Top 05 grammatical structures for DET Prep

Grammatical Structure is graded in the Grammar grading element for all Speaking and Writing question types in the Duolingo English Test. In short, the more various and complex grammatical structures you use for open-response question types, the higher score you get for the Grammar grading aspect, which surely leads to a higher overall score for your answers.

In this article, we will be exploring the Top 05 Common grammatical structures that everyone can learn and master by practicing regularly. 

1. Complex Sentences 

A complex sentence is made up of a main clause (independent clause) and a dependent clause connected to one another through a subordinating conjunction (. By using complex sentences, we can insert additional meanings to our main points, which help deliver a clearer point of view, statement, or supporting point to reinforce our main idea. 

A main clause can stand alone and still have a meaning. But the dependent clause does not, it has to be with the main clause. The following is a main clause example.  

Example: We can all obtain our Duolingo English Test desired scores. (yeah, we surely will!). 

How about this example? 

Example: We can all obtain our Duolingo English Test desired scores if we have the DET Practice – TADE Hub Premium accounts. 

The clause “we have the DET Practice – TADE Hub Premium accounts” is a dependent one that has no meaning on its own. It is added to the main clause to offer “the if”. If you do this, you will get that, which creates a much better and clearer meaning. Moreover, the main and dependent clauses are connected together by a subordinating conjunction – if.

The subordinating conjunctions’ function is to connect a dependent clause to an independent one. This is a handy list of subordinating conjunctions.

Here is our sample answer to a question on the DET Practice Website, Question number 0084 Level 1, Interactive Writing – the main question. We will be showing you examples from this answer for all the upcoming grammatical structures in this article. 

I was able to attend the concert (the main clause) because (subordinating conjunction) my friend had a spare ticket. (the dependent clause)

Conclusion: Both main and dependent clauses have a subject, a verb, and an object. So it isn’t hard to create a complex sentence given that we only need to use a subordinating conjunction to connect them. Nevertheless, what if we accidentally connect two independent clauses, it’s okay because we have a compound sentence. 

2. Compound Sentence

A compound sentence is a sentence that connects two independent clauses by a coordinating conjunction. As we already studied in the Complex Sentence that the independent clause can stand alone and has its own meaning. 

Coordinating conjunctions’ function is to connect two independent clauses to form a compound sentence. We have the FANBOYS  as a list of coordinating conjunctions. 

FANBOYS is an acronym for seven coordinating conjunctions: For – And – Nor – But – Or – Yet – So .

Example: Everyone wants to obtain their Duolingo English Test scores, so they decide to practice on the DET Practice – TADE Hub.

In this example, both the first and second sentences are independent and have their own meanings even if they stand alone. Besides, these sentences form a compound sentence by the coordinating conjunction – so.

An example from our sample answer on the DET Practice Website.

That was my first time attending an outdoor concert (independent clause), so (coordinating conjunction) it became even more memorable. (independent clause)

Conclusion: Similar to creating a Complex Sentence, it’s not hard to form two independent clauses and use one coordinating conjunction to connect them. Getting comfortable with making independent sentences is the basic skill all English learners have to have in order to take English proficiency tests, and we strongly believe in your ability to do so. 

3. Reduced Relative Clauses

First and foremost, have you heard of Relative Clauses? 

Here is one example for your reference: I am preparing my Duolingo English Test on the DET Practice – TADE Hub website, which is the best platform offering instant feedback. 

“…which is the best platform offering instant feedback” is the Relative Clause. Our example includes one independent sentence and a Relative Clause, which is one kind of dependent sentence that cannot stand alone. 

If “…which is the best platform offering instant feedback” is a complete Relative Clause, then “…offering instant feedback”  is the Reduced version. If we put it together with the independent sentence, we have the following example.

I am preparing my Duolingo English Test on the DET Practice – TADE Hub website offering instant feedback.

If you can use Relative Clauses in your Speaking and Writing answers, it’s great. However, it’s much better if you can use the Reduced version. Thus, we will be analysing all parts forming the Relative Clauses and guide on how to apply the Reduce Relative Clauses. 

Getting back to our example, we have three main parts:

• The independent sentence: I am preparing my Duolingo English Test on the DET Practice – TADE Hub website – you need this one to go with the Relative Clauses because the Relative Clauses cannot stand alone. In other words, Relative Clauses offer additional meanings to the independent sentence.
• The Relative Pronouns: which – this is the Relative Pronoun that connects the independent sentence and the Relative Clause. We have the following Relative Pronouns:
  

• • Who: Refers to a person (as the verb’s subject) – The boy who went to your house yesterday is my son.
  • Whom: Refers to a person (as the verb’s object) – The speaker whom you admired has invited me to his next event.
  • Which: Refers to an animal or thing – The bear which we visited last month just gave birth to two cubs.
  • That: Refers to a person, animal, or thing – He finally paid a visit to the zoo that has a wide range of animal species.
  • Whose: Refers to possession by people and animals – It’s the lead animal whose strength is unbelievable. 

In certain scenarios, “what”, “when”, and “where” can work as Relative pronouns, and the five above are the most common ones.

• The Relative Clause: is the best platform offering instant feedback – here is our Relative Clause, we use it to add more information to the independent sentence. 

If DET takers want to deliver Reduced Relative Clauses, we simply cut off the Relative Pronouns and add connecting words if needed.

• The boy who went to your house yesterday is my son. → The boy went to your house yesterday is my son.
• The speaker whom you admired has invited me to his next event. → The speaker you admired has invited me to his next event.
• The bear which we visited last month just gave birth to two cubs. → The bear we visited last month just gave birth to two cubs. 
• He finally paid a visit to the zoo that has a wide range of animal species. → He finally paid a visit to the zoo with a wide range of animal species.
• It’s the lead animal whose strength is unbelievable. → It’s the lead animal with unbelievable strength. 

An example from our sample answer on the DET Practice Website.

I was able to talk to people (independent sentence) (who are) working as the organizers (Reduced Relative Clause). 

Conclusion: English has abundant grammatical structures, and we can tell for certain that the Reduced Relative Clause structure (or Relative Clauses) is a piece of cake. Duolingo English Test takers just need to learn the structure rigorously and apply it to practice on our DET Practice Platform. On top of that, never forget to learn from our Sample Answers, which are developed with a wide range of grammatical structures for your study.

4. Inversion

In a few words, inversion structure happens when we reverse the position of a subject and an auxiliary (aux) or a model verb (m).

Whether it’s auxiliaries or model verbs, we always put them before subjects if we want to form an inversion. By applying the Inversion changing rules, we have several ways to utilise it in our Speaking and Writing answers.

Beginning with negative adverbs

We begin the inversion with negative adverbs for emphasis. There is a list of common negative adverbs that DET takers need to remember for forming inversions variously and effectively: hardly (ever), little, never, scarcely, seldom, barely (ever), and no longer.

Hardly ever have I gone to the swimming pool after university graduation. (I have hardly ever gone to the swimming pool after university graduation)

No longer does he work out in the gym. (He no longer works out in the gum)

The Red words are negative adverbs, the Blue words are auxiliaries or model verbs, and we have the Orange words as subjects.

Expressions beginning with not

Expressions beginning with not are also used to emphasise a phrase or clause in the initial position. We invert the subject and auxiliary or model verb after “not + a prepositional phrase or a clause”. 

Not for a moment did I dare to think I would achieve over 145 DET overall scores.

Not till I finished my exam did she realises that she forgot to fill in her name.

The Red words are prepositional phrases or clauses, the Blue words are auxiliaries or model verbs, and we have the Orange words as subjects.

An example from our sample answer on the DET Practice Website.

Never (the negative adverb) have (the auxiliary) I (the subject) had a more memorable experience.

Conclusion: Admittedly, inversion is one of the hardest grammatical structures to master. Nevertheless, it’s worth studying because we aren’t only able to get higher Duolingo English Test scores but we also express ourselves better in daily conversations and even academic settings. 

5. Passive Voice

If we use passive voice, we want to emphasise a person or an object that experiences an action rather than the person or the object performs the action. Simpler, some people just want to use various grammatical structures to better deliver their points because Passive Voice is easy to practice.

Here are some examples of Active and Passive Voice.

For details on how to differentiate the active and passive voice, or how many ways can we use the passive voice, kindly refer to this article shared by Grammarly: Passive Voice: When to Avoid it and When to use it.

An example from our sample answer on the DET Practice Website.

We were joined by some strangers. 

Conclusion: If you are familiar with the Passive Voice, it’s easier to apply it to your answers. If you are new to the Passive Voice, you will need to devote a bit of your precious time to learn and practice. Make sure that you read the article shared by Grammarly as it covers almost everything you need to know about the Passive Voice in order to master it. 

Practice makes perfect!

Live-Interactive Practice Platform

If you are able to use these five common grammatical structures accurately, you will definitely achieve higher scores in the Grammatical Complexity grading element, which will be judged in your Speaking and Writing answers. Hence, it’s genuinely vital to practice and receive constructive feedback for improvement. On the DET Practice Website, we offer instantly detailed feedback for all question types, especially Speaking and Writing ones. 

To illustrate, if you practice a Writing Sample question, you will get the following feedback evaluated based on Coherence, Lexical Sophistication, Lexical Diversity, Grammatical Accuracy, Grammatical Complexity and Content. The Duolingo English Test uses these six grading elements to judge your Writing answers. Feel free to watch this video sample feedback for a better understanding.

DO NOT WAIT! Let’s visit the DET Practice Website – TADE Hub, create your FREE account and experience our instantly detailed feedback along with other question types.