IELTS · Grammar And Vocabulary

Complex Sentence Structures and Cohesion

20 practice questions, each with the answer and an explanation.

Practise Complex Sentence Structures and Cohesion now

Random questions from this topic, one at a time. You see the answer and the explanation straight after each one.

All 20 questions

  1. Identify the sentence with correct inversion after a negative adverbial:

    'Under no circumstances ______ leave laboratory equipment unattended.'
  2. Select the correct cohesive conjunction:

    'The experimental drug demonstrated remarkable efficacy; ______, researchers urged caution due to sample size constraints.'
  3. Choose the correct reduced relative clause:

    'The recommendations ______ by the advisory committee will be implemented next month.'
  4. Complete the conditional sentence expressing an unreal past situation (Third Conditional):

    'If the engineers had detected the hairline fracture earlier, the bridge collapse ______ avoided.'
  5. Select the correct form for expressing cleft emphasis:

    '______ that accelerated the global shift toward automated manufacturing.'
  6. Choose the correct participle clause for simultaneous actions:

    '______ through the dense forest, the ecologists observed several endangered avian species.'
  7. Identify the correct subjunctive form:

    'The ethics committee insisted that the clinical trial ______ immediately until safety reviews are complete.'
  8. Select the correct linker of concession:

    '______ substantial financial investment, the prototype failed to achieve expected energy efficiency ratings.'
  9. Select the sentence showing correct parallel structure:

    'The executive director is responsible for designing the syllabus, ______ the budget, and mentoring junior faculty.'
  10. Choose the correct inversion after 'Not only':

    'Not only ______ the hypothesis, but they also discovered a previously unknown bacterial strain.'
  11. Choose the correct linker expressing purpose:

    'The survey was distributed anonymously ______ respondents would provide candid feedback.'
  12. Select the correct modal construction expressing past logical deduction:

    'The laboratory door was locked from the inside; the researcher ______ through the fire exit.'
  13. Select the correct noun clause connector:

    'The debate centers on ______ governments should impose tariffs on imported green technologies.'
  14. Choose the correct phrase to introduce an exemplification:

    'Many apex predators play keystone roles in habitat stabilization; ______ wolves in Yellowstone National Park.'
  15. Select the correct passive voice construction for reporting an objective finding:

    'The ancient ruins ______ to date back to the late Bronze Age.'
  16. Choose the correct cohesive transition of contrast:

    'While qualitative interviews provide rich personal narratives, quantitative surveys, ______, offer statistical generalizability.'
  17. Identify the correct negative inversion with 'Rarely':

    'Rarely ______ such rapid consensus among competing pharmaceutical manufacturers.'
  18. Choose the correct linker expressing unexpected consequence:

    'The candidate had minimal previous political experience; ______, she won the mayoral election by an overwhelming margin.'
  19. Select the correct relative pronoun in a prepositional phrase:

    'The symposium, during ______ several keynote speakers addressed climate displacement, concluded on Friday.'
  20. Select the correct conditional inversion (omitting 'if'):

    '______ any discrepancies arise during the audit, contact the compliance director immediately.'

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