Q&A: practice questions with answers

Concept: Use 'an' before a vowel sound, 'a' before a consonant sound.

1. 'Engineer' starts with the vowel sound /e/.
2. She wants to become an engineer.

Yaad rakhein: Go by sound, not spelling: an hour, an MBA, but a university, a one-day match.

Answer: (B) an

Concept: 'Rather than' shows preference of one action over another.

1. …advised revising the entire syllabus rather than focusing on one topic.
2. 'More than' compares amount; 'other than' means except – neither fits.

Trick: 'Than' after a blank with a preference sense ⇒ 'rather'. Both sides take the same form (revising / focusing).

Answer: (B) rather

Concept: 'It's' = it is/it has; possessive 'its' never takes an apostrophe.

1. The branches belong to the tree ⇒ possessive needed.
2. Correct: famous for its beautiful, sprawling branches.

Trick: Read 'it's' as 'it is': 'famous for it is beautiful branches' makes no sense ⇒ error.

Answer: (B) (2)

Concept: A modifier must stand next to the word it describes.

1. 'On paper plates' describes how the sandwiches were served, not the shelter.
2. Correct: At the shelter, the volunteers served sandwiches on paper plates decorated with colourful patterns to every hungry child.

Trick: Ask 'what is on the paper plates?' – sandwiches; so the phrase must follow 'sandwiches'.

Answer: (C) (3)

Concept: Present simple active question (Do/Does) → passive 'Is/Are + V3'.

1. Object 'health insurance' (singular) becomes subject ⇒ 'Is'.
2. Is health insurance provided to employees by the company?

Trick: Keep the tense: does → is/are. 'Has been' (perfect) and 'Was' (past) change the tense – reject.

Answer: (A) Is health insurance provided to employees by the company?

Concept: A homonym use shows the same word in a different meaning.

1. Given: 'aporia' = a philosophical puzzle/impasse, a state of doubt.
2. (A), (B), (D) keep this sense of doubt or uncertainty.
3. (C) treats it as something an architect calculates for a structure – a different (structural) sense.

Trick: Find the option whose context field differs (architecture vs philosophy) – that is the odd usage.

Answer: (C) The architect calculated the aporia of the structure using software tools.

Concept: is/are being + V3 (passive) = is/are + V-ing (active).

1. Agent 'the students' becomes the subject (plural ⇒ 'are').
2. The students are solving the problem.

Trick: 'Being' in passive = continuous tense; match '-ing' in the active and drop options in other tenses.

Answer: (A) The students are solving the problem.

Concept: Present perfect cannot go with a definite past time word (yesterday, last week, ago).

1. 'Yesterday' ⇒ simple past.
2. He completed his work yesterday.

Trick: Spot time markers: yesterday/ago/last/in 2010 ⇒ V2 only, never has/have + V3.

Answer: (A) completed his work

Concept: With no helping verb in the statement, the tag uses do/does/did.

1. 'He plays' = simple present, 3rd person singular ⇒ 'does'.
2. Positive statement ⇒ negative tag: doesn't he?

Trick: Convert 'plays' into 'does play' – the hidden auxiliary 'does' forms the tag.

Answer: (A) doesn't he?

Concept: Converting to direct speech, undo the backshift: past perfect/past → present.

1. Reported 'had' (from 'has') returns to 'has'.
2. The professor said, "The theory has several limitations."

Trick: Meaning must remain the same – options changing 'several limitations' to 'full of errors' or 'no limitations' are out at once.

Answer: (A) The professor said, "The theory has several limitations."

Concept: 'Let us' (proposal) → reporting verb 'suggested/proposed' + that + subject + should.

1. said → suggested; 'us' → 'they'.
2. Ravi suggested that they should help the needy.

Trick: 'Told' always needs an object (told me/him); 'ordered' changes a suggestion into a command.

Answer: (B) Ravi suggested that they should help the needy.

Concept: Start with the sentence that introduces the topic; pronouns follow their nouns.

1. 1 introduces 'ancient trade routes'.
2. 2 'They' refers to those routes – what they enabled.
3. 3 adds the merchants' difficulties; 4 'Over time' concludes.

Trick: 'They' cannot begin a paragraph and 'Over time' signals the end – only 1-2-3-4 satisfies both.

Answer: (B) 1-2-3-4

Concept: adapt + ability = adaptability.

1. Root 'adapt' (to adjust) keeps single p and single t.
2. Suffix '-ability' keeps 'a'.

Yaad rakhein: Don't confuse 'adapt' (adjust) with 'adopt' (take up) – option (C) uses the wrong root.

Answer: (B) adaptability

Concept: Shortened = made shorter.

1. Truncated = cut short by removing the end part ✓.
2. Lengthened/Extended are antonyms; Complicated is unrelated.

Trick: Truncate comes from Latin 'truncus' – a tree trunk with branches cut off; think 'cut off'.

Answer: (C) Truncated

Concept: Restore = bring back to its original condition.

1. Pulverize = crush into powder, destroy completely ✓ (opposite).
2. Recreate, Replenish, Regenerate all mean rebuilding – near-synonyms.

Trick: Three options start with 're-' and share the 'bring back' idea – the odd word out is the antonym.

Answer: (C) Pulverize

Concept: 'The writing on the wall' = a clear sign that failure or disaster is coming.

1. The coach sensed the coming end of the team and resigned early.
2. It is a warning sign, not a confession, love or brilliance.

Yaad rakhein: Origin: Biblical feast of King Belshazzar, where a hand wrote his doom on the wall.

Answer: (B) A clear warning of inevitable doom

Concept: Brittle = hard but easily broken (like glass).

1. Correct spelling: b-r-i-t-t-l-e (double t, ends in -le).
2. 'Brittel', 'Brittlle', 'Britle' each alter the ending or the t's.

Trick: Pattern like little, kettle, bottle: short vowel + double consonant + -le.

Answer: (B) Brittle

Concept: Bankrupt = legally declared unable to pay debts.

1. The key words are 'declared in law' – only bankrupt has legal status.
2. Pauper = very poor; Debtor = one who owes; Spendthrift = wasteful spender.

Yaad rakhein: Insolvent is a close synonym; 'bankruptcy' is the legal process (India: IBC, 2016).

Answer: (B) Bankrupt

Concept: Polymath = a person with wide knowledge across many subjects.

1. 'Poly' = many, 'math' (Greek manthanein) = learning ⇒ many learnings ✓.
2. Prodigy = gifted child; Virtuoso = master performer (music/art); Savant stresses deep learning, not breadth.

Trick: 'Wide' in the definition points to breadth ⇒ poly- (many).

Answer: (A) Polymath

Concept: Fix pairs first using links like 'Yet' and 'this gap'.

1. 'Yet … digital divide' (3) contrasts with 'digital tools' (2) ⇒ 2 → 3.
2. 'Bridging this gap' (4) refers to the divide in 3 ⇒ 3 → 4.
3. Only option (A) 2-1-3-4 keeps 2 → 3 → 4 in order.

Trick: Find the fixed block (2-3-4 order) and eliminate any option that breaks it: (B), (C), (D) all fail.

Answer: (A) 2-1-3-4