Q&A: practice questions with answers

Concept: A collective noun acting as one unit takes a singular verb and a singular pronoun.

1. Clue in part C: 'its verdict' (singular pronoun) and 'united' – the jury acts as one body.
2. So the verb must agree: 'were' → 'was'.
3. Correct: The jury ... was united in its verdict ...

Trick: Verb and pronoun must point the same way – 'its' (singular) cannot sit with 'were' (plural).

Answer: (C) were united in its verdict

Concept: 'Despite' is itself a preposition; it never takes 'of' after it.

1. Two correct forms: despite + noun OR in spite of + noun.
2. 'Despite of' mixes both – wrong.
3. Correct: Despite his illness, he attended the meeting.

Trick: 'of' goes only with 'spite' – in spite OF; despite = no 'of'.

Answer: (A) Despite of

Concept: 'Into' shows change of a whole into parts or a new form (cut/divide/break into).

1. One pizza becomes eight pieces → a change of form → 'into'.
2. 'In' shows only position; 'between' (two) and 'among' (many) show sharing among people, not pieces.
3. Correct: cut the pizza into eight slices.

Trick: Divide, split, break, cut, translate, convert → all take 'into'.

Answer: (C) into

Concept: 'Dwell on/upon' = to talk or think about something at length.

1. The speaker spends time stressing unity and peace → 'dwells on'.
2. 'Dwell at / through / beside' are not used in English.
3. Correct: The speaker dwells on the importance of unity ...

Yaad rakhein: 'Dwell in' = to live in a place; 'dwell on' = to keep discussing a topic.

Answer: (A) on

Concept: Morose = sullen, sad and silent in mood.

1. Gloomy = dark, low-spirited – same mood as morose.
2. Happy, Bright, Cheerful all show good mood – these are opposites.

Trick: Three options mean the same positive mood – the odd one out (Gloomy) is the answer.

Answer: (B) Gloomy

Concept: Prudence = good sense and care in deciding what to do.

1. Wisdom = sound judgement – closest meaning.
2. Carelessness and Impulse are opposite habits; Waste is unrelated.

Yaad rakhein: Prudent (adj.) = sensible, careful; opposite = imprudent / rash.

Answer: (B) Wisdom

Concept: 'Bits and bobs' = various small things of little value (odds and ends).

1. Key ideas: small + assorted.
2. Options A, C, D talk of large, complete or important things – wrong.
3. e.g. The drawer is full of bits and bobs.

Trick: 'Bits' themselves are tiny pieces – so the meaning must be 'small things'.

Answer: (B) Small miscellaneous items

Concept: Shallow = having little depth; antonym must mean great depth.

1. Deep = going far down – exact opposite.
2. Flat (level), Low (height), Slight (small amount) – not about depth.

Yaad rakhein: Shallow also means 'superficial' (a shallow person); its opposite then is 'profound'.

Answer: (A) Deep

Concept: Exonerated = declared free from blame or a charge.

1. Convicted = officially found guilty – the reverse.
2. Absolved, Vindicated, Acquitted all mean 'cleared' – these are synonyms (trap).

Trick: When three options share one meaning, they are synonyms of the word – pick the odd one out for the antonym.

Answer: (B) Convicted

Concept: mono = one, theos = god → monotheist.

1. Monotheist – believes in only one God.
2. Polytheist – many gods; Theist – believes God exists; Idolater – worships idols.

Trick: Prefix decides: mono (1), poly (many), a- (none → atheist).

Answer: (B) Monotheist

Concept: Passive 'had been + V3' becomes active 'had + V3'; tense stays the same.

1. Doer 'by the general' → subject 'the general'.
2. had been awarded → had awarded.
3. A (continuous), B (simple past) change tense; D is still passive.

Trick: Just look for 'had + V3' with 'the general' as subject – only C has it.

Answer: (C) After his heroic action, the general had awarded the brave soldier a distinct medal.

Concept: Past reporting verb → back-shift: will be + V-ing → would be + V-ing.

1. 'I' → 'she' (speaker is she).
2. will be painting → would be painting.
3. B keeps 'will', C changes to past continuous, D drops 'be painting' – all wrong.

Trick: Only change will → would; keep the rest of the verb form ('be painting') intact.

Answer: (A) She said that she would be painting the wall.

Concept: After 'c', write 'ei' (receive, deceive, perceive).

1. Correct spelling: p-e-r-c-e-i-v-e-d.
2. Option C has 'percieved' – letters i and e swapped.

Trick: 'i before e, except after c' – perceive, receive, ceiling.

Answer: (C) He percieved the risk involved in the deal.

Concept: Verb 'maintain' → noun 'maintenance' (the 'ai' becomes 'e').

1. Option B writes 'maintainance' – wrong.
2. license, specialized, authorize in other options are correct.

Trick: main-TEN-ance – think of 'ten' in the middle.

Answer: (B) He applied for a license to perform the electrical maintainance required for the old building.

Concept: 'Furniture' is uncountable: singular verb and singular pronoun.

1. 'in the new offices' is only a modifier; subject = furniture.
2. are → is; them → it.
3. Correct: The furniture ... is expensive and we must maintain it.

Trick: Two fixes needed (verb + pronoun) – choose the option with both 'is' and 'it'.

Answer: (C) The furniture in the new offices is expensive and we must maintain it.

Concept: Plural amounts of distance/time/money/weight seen as one total take a singular verb.

1. 'Twenty miles' = one stretch of distance → 'is'.
2. Noun stays plural: 'twenty mile' is wrong (A, D out).
3. Correct: Twenty miles is a long distance to run.

Yaad rakhein: Same rule: Ten years is a long time; Five hundred rupees is enough.

Answer: (C) Twenty miles is a long distance to run

Concept: will have + V3 → will have been + V3.

1. Object 'the task' → subject.
2. will have finished → will have been finished; 'by us' added.
3. B loses 'have', C uses 'would', D uses 'has' – tense changed.

Trick: Passive = add 'been' before V3; keep every other helping verb the same.

Answer: (A) The task will have been finished by us by next month.

Concept: is/are + V-ing → is/are + being + V3.

1. are repairing → are being repaired.
2. Subject: 'The vintage cars'; doer: 'by the mechanics'.
3. A misses 'being', C is past, D is present perfect.

Trick: Continuous tense in passive always needs 'being'.

Answer: (B) The vintage cars are being repaired by the mechanics for the annual auto show.

Concept: To get direct speech, undo the back-shift and use first person.

1. had been predicting → have been predicting.
2. had not yet taken → haven't yet taken.
3. she feared → I fear; was crashing → is crashing.
4. Only B reverses every verb correctly.

Trick: Check one verb at a time; any 'had' left inside quotes eliminates the option (C, D out).

Answer: (B) "Although the experts have been predicting the recession for months, the authorities haven't yet taken any preventive steps, and I fear that the economy is crashing," the economist stated.

Concept: An -ing word group that describes/adds to the main clause (acts like an adjective) is a participle phrase.

1. 'facilitating ...' follows a comma and tells what the platforms do while integrating.
2. It is not a subject/object (so not gerund), has no 'to' (not infinitive), and has no own subject (not absolute).

Trick: -ing as noun = gerund; -ing as describer after a comma = participle.

Answer: (B) Participle phrase