WBPSC Clerkship 2024 English Quiz (Round 3): 20 Grammar and Vocabulary Questions
A little practice. A step forward.
20 practice questions for the English section of WBPSC Clerkship 2024 Part-I.
She is good ___ mathematics.
"Good at" is used for skill in a subject or activity: good at mathematics, good at drawing. "Good in" is a common mistake, and "good with" means handling people or things well, as in good with children.
- good at + subject/activity
- weak in + subject (exception)
- good with + people/things handled
- good at (skill) is not good with (handling)
- Skill = at: good at, clever at, expert at
He is ___ honest man.
The article depends on the first sound, not the first letter. The h in "honest" is silent, so the word starts with a vowel sound and takes "an". "A honest man" is wrong.
- Vowel sound: an
- Silent h: an hour, an honest man, an heir
- Sound, not spelling, decides
- a university, not an university: it starts with a "yu" sound
- honest, hour, heir, honour: silent h, so an
Neither of the boys ___ present.
"Neither" and "either" take a singular verb because they mean "not one of the two". The sentence is in the past, so the verb is "was". "Were", "are" and "have been" are plural forms.
- neither of + plural noun + singular verb
- either, each, every one, one of: singular verb
- In neither ... nor, the verb agrees with the nearer subject
- each, either, neither: all singular, so a singular verb
Which one is the right meaning of the idiom "a blessing in disguise"?
"A blessing in disguise" is an event that looks bad at first but turns out well. For example, losing a job and then starting a more successful business. The other options only play on the literal words and are not the idiom's meaning.
- An idiom's meaning differs from its literal words
- in disguise = hidden, looking like something else
- This idiom is a regular in clerical exams
- A blessing wearing a mask: good hidden inside bad
One who cannot be corrected: choose the one word.
"Incorrigible" means a person who cannot be corrected. "Illegible" means impossible to read, "invincible" means impossible to defeat, and "inaudible" means impossible to hear. All four begin with a negative prefix, so the meaning must be learnt.
- incorrigible = cannot be corrected
- illegible = cannot be read
- invincible = cannot be defeated
- inaudible = cannot be heard
- illegible (legible = readable) is not eligible
- correct, so incorrigible: beyond correcting
| One word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Incorrigible | Cannot be corrected |
| Illegible | Cannot be read |
| Invincible | Cannot be defeated |
| Inaudible | Cannot be heard |
Choose the correctly spelt word.
The correct spelling is "Accommodation": double c and double m (ac-com-mo-da-tion). The other three drop one c or one m. It is a favourite in spelling questions.
- double c + double m
- Meaning: a place to stay
- Similar words: recommend (one c, two m), necessary (one c, one s)
- Two Cs and two Ms, enough room for everyone
Change into passive voice: "The teacher punished the boy."
The active sentence is in the Simple Past, so the passive uses "was/were + past participle". The object (the boy) becomes the subject and the doer goes after "by". "Is punished" is present, "has been punished" is present perfect, and the last option reverses the meaning.
- Simple Past passive: was/were + V3
- Object becomes subject, subject goes after by
- The tense stays the same in the passive
- Keep the tense, change the be-verb
Change into indirect speech: He said, "I am happy."
The reporting verb "said" is past, so the present tense "am" of the direct speech shifts back to "was". The pronoun "I" changes to "he" for the speaker. "Is happy" ignores the shift, "I was happy" leaves the pronoun, and "says" changes the reporting verb itself.
- Past reporting verb: tense shifts back one step
- am/is/are → was/were
- I → he/she, depending on the speaker
- said means step back: am becomes was
I ___ him since 2010.
"Since 2010" covers the time from a point in the past up to now, so the Present Perfect "have known" is needed. The Simple Present "know" and Simple Past "knew" do not go with "since", and "had known" is Past Perfect, which needs another past point.
- since + a point in time, for + a length of time
- Since/for take the Present Perfect
- Know is a stative verb, so no continuous form
- since = starting point, so have/has + V3
What is the meaning of the phrasal verb "call off"?
"Call off" means to cancel: The match was called off due to rain. To telephone is "call up", to postpone is "put off", and to shout is "call out".
- call off = cancel
- put off = postpone
- call on = visit
- call out = shout
- call off (cancel) is not put off (postpone)
- off means switched off: the event is cancelled
The ___ of the school addressed the students.
The noun "principal" means the head of a school. "Principle" means a rule or belief, as in moral principles. "Principally" is an adverb, and "principals'" is a plural possessive that makes no sense here.
- principal = head (person) or main (adjective)
- principle = a rule or belief
- "principal" has "pal" in it
- principal (person) is not principle (rule)
- The head is our pal: principal; the rule ends in le: principle
She has been ill ___ last Monday.
"Last Monday" is a fixed point in time, and with the present perfect "since" goes before a point. "For" goes before a length of time (for three days). "From" and "by" are not natural here.
- since + point: since Monday, since 2010
- for + length: for a week, for ten years
- from ... to ... gives a range
- since = point, for = length
What is the plural of "criterion"?
"Criterion" is a Greek word and its plural is "criteria". "Criterions" and "criterias" are wrong forms, and "criteriae" is an invented Latin-style form that is not used. It is a common singular-plural trap.
- criterion → criteria
- phenomenon → phenomena
- datum → data
- medium → media
- "criteria" is already plural; "a criteria" is wrong
- -on goes, -a comes: criterion → criteria
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| Criterion | Criteria |
| Phenomenon | Phenomena |
| Datum | Data |
| Medium | Media |
| Crisis | Crises |
What is the meaning of the idiom "to beat about the bush"?
"Beat about the bush" means to avoid the main point and talk in a roundabout way. It comes from hunting, where bushes were beaten to drive out birds. The other options are literal and not the idiom.
- beat about the bush = talk indirectly
- come to the point = say the main thing
- cut a long story short = be brief
- Walking around the bush, never into it
He had ___ friends, so he felt lonely.
"Few" goes with countable plural nouns and has a negative sense: hardly any. Friends can be counted and the sentence speaks of loneliness, so "few" fits. "A few" is positive (some), and "little"/"a little" go with uncountable nouns.
- few / a few + countable plural
- little / a little + uncountable
- few, little = hardly any (negative)
- a few, a little = some (positive)
- few (hardly any) is not a few (some)
- few = hardly any; a few = some left
She can swim, ___?
In a question tag a positive statement takes a negative tag with the same auxiliary. The sentence has "can", so the tag is "can't she?". "Can she?" would follow a negative statement, and "isn't" and "doesn't" are different auxiliaries.
- Positive statement + negative tag
- Negative statement + positive tag
- Same auxiliary and pronoun in the tag
- Opposite mood, same helper
He is senior ___ me by two years.
Some comparatives of Latin origin take "to", not "than": senior to, junior to, superior to, inferior to, prefer ... to. So "senior to me". "Than" is for ordinary comparatives such as taller than.
- senior, junior, superior, inferior + to
- prefer A to B
- prior to, anterior to
- "senior than" is wrong; "senior to" is right
- Latin -ior words take to: senior to
If I ___ a bird, I would fly to you.
For an imaginary or impossible condition (Second Conditional) the if-clause takes "were" for every person: If I were a bird. The main clause has would + V1. "Was" is heard in speech but "were" is the exam answer; "am" sounds like a real condition, and "had been" belongs to the Third Conditional.
- If + were ..., would + V1 (imaginary)
- If I were you = in your place
- Third Conditional: If + had + V3, would have + V3
- In a dream everyone is were
I look forward to ___ you soon.
Here "to" is a preposition, not the infinitive marker, so the verb that follows takes -ing: look forward to meeting. "Meet" and "met" cannot follow a preposition, and "have meet" is ungrammatical.
- look forward to + V-ing
- be used to + V-ing
- object to + V-ing
- in addition to + V-ing
- preposition "to" is not infinitive "to"
- If a noun can follow "to", V-ing can too
The news ___ true.
"News" ends in s but is a singular uncountable noun, so the verb is the singular "is". Similar words: mathematics, physics, economics, politics. "Are", "were" and "have been" are plural forms.
- news is singular
- mathematics, physics, economics: singular
- scissors, trousers, spectacles: plural
- "the news are" is wrong
- The s in news is only decoration
📊 Topic Analysis
20 practice questions for the English section of WBPSC Clerkship 2024 Part-I.
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