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Federation Subject Word Australia Test Predicate Verb Sentence

Question Choose the sentence with the right word order
A A federation is Australia of six states.
B A federation of six states Australia is.
C Australia of six states is a federation.
D Australia is a federation of six states.
Answer d
Remark English has a rigid word order that cannot be changed without changing the meaning of the sentence.In the test we are given a simple extended declarative sentence. The standard word order in simple extended declarative sentences is SUBJECT + PREDICATE + object + adverbial modifier.We are to find the subject, predicate and object in the test sentence. The subject is placed at the beginning of the sentence and is usually expressed by a noun or a pronoun. The predicate stands after the subject and is usually represented by a main verb or by the combination of an auxiliary or modal verb with a main verb. The noun ‘federation’ means ‘a group of organizations, countries, regions, etc that have joined together to form a larger organization or government’. So, we cannot say that ‘a federation is Australia…’(ANSWER 1), because a federation is not only Australia. And neither ‘A federation of six states Australia’(ANSWER 2) nor ‘Australia of six states’ (ANSWER 3) can be the subject of the test sentence, because they are nonce word combinations. The predicate of the test sentence is represented by the main verb ‘is’.Therefore, only ANSWER 4 is correct: ‘Australia’ (the subject) ‘is’ (the predicate) and ‘a federation of six states’ (the subject complement – a phrase that completes the sense of the subject ‘Australia’ that follows the linking verb ‘is’). The subject complement is normally an adjective or a noun that renames or defines in some way the subject.

Tags: word_order

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