WBPSC Clerkship 2024 English Quiz Round 2: 20 Grammar and Vocabulary Questions
A little practice. A step forward.
20 mixed English questions for Part-I: articles, prepositions, voice, narration, idioms and vocabulary.
She is ___ honest girl.
The h in honest is silent, so the word begins with a vowel sound and takes an. A is used before consonant sounds; the points to something specific.
- An goes before a vowel sound (sound, not spelling)
- An is also used before hour, honour, heir
He has been living in Kolkata ___ 2015.
Since marks a fixed starting point (2015) and goes with perfect tenses. For is used with a length of time, as in for five years. From and by do not fit a perfect continuous sentence.
- since = starting point, for = duration
- Both go with the present perfect
Neither of the two answers ___ correct.
Neither is treated as singular, so the verb must be singular: is. Are and have been do not fit a singular subject here, and were is past tense.
- Each, either, neither take a singular verb
- Neither of + plural noun still takes a singular verb
A person who can speak two languages is called ___.
Bilingual means able to speak two languages. Bilateral means involving two sides, a bigamist has two spouses at once, and bipartisan means supported by two parties.
- Bi- means two
- Trilingual means three languages
- Polyglot means many languages
Choose the correctly spelt word.
The correct spelling is Accommodation, with double c and double m. The others drop a letter or end in -sion instead of -tion.
- Accommodation has double c and double m
- Occurrence has double c and double r
Choose the word closest in meaning to ABUNDANT.
Abundant means present in large quantity, so plentiful is the match. Scarce, rare and limited all mean little or hard to find.
- abundant = plentiful = ample
- Opposites: scarce, meagre
Choose the word opposite in meaning to TRANSPARENT.
Transparent means see-through; its opposite is opaque. Clear is a synonym, while thin and bright are unrelated.
- transparent is the opposite of opaque
- Translucent means partly see-through
Change the voice: "The teacher punished the boy."
The sentence is simple past, so the passive uses was + past participle: was punished. The object becomes the subject. Is and has been change the tense, and the last option reverses the meaning.
- Simple past passive = was/were + V3
- The tense must not change
Change the narration: He said, "I am ill."
When the reporting verb (said) is in the past, the present tense moves back: am becomes was, and I becomes he. The other options get the pronoun or tense wrong.
- A past reporting verb moves the tense back one step
- am/is → was
What does the idiom "to beat about the bush" mean?
To beat about the bush means to avoid the main point by talking around it. The first option is the literal meaning; the others do not match the idiom.
- Do not read idioms literally
- Opposite: come straight to the point
The principal gave good ___ to the students.
Advice is the noun (counsel) and advise is the verb. A noun is needed after good. Advice is uncountable, so advices is wrong.
- advice = noun, advise = verb
- Advice has no plural
Choose the meaning of the phrasal verb "call off".
Call off means to cancel, as in The match was called off due to rain. Put off means postpone, and call on means to visit.
- call off = cancel
- put off = postpone
- call on = visit
By the time we reached the hall, the film ___.
For the earlier of two past events, use the past perfect (had + V3). The film began before we arrived, so had started is right.
- Earlier event = past perfect
- Later event = simple past
If I ___ you, I would accept the offer.
In an unreal present condition, were follows if for every subject, and the main clause has would. Was is used in casual speech, but were is the exam answer.
- If + were ... would
- If I were you gives advice
Which sentence is correct?
Senior, junior, superior, inferior and prefer take to, not than. So senior to me is right; the other options use than or from, or an invented form.
- senior, junior, superior, inferior + to
- prefer A to B
What is the plural of "analysis"?
Greek nouns ending in -is change to -es in the plural: analysis → analyses, crisis → crises, basis → bases. Analyzes is a verb form.
- crisis → crises
- thesis → theses
- basis → bases
He rarely comes late, ___?
Rarely, hardly, seldom and never give a negative meaning. A negative statement takes a positive tag, and the verb comes needs does: does he.
- rarely/seldom/hardly are negative
- Negative statement → positive tag
Choose the word opposite in meaning to BENEVOLENT.
Benevolent means kind and well-meaning; the opposite is malevolent, meaning wishing harm. Generous and kind are synonyms.
- bene- = good, mal- = bad
- benefactor ↔ malefactor
Rahim is the ___ of the two brothers.
Between two persons the comparative is used, so taller. Tallest is for three or more. The pattern the ... of the two takes a comparative.
- Between two = comparative
- Three or more = superlative
Many a student ___ failed in the test.
Many a is followed by a singular noun and a singular verb, even though the meaning is many. So has. Have and are are plural, and were is past.
- Many a + singular noun + singular verb
- Many + plural noun + plural verb
📊 Topic Analysis
20 mixed English questions for Part-I: articles, prepositions, voice, narration, idioms and vocabulary.
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