Placement test questions.

Question

A mate of mine is preparing for a placement test, and one of the subjects is English. He shared some of the preparation material with me because my English is superior to his, so he asked me for advice. As I was going through the material, I noticed some possible errors in the templates. Let's find out!

He was presented this sentence with 4 choices and is allowed to pick just one:

"I had to get up early, otherwise I ..... the train."

a) missed
b) would have missed
c) not to miss
d) had missed

I told him that it has to be "b)". However, it seems to me that they want to emphasize Past Perfect + Present Perfect. I think that they have actually made a mistake and it should be "I had had to get up..." But if I am wrong I don't mind having a slice of humble pie.

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The following two are not errors, but I am curious myself about these:

1) Before she has reached the market, she ..... at least ten people.

a) will have talked to
b) would talk to
c) was talking to
c) is talking to

First I couldn't get my head around this and thought it was wrong. But then I had a proper look at option a) and saw that Future Perfect fits there just nice.

Although this sounds more correct to me: "She will have talked to at least ten people before she reaches the market."

2) "Is there ..... for everyone?"

a) lots wine
b) enough of wine
c) enough wine
d) too wine

I was really uncertain on this one. I would say that grammatically b) should be the answer, but c) sounds really natural to me also. I have worked in a hotel for years, and I am sure that people would say "enough wine"; however, I don't see a problem with "enough of wine," either.

I need to go back to primary school.

Thanks everyone!

AlpheccaStars · Accepted Answer

"I had to get up early, otherwise I would have missed the train." Perfectly correct, natural (and common) English.

Before she reached the market, she had talked to at least ten people. (past/past perfect) Set in the past.
Before she has reached the market, she will have talked to at least ten people. (present perfect/future perfect) Set in the present/ near future.
Before she reaches the market, she will have talked to at least ten people. (present/future perfect) Set in the present/ near future.

2) "Is there enough wine for everyone?" Enough as a determiner (adjective). This is the most natural usage.
"Is there enough for everyone? Enough as a pronoun - a clear antecedent is needed in the context.
"Is there enough of this for everyone? OK, if "this" has a clear antecedent in context. "of wine" is not natural. Only the pronouns are used in this structure.

Daithy · Answer

Thank you for answering.

"I had to get up early, otherwise I would have missed the train." Perfectly correct, natural (and common) English.

Is "I had had to get up early, otherwise I would have missed the train." incorrect so?

Before she has reached the market, she will have talked to at least ten people. (present perfect/future perfect) Set in the present/ near future.
Before she reaches the market, she will have talked to at least ten people. (present/future perfect) Set in the present/ near future.

Right, both examples are set in present/ near future. So both are correct? Is there a preferred one?

2) "Is there enough wine for everyone?" Enough as a determiner (adjective). This is the most natural usage.
"Is there enough for everyone? Enough as a pronoun - a clear antecedent is needed in the context.
"Is there enough of this for everyone? OK, if "this" has a clear antecedent in context. "of wine" is not natural. Only the pronouns are used in this structure.

I am sorry, but I didn't quite understand as to which of the forms is the correct one.

Once again, thanks for the answer.

AlpheccaStars · Answer

DaithyIs "I had had to get up early, otherwise I would have missed the train." incorrect so?

It would be very unusual. The context would have to be a narrative with a sequence of past events, and you want to highlight this as the earliest of the events.

I broke (past) my leg when I fell (past) off my bicycle on the way to the train station. I had had (past perfect )to get up earlier than usual; otherwise, I would have missed the train. But my alarm clock had (past perfect ) failed to ring, so I was in a rush.

DaithySo both are correct? Is there a preferred one?

Yes, both are correct. There is no preferred one.

DaithyI am sorry, but I didn't quite understand as to which of the forms is the correct one.

These are all correct:
a) Is there enough wine for everyone?

b) We have three bottles of Chardonnay and two of Merlot.
Will that be enough for everyone?

c) Check the fridge and see how much wine we have.
Is there enough for everyone?

d) I see you have two party trays of petite sandwiches, three rounds of cheese, four french rolls and a bowl of chopped veggies.
Is there enough of this for everyone?

Daithy · Answer

Thank you, it's much clearer now. Just a note, so this means that it's perfectly fine to use past + past — for some reason I thought I couldn't. Thanks again.

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