Q&A: practice questions with answers

Concept: Look-alike words: access (right/permission to reach something) vs excess (more than needed).

1. Students can be denied the right to reach exam papers, not a 'surplus' of them.
2. So part (B) needs the noun access: 'having access to the exam papers'.
3. 'Access to' is the fixed pairing; the other parts are fine.

Trick: Access = Allowed entry; Excess = Extra.

Answer: (B) having excess to

Concept: Non-gradable adjectives (perfect, unique, ideal, complete) cannot take 'more/most'.

1. 'Perfect' already means the highest possible state.
2. 'Most perfect' is therefore a double superlative – wrong.
3. Correct: 'This strategy is the perfect solution for our current problem.'

Trick: If a word means 'cannot get better', drop more/most before it: unique, perfect, supreme, ideal, entire.

Answer: (B) is the most perfect

Concept: Vocabulary: meaning of 'lugubrious'.

1. Lugubrious = gloomy, sad, dismal in look or tone (e.g. a lugubrious face).
2. Mournful = full of sorrow – same sense.
3. Cheerful, Optimistic, Joyous are all 'happy' words, so they are opposites.

Trick: Three options share one mood (happy); the odd one out (Mournful) is the answer.

Answer: (C) Mournful

Concept: Synonym: 'intransigent' = refusing to compromise or change one's stand.

1. Prefix in- = not; transigent ≈ willing to settle.
2. So intransigent = stubborn, uncompromising.
3. Compliant, Flexible, Submissive mean 'ready to yield' – antonyms.

Trick: Read the prefix: 'in-' (not) + 'compromising' idea → 'Un-compromising'.

Answer: (B) Uncompromising

Concept: Correct spelling of a common word.

1. Correct form: R-E-C-E-I-P-T (a written note that money/goods were received).
2. After 'c' we write ei, not ie.
3. The silent 'p' stays – 'Receit/Receet' lose it; 'Reciept' swaps ei.

Trick: Rule: 'i before e, except after c' → receive, receipt, conceit.

Answer: (C) Receipt

Concept: Correct spelling of a difficult adjective.

1. Split: per-spi-ca-cious = having sharp insight.
2. Both middle sounds use 'c' (spi-ca-cious); ending is '-cious'.
3. '-sious', 'spisa' and '-coius' are all wrong forms.

Trick: Same ending as vivacious, tenacious, audacious → -acious.

Answer: (A) Perspicacious

Concept: Idiom for a constant threat that may strike at any moment.

1. The investigation is a looming danger making the staff anxious.
2. Sword of Damocles = an ever-present peril hanging over someone.
3. Primrose path = easy life leading to ruin; Parthian shot = parting remark; stalking horse = a front/decoy.

Trick: Keyword 'hung over' → the sword that literally hangs over the head.

Answer: (A) the Sword of Damocles

Concept: One word for the study of human society.

1. Socio (society) + -logy (study) = Sociology.
2. Pathology = study of disease; Theology = study of God/religion; Philology = study of language history.

Trick: Match the root: socio = society, patho = disease, theo = God, philo-logy = love of words.

Answer: (A) Sociology

Concept: Antonym: 'concealed' = kept hidden.

1. The opposite of hiding is making known → Revealed.
2. Covered, Hidden, Masked all mean the same as 'concealed'.

Trick: Three options are synonyms of the word; the lone different one is the antonym.

Answer: (D) Revealed

Concept: Indirect speech of a polite question/request with a past reporting verb.

1. 'Can you…?' is a request → reporting verb requested, connector if.
2. Past reporting verb → can becomes could.
3. 'you' → he; 'me' → him; base verb 'show' after the modal.
4. Result: '…requested if he could show him the way to the station.'

Trick: Reject at a glance: 'can' (no shift), 'could showed' (V2 after modal), 'requests' (tense changed).

Answer: (B) The stranger requested if he could show him the way to the station.

Concept: Antonym: 'acrimonious' = angry and bitter (of a quarrel or speech).

1. Opposite of bitter conflict = peaceful agreement → Harmonious.
2. Bitter, Rancorous, Caustic all mean harsh/resentful – synonyms.

Trick: 'Acri-' links to 'acrid' (sharp, sour) – the opposite is something smooth and sweet.

Answer: (C) Harmonious

Concept: Find the sentence with a wrong spelling.

1. Correct spelling: p-r-i-v-i-l-e-g-e – no 'd'.
2. Option (D) has 'priviledge' – wrong.
3. (A), (B), (C) spell it correctly.

Trick: Don't mix with 'knowledge/ledger' – privilege has no 'd'.

Answer: (D) She lost the priviledge of driving the company car.

Concept: Doubling rule before -ed.

1. 'Occur' is stressed on the last syllable and ends in vowel + consonant.
2. So the final 'r' doubles: occur → occurred, occurring.
3. Option (C) writes 'occured' (single r) – the misspelling.

Trick: Same pattern: prefer → preferred, refer → referred, occur → occurred.

Answer: (C) The problem never occured during the testing phase.

Concept: Passive 'will have been + V3' = future perfect; the active keeps the same tense.

1. Doer 'the teacher' becomes the subject; 'the syllabus' becomes the object.
2. Future perfect active = will have + V3 → 'will have completed'.
3. So the active form uses 'will have completed' with 'the teacher' first.

Trick: Just remove 'been' and swap subject/object – the tense stays.

Answer: (B) The teacher will have completed the syllabus before the exam starts.

Concept: Past reporting verb → back-shift the tense in the reported statement.

1. Reporting verb 'said' is past, so will → would.
2. Statement is joined with 'that'; time phrase 'in five minutes' stays.
3. Result: '…said that the show would start in five minutes.'

Trick: Shift chart: is→was, will→would, can→could, shall→should, may→might.

Answer: (C) The announcer said that the show would start in five minutes.

Concept: Confusable verbs: persecute = harass/oppress; prosecute = take legal action.

1. Authorities taking a trespasser to court = prosecuted.
2. Passive voice needs the agent with by: 'prosecuted by the authorities'.
3. 'with' and 'to' are wrong prepositions here.

Trick: Prosecute → process of law (court); Persecute → personal torment.

Answer: (C) prosecuted by

Concept: Simple past active (V2) → passive 'was/were + V3'.

1. 'killed' here is V2 → simple past.
2. Object 'the lion' is singular → was + killed.
3. Passive: 'The lion was killed by the hunter.'

Trick: Match the tense: is (present), has been (present perfect), had been (past perfect) – only 'was' is simple past.

Answer: (B) The lion was killed by the hunter.

Concept: Main verb 'has promised' (present perfect) → passive 'has/have been + V3'; the person object can become the subject.

1. Person object 'the winning team' → subject.
2. 'has promised' → has been promised.
3. Doer goes last with 'by': '…by the committee'.
4. (C)/(D) change the tense to 'will', (B) has wrong 'have' with singular subject.

Trick: First fix the tense (has → has been); this alone leaves only (A).

Answer: (A) The winning team has been promised a gold trophy at the ceremony by the committee.

Concept: Going back to direct speech, every back-shifted verb moves one step forward and the speaker uses 'I'.

1. 'she would not approve' → 'I will not approve'.
2. 'was proposed' → 'is proposed'; 'had been overspending' → 'has been overspending'.
3. 'that' is dropped and the words go inside quotation marks.

Trick: Count the reversed verbs: only (C) changes all three (will, is, has been); (A) stops after one, (B)/(D) still read as indirect.

Answer: (C) 'I will not approve the budget which is proposed by the department that has been overspending for consecutive quarters," the CEO confirmed.

Concept: Identify voice and tense from the main verb.

1. Main clause: 'Numerous recycling centers adhere to rigorous standards'.
2. The subject does the action → active voice.
3. 'adhere' = base form with plural subject → simple present.
4. ('are not dumped' is a passive verb only in the subordinate clause.)

Trick: No 'has/have' → not perfect; no '-ing' → not continuous; plain V1 = simple present.

Answer: (C) Active voice, simple present