “The students cleaned up after they finished the excitement” is complex because it includes one independent clause (“The students cleaned up”) and one dependent clause (“after they finished the excitement”). The dependent clause cannot stand alone.
Q.15
Correct option: B. Compound
Explanation: The sentence “Fatima plays the trumpet, and her sister plays the saxophone” is compound because it consists of two independent clauses (“Fatima plays the trumpet” and “her sister plays the saxophone”) joined by the coordinating conjunction “and.”
Q.16
Correct option: A. Simple
Explanation: The sentence “The boys drew lots to determine who would get to play first” is simple because it contains one independent clause with a single subject (“The boys”) and a predicate (“drew lots to determine who would get to play first”). The phrase “to determine who would get to play first” is an infinitive phrase, not a clause.
Q.17
Correct option: A. Simple
Explanation: The sentence “The loss of her purse caused her much inconvenience” is simple because it has one subject (“The loss of her purse”) and one predicate (“caused her much inconvenience”). There are no additional clauses.
Q.18
Correct option: C. Complex
Explanation: The sentence “He is lonely because his wife is out of town this weekend” is complex because it contains one independent clause (“He is lonely”) and one dependent clause (“because his wife is out of town this weekend”). The dependent clause explains the reason for his loneliness.
Q.19
Correct option: A. Simple
Explanation: The sentence “Art lovers flocked to the gallery opening” is simple because it consists of one independent clause with a single subject (“Art lovers”) and a predicate (“flocked to the gallery opening”).
Q.20
Correct option: A. Simple
Explanation: The sentence “Many people feel listless on rainy days” is simple because it has one subject (“Many people”) and one predicate (“feel listless on rainy days”). The prepositional phrase “on rainy days” modifies the verb but does not form a clause.
Q.21
Correct option: A. Simple
Explanation: The sentence “He is from a family of illustrious lineage” is simple because it contains one independent clause with a single subject (“He”) and a predicate (“is from a family of illustrious lineage”).
Q.22
Correct option: A. Simple
Explanation: The sentence “He became rich through wise investments” is simple because it has one subject (“He”) and one predicate (“became rich through wise investments”). The phrase “through wise investments” is a prepositional phrase, not a clause.
Q.23
Correct option: A. Simple
Explanation: The sentence “A howl of protest went up when the voting was announced” is simple because it contains one independent clause (“A howl of protest went up”) and a subordinate phrase (“when the voting was announced”), which does not form a complete clause.
Q.24
Correct option: A. Simple
Explanation: The sentence “The helicopter hovered over the house” is simple because it consists of one independent clause with a single subject (“The helicopter”) and a predicate (“hovered over the house”).
Q.25
Correct option: C. Complex
Explanation: The sentence “I don’t know what I should do now” is complex because it includes one independent clause (“I don’t know”) and one dependent clause (“what I should do now”). The dependent clause acts as the object of the verb “know.”
Q.26
Correct option: B. Compound
Explanation: The sentence “This is very heady punch, so watch your step” is compound because it has two independent clauses (“This is very heady punch” and “watch your step”) joined by the coordinating conjunction “so.”
Q.27
Correct option: A. Simple
Explanation: The sentence “Soldiers were forbidden to fraternize with local citizens” is simple because it contains one independent clause with a single subject (“Soldiers”) and a predicate (“were forbidden to fraternize with local citizens”).
Q.28
Correct option: A. Simple
Explanation: The sentence “There was a lot of frantic activity just before the royal visitors arrived” is simple because it has one independent clause (“There was a lot of frantic activity”) and a subordinate phrase (“just before the royal visitors arrived”), which does not form a complete clause.
Q.29
Correct option: A. Simple
Explanation: The sentence “Do you remember the fragrance of lilacs after a rain?” is simple because it consists of one independent clause with a single subject (“you”) and a predicate (“Do remember the fragrance of lilacs after a rain?”).
Q.30
Correct option: A. Simple
Explanation: The sentence “A liking for flattery was one of his frailties” is simple because it contains one independent clause with a single subject (“A liking for flattery”) and a predicate (“was one of his frailties”).
Q.31
Correct option: A. Simple
Explanation: The sentence “Perhaps certain gifted persons can foretell the future” is simple because it has one subject (“certain gifted persons”) and one predicate (“can foretell the future”). The word “Perhaps” is an adverb modifying the entire sentence.
Q.32
Correct option: A. Simple
Explanation: The sentence “Fold the napkins and put one by each plate” is simple because it contains one subject (implied “you”) and a compound predicate (“Fold the napkins and put one by each plate”). The conjunction “and” connects two verb phrases, not clauses.
Q.33
Correct option: C. Complex
Explanation: The sentence “The preacher said that one of the brothers had strayed from the fold” is complex because it includes one independent clause (“The preacher said”) and one dependent clause (“that one of the brothers had strayed from the fold”). The dependent clause acts as the object of the verb “said.”
Q.34
Correct option: B. Compound
Explanation: The sentence “I hated the show but it has a large following” is compound because it consists of two independent clauses (“I hated the show” and “it has a large following”) joined by the coordinating conjunction “but.”
Q.35
Correct option: C. Complex
Explanation: The sentence “Who will follow the prime minister when he retires?” is complex because it contains one independent clause (“Who will follow the prime minister”) and one dependent clause (“when he retires”). The dependent clause modifies the verb “will follow.”
Q.36
Correct option: A. Simple
Explanation: The sentence “The rains flooded the farmlands and destroyed all crops” is simple because it has one subject (“The rains”) and a compound predicate (“flooded the farmlands and destroyed all crops”). The conjunction “and” connects two verb phrases, not clauses.
Q.37
Correct option: C. Complex
Explanation: The sentence “The dinner party was a flop because the guest of honor didn’t show up” is complex because it includes one independent clause (“The dinner party was a flop”) and one dependent clause (“because the guest of honor didn’t show up”). The dependent clause explains the reason.
Q.38
Correct option: A. Simple
Explanation: The sentence “Janet went to the library to borrow some books” is simple because it consists of one independent clause with a single subject (“Janet”) and a predicate (“went to the library to borrow some books”).
Q.39
Correct option: C. Complex
Explanation: The sentence “The water was so cold that we could not swim in it” is complex because it contains one independent clause (“The water was so cold”) and one dependent clause (“that we could not swim in it”). The dependent clause explains the result.
Q.40
Correct option: C. Complex
Explanation: The sentence “The little girl started crying when she couldn’t find her toy” is complex because it has one independent clause (“The little girl started crying”) and one dependent clause (“when she couldn’t find her toy”). The dependent clause explains the time or reason for the action.
Q.41
Correct option: C. Complex
Explanation: The sentence “As soon as the bell rang, the children rushed out” is complex because it includes one dependent clause (“As soon as the bell rang”) and one independent clause (“the children rushed out”). The dependent clause cannot stand alone.
Q.42
Correct option: C. Complex
Explanation: The sentence “We saw a film which was based on the life of Nelson Mandela” is complex because it contains one independent clause (“We saw a film”) and one dependent clause (“which was based on the life of Nelson Mandela”). The dependent clause modifies the noun “film.”
Q.43
Correct option: A. Simple
Explanation: The sentence “The boys and the girls were shouting loudly” is simple because it consists of one subject (“The boys and the girls”) and one predicate (“were shouting loudly”). The conjunction “and” connects two nouns, not clauses.
Q.44
Correct option: C. Complex
Explanation: The sentence “The customers were happy because they got what they wanted” is complex because it has one independent clause (“The customers were happy”) and one dependent clause (“because they got what they wanted”). The dependent clause explains the reason.
Q.45
Correct option: B. Compound
Explanation: The sentence “Their front door was open but nobody was inside” is compound because it contains two independent clauses (“Their front door was open” and “nobody was inside”) joined by the coordinating conjunction “but.”
Q.46
Correct option: C. Complex
Explanation: The sentence “The coffee machine that I bought for my wife was not expensive” is complex because it includes one independent clause (“The coffee machine was not expensive”) and one dependent clause (“that I bought for my wife”). The dependent clause modifies the noun “coffee machine.”
Q.47
Correct option: C. Complex
Explanation: The sentence “She is the most beautiful girl that I have ever seen” is complex because it consists of one independent clause (“She is the most beautiful girl”) and one dependent clause (“that I have ever seen”). The dependent clause modifies the noun “girl.”
Q.48
Correct option: C. Complex
Explanation: The sentence “John’s mother asked me if I knew where he was” is complex because it contains one independent clause (“John’s mother asked me”) and two dependent clauses (“if I knew” and “where he was”). The dependent clauses act as the objects of the verb “asked.”
Q.49
Correct option: A. Simple
Explanation: The sentence “My mother has wealth, fame, rank and power” is simple because it has one subject (“My mother”) and a compound predicate (“has wealth, fame, rank and power”). The conjunction “and” connects nouns, not clauses.
Q.50
Correct option: B. Compound
Explanation: The sentence “She was not very beautiful yet she was the most popular girl in my class” is compound because it includes two independent clauses (“She was not very beautiful” and “she was the most popular girl in my class”) joined by the coordinating conjunction “yet.”
