Exercise – Unit 01: Auxiliary Verbs – Chapter 1: Grammar Practice – Starter TOEIC – Third Edition – Building TOEIC Test-taking Skills – Anne Taylor – Casey Malarcher

A. Choose the word or phrase that best completes the sentence.

1. He ——- a better job.
(A) may (B) mays get (C) may gets (D) may get

Answer: (D) may get
Auxiliary verbs are followed by an infinitive without to.
We’re looking for a word that fits the structure “may [verb]” to express a possibility.
The correct answer is (D) may get because “may” should be followed by the base form of the verb “get.”

2. If he had had time, he ——- joined us.
(A) can have (B) had (C) could have (D) certainly had
Answer: (C) could have
The sentence is about an unreal past situation.
This sentence describes something that could have happened in the past but didn’t.
The correct answer is (C) could have, because “could have” is used to express a hypothetical past situation that didn’t happen.

3. He asked her, “——- you like some more coffee?”
(A) Will (B) Shall (C) Would (D) Do
Answer: (C) Would
The question is intended to make an offer.
This is a polite offer, and in English, we use “Would you like” for polite offers.
The correct answer is (C) Would because “Would you like” is a polite way to offer something.

4. The baby ——- be hungry, because he just had milk.
(A) cannot (B) must (C) isn’t (D) wasn’t
Answer: (A) cannot
It is logically certain that the baby is not hungry.
The sentence suggests that it’s unlikely the baby is hungry after having milk, so we need a word that expresses certainty that he’s probably not hungry.
The correct answer is (A) cannot because “cannot be” implies certainty that it’s not possible for him to be hungry.

B. Choose the word or phrase that best completes the sentence.

Important: Please keep this medicine refrigerated. Do not (1) ——- in temperatures above 15 degrees Celsius. Keep out of the reach of children and do not (2) ——- to children under 6 years of age. In the case of an overdose, take the patient to the emergency room immediately. Consult your doctor if you are already taking other medications.
(1) (A) remain (B) store (C) having (D) take
(2) (A) giving (B) give (C) have given (D) gave

Answer:
(1) (B) store
The sentence is giving an instruction on how to keep or handle the medicine. The word we’re looking for should describe what to avoid doing with the medicine at temperatures above 15 degrees Celsius.
(B) store is both a verb and a noun. In this case, the text needs a verb which indicates how the medicine should be kept. The word “store” is a good option because it means “to keep or place something somewhere.” Saying “do not store in temperatures above 15 degrees Celsius” warns us against placing or leaving the medicine where it’s too warm.
(A) remain doesn’t fit here because it means “to stay,” and it doesn’t make sense to say “do not remain” in this context.
(C) having doesn’t fit grammatically because it doesn’t complete the instruction.
(D) take is incorrect because “take” would be about using the medicine, not about how to keep it stored.

(2) (B) give
This sentence is also giving a direct instruction, advising what not to do with the medicine concerning children under 6 years old.
(B) give — “Do not” is always followed by the infinitive form of the verb.
(A) giving doesn’t fit here because it’s not the correct verb form for a command.
(C) have given doesn’t fit the command style, as it’s in the past perfect tense and doesn’t match the instruction format.
(D) gave is in the past tense and wouldn’t work in this instruction context.

C. Fill the blank with the appropriate word.

1. The government wants to accelerate the ——- of Internet commerce.
(A) grow (B) grows (C) growing (D) growth
2. Take the time to fully prepare yourself for interview ——-.
(A) succeed (B) succeeding (C) success (D) succession
3. ——-, America depends on Africa for 40% of its oil imports.
(A) Interest (B) Interested (C) Interesting (D) Interestingly
4. Sustainable ——- is a key indicator of the long-term health of the economy.
(A) produce (B) to produce (C) product (D) productivity

Answer:
1. (D) growth
We need a noun in this blank, something that refers to the increase or expansion of “Internet commerce.”
(D) growth — Usually, “the” or “a(n)” is followed by a noun.
It is the noun form that matches with “accelerate the growth” to show what the government wants to speed up.
(A) grow and (B) grows are both forms of the verb “to grow,” but they don’t work here since we need a noun, not a verb.
(C) growing is a form of the verb, but it’s a gerund and doesn’t fit as well as the noun form in this case.

2. (C) success
This sentence suggests preparing for something desirable after an interview. We need a noun that shows a positive outcome.
(C) success is a noun that fits because it means achieving a positive result, which aligns with preparing for a good outcome.
When two nouns come next to each other, the preceding one acts like an adjective. Remember that succession refers to “the act or process of inheriting the rights or duties of another.”
(A) succeed is a verb, not a noun, so it doesn’t fit.
(B) succeeding is a verb in gerund form, which doesn’t match as well as a noun here.
(D) succession refers to order or sequence, not to achieving a positive result, so it doesn’t fit here.

3. (D) Interestingly
Typically, what modifies an entire clause is an adverb.
The sentence seems to present an interesting fact, so we need a word that introduces this fact in a descriptive way.
(A) Interest is a noun, which doesn’t fit the sentence structure here.
(B) Interested is an adjective that describes a person’s feeling, but it doesn’t work to introduce a statement like this.
(C) Interesting is an adjective, but it doesn’t fit grammatically in this position.

4. (D) productivity
Noun + Preposition + Noun can often be simplified into Noun + Noun as in film about war ➔ war film.
The sentence talks about “sustainable” something as an indicator of economic health, suggesting a process or quality related to output or efficiency.
(A) produce is a verb, so it doesn’t fit as a noun here.
(B) to produce is an infinitive verb form, which doesn’t match the sentence structure.
(C) product is a noun, but it refers to an item, not the process or quality we’re discussing.