Q&A: practice questions with answers

Concept: An opening participle phrase ('Having been…') must refer to the subject placed right after the comma.

1. Who was a member for years? A person – she.
2. But the subject after the comma is 'the elevation', and a promotion cannot be a member.
3. Fix part B: '…, she found her elevation to supervisor surprising but deeply valued.'

Trick: After a 'Having + V3' opener, ask: 'Who did it?' The answer must be the very next noun.

Answer: (B) the elevation to supervisor was

Concept: Some adjectives take a fixed preposition; 'adept' is followed by 'in/at' (a skill).

1. 'Adept' = highly skilled.
2. Correct use: adept in music, adept at painting.
3. 'of', 'to', 'over' do not pair with 'adept'.

Trick: Group it with 'skilled in, proficient in, expert in' – all skill-adjectives love 'in'.

Answer: (B) in

Concept: 'Unless' = 'if … not'; it links a result with the only condition that can stop it.

1. Meaning needed: you will fail if you do not revise.
2. 'if not' = unless → 'You will fail unless you revise…'
3. 'or/otherwise' need a command first ('Revise, or you will fail'); 'yet' shows contrast.

Trick: Replace the blank with 'if … not'. If the sentence still makes sense, 'unless' is the answer.

Answer: (B) unless

Concept: Synonym = word with the same meaning.

1. Paradisal = like paradise; heavenly, ideally perfect.
2. Utopian = belonging to an imagined perfect world – same idea.
3. Pragmatic, Reasonable, Rational all mean 'practical/sensible' – a different sense.

Trick: Three options are near-synonyms of each other (practical); the odd one out is often the answer.

Answer: (B) Utopian

Concept: Spot the misspelt word in the sentence.

1. Soldiers = troops (double o), not 'troups'.
2. 'Troupe' (with -e) = a group of actors/dancers.
3. Colonel, strategy, instructions are correct.

Yaad rakhein: Colonel is pronounced 'kernel' but written c-o-l-o-n-e-l – a favourite exam trap, yet correct here.

Answer: (A) troups

Concept: Antonym = word with the opposite meaning.

1. Negligible = so small it can be ignored.
2. Opposite = most important → Principal (main, chief).
3. Petty, Slight, Ordinary all mean small/unimportant – synonyms, not opposites.

Yaad rakhein: Don't confuse principal (main) with principle (rule).

Answer: (C) Principal

Concept: Know the 'person who…' words built on -logist.

1. Philologist = one who studies languages and their historical development.
2. Lyricist writes song words; choreographer designs dance steps; lexicographer compiles dictionaries.

Trick: philo (love) + logos (word): a 'lover of words' → language historian. Lexico = dictionary.

Answer: (C) a person who studies the history of languages.

Concept: 'Hardly' is already negative; it is followed by 'any', never 'only' or 'not'.

1. 'Hardly only effort' gives no sense.
2. Order: hardly + any + noun → 'hardly any effort' (almost no effort).
3. 'effort not hardly' is a double negative – wrong.

Trick: Hardly/scarcely/barely + any/ever (never 'no', 'not', 'never').

Answer: (A) hardly any effort

Concept: Antonym = opposite meaning.

1. Exuberant = full of energy, joy and excitement.
2. Opposite = sad and low → Gloomy.
3. Lively, Energetic, Merry are synonyms of exuberant.

Trick: Three options carry the same 'happy/energetic' feel – the lone negative word is the antonym.

Answer: (B) Gloomy

Concept: Going back to direct speech, reverse the backshift: had been + V-ing → was/were + V-ing.

1. 'she had been reading' → 'I was reading'.
2. 'her tablet' → 'my tablet'; 'turned off' stays simple past.
3. So the clause becomes: While I was reading …, my tablet … turned off.

Trick: Reverse ladder: had been reading → was reading → is reading. Move just one step.

Answer: (B) She said, "While I was reading the novel, my tablet unexpectedly turned off."

Concept: Find the wrongly spelt word.

1. Correct form: ac-cu-mu-la-ting (double c, then u).
2. 'Accumalating' has 'a' in place of 'u' – wrong.
3. increasing, gathering, cumulative are correct.

Trick: Link it with 'cumulative': accumulate keeps the same 'mu'.

Answer: (B) accumalating

Concept: Present passive question 'Are … expected' becomes present active 'Do they expect …?' (agent not named → 'they').

1. Agent missing → subject = they.
2. are expected (present passive) → do … expect (simple present active).
3. Infinitive 'to be repaired' → 'to repair the old electronics'.
4. Result: Do they expect to repair … ?

Trick: A question must stay a question: reject (D) (no helping verb at start) and (A) (changes tense to continuous).

Answer: (C) Do they expect to repair the old electronics immediately in all the homes?

Concept: Past reporting verb → backshift: will → would; change pronouns by speaker/listener.

1. I (sister) → she; you (listener = me) → me; your → my.
2. will support → would support.
3. Final: …that she would support me…

Trick: Reporting verb in past? Then 'will' must turn to 'would' – (B) is out instantly.

Answer: (A) Her sister said that she would support me in my journey.

Concept: Choose the word that fits the definition given.

1. Sweet course at the end of a meal = dessert (double s).
2. Desert (one s) = sandy dry land; diner = person dining/small restaurant; daisy = flower.

Trick: Dessert has two s's because you always want a second helping of sweets!

Answer: (B) dessert

Concept: Subject 'Who' becomes 'By whom' in the passive, followed by question order (helping verb + subject + V3).

1. Who → By whom.
2. published (past) → was … published.
3. By whom + was + the novel + published? ✓

Trick: Pattern: By whom + was/is + object + V3 + ? (D) misses the inversion, so it is a statement, not a question.

Answer: (A) By whom was the novel published?

Concept: Active: subject does the action. Passive needs 'be' + V3.

1. Verb: 'has reshaped' = has + V3 (present perfect, no 'been').
2. Subject 'The expectation…' performs the reshaping on 'work habits'.
3. No 'be' form → active.

Trick: Passive test: look for be/been + V3. 'has reshaped' has no 'been' → Active.

Answer: (A) Active voice

Concept: A finite verb shows tense and agrees with the subject; -ing participles/gerunds are non-finite.

1. Subject 'Many individuals' + 'have started' → carries present perfect tense.
2. waking, checking, skipping, struggling are -ing forms with no tense of their own.

Trick: Ask 'Can it change with tense/subject?' – started (have started/had started) can; checking cannot.

Answer: (A) started

Concept: Deleterious = harmful, damaging.

1. Passage: deleterious consequences → sleep problems, anxiety = harmful effects.
2. Adverse = harmful/unfavourable – exact match.
3. Advantageous is the opposite; temporary and uncertain don't fit.

Trick: Read the next line of the passage – the listed effects (anxiety, poor sleep) reveal the meaning.

Answer: (B) Adverse

Concept: A clarion call = a loud, urgent call to take action.

1. Clarion = a war trumpet with a clear, sharp sound.
2. Experts want everyone to reassess priorities at once → strong, urgent appeal.
3. 'Mild' or 'confusing' contradicts the urgency.

Trick: Clarion = 'clear + alarm' – think of a trumpet sounding an alarm.

Answer: (B) A strong and urgent appeal

Concept: Locate the factor stated in the passage.

1. Para 1: technology raised pressure 'by shortening response times'.
2. That = shortened response expectations → fatigue.
3. Leisure, reduced tech use and fixed hours are never mentioned as causes.

Trick: In 'according to the passage' questions, match key words (shortening/response) – don't use outside opinion.

Answer: (A) Shortened response expectations