Q&A: practice questions with answers

Concept: Pick the word whose core job matches the definition: operates a machine.

1. Machinist = a worker who runs machines such as a lathe, drill or sewing machine.
2. Mechanic fixes machines; Engineer plans/designs them; Craftsman makes things by hand skill.

Trick: Look at the key verb: operate → machin-ist (one who works the machine), just like typ-ist, cycl-ist.

Answer: (C) Machinist

Concept: Idiom for an expensive possession that gives no real benefit.

1. A white elephant = costly to own or maintain, but useless.
2. Bell the cat = take a risky step for the group; 'fish in a pond' and 'a blue whale' carry no such idiomatic meaning.

Trick: White elephant → huge feeding bill, no work done. Example: an unused flyover built at great cost.

Answer: (B) A white elephant

Concept: Check subject–verb agreement, punctuation and phrase use part by part.

1. 'How useful is verbal communication' – singular uncountable noun takes 'is' ✔.
2. 'such as tone of voice and clarity' – example phrase correctly set off by commas ✔.
3. 'during a presentation?' – correct preposition and question mark ✔.

Trick: If every part passes the three quick checks (verb, preposition, punctuation), choose 'No correction required'.

Answer: (D) No correction required

Concept: A negative adverb at the start needs inverted order (auxiliary + subject), and 'Hardly' pairs with 'when'.

1. Structure: Hardly + had + subject + V3 + when + past simple.
2. (B), (D) – no inversion ✘; (C) uses 'than' with Hardly ✘.
3. (A) follows both rules ✔.

Trick: Hardly/Scarcely → when; No sooner → than. Remember 'H-W' and 'N-T'.

Answer: (A) Hardly had she finished her work when the guests arrived.

Concept: 'Confer on/upon' a topic = discuss it; 'confer with' a person = consult that person.

1. Object after the blank is 'the proposal' – a topic, not a person.
2. So: conferred on the proposal.

Trick: Thing after blank → on; person after blank → with.

Answer: (B) on

Concept: 'Born' is used only for birth; 'borne' means carried or endured.

1. The sentence talks about birth place → I was born in London.
2. Bourn = a small stream; burn = to be on fire – both unrelated.

Trick: Born = birth (both start with 'b' and end without 'e'); borne = bear a load.

Answer: (B) born

Concept: Spot the word with a missing double letter.

1. Correct form: Accessories – double 'c' and double 's'.
2. Given 'Accesories' has a single 's' ✘.
3. Necessary, Essential, Paramount are spelt correctly.

Trick: acCeSSories: 2 C's + 2 S's. 'Necessary' = 1 C + 2 S's (one Collar, two Sleeves).

Answer: (B) Accesories

Concept: Choose the phrasal verb that means 'to keep something in its proper place'.

1. 'In the cupboard' shows the books are being stored.
2. Put away = store tidily
3. Put out = extinguish; put up = lodge/raise; put on = wear.

Trick: Cupboard/drawer/shelf in the sentence → 'put away'.

Answer: (B) away

Concept: Active and passive keep the same tense; 'is/are being + V3' ↔ 'is/are + V-ing'.

1. 'are being reviewed' = present continuous passive.
2. Agent 'the experts' → subject; 'the research papers' → object.
3. Active: The experts are reviewing the research papers.

Trick: Seeing 'being' in the passive? The active answer must have -ing with is/am/are.

Answer: (B) The experts are reviewing the research papers.

Concept: Said to → told; pronouns follow the speaker; tense moves one step back.

1. Both 'I' refer to the accused → 'he'.
2. am → was; did not break → had not broken.
3. Only (D) changes both pronouns and both verbs.

Trick: Eliminate any option still containing 'I' or 'is' – only (D) remains.

Answer: (D) The accused told the officer that he was truthful as he had not broken the law.

Concept: 'Suggested that they (should) + V1' is the reported form of a 'Let's …' proposal.

1. A suggestion including the speaker herself → direct words begin with Let's.
2. Direct: She said, "Let's review the assignment carefully before submission."
3. (B) is an order, (A) and (D) are statements – none is a suggestion.

Trick: suggested/proposed that we/they … ⇄ "Let's …"

Answer: (C) She said, "Let's review the assignment carefully before submission."

Concept: Fixed collocations: reprimand somebody for a fault; warn somebody against a wrong act.

1. 'reprimanded for disrespecting the teachers' – reason of scolding.
2. 'warned against future misconduct' – thing to avoid.
3. Only option (B) has 'for, against'.

Trick: Punish/blame/scold → for; warn/caution → against.

Answer: (B) for, against

Concept: In reported speech 'must' becomes 'had to'; 'next morning' comes from 'tomorrow morning'.

1. Reverse: had to → must.
2. the next morning → tomorrow morning.
3. So the spoken words used must and tomorrow morning.

Trick: Check the time word first: only (B) has 'tomorrow'.

Answer: (B) He said, "The reports must be completed by tomorrow morning."

Concept: Compare the repeated word across all four sentences.

1. Correct: ar-tic-u-late.
2. (B) writes 'articualte' – letters 'u' and 'l' swapped ✘.
3. (A), (C), (D) are correct.

Trick: Break into syllables: ar–ti–cu–late; '-late' at the end.

Answer: (B) They tried to articualte their opinions during the discussion.

Concept: 'It had been announced that …' has no doer; in active add 'They' and keep past perfect.

1. had been announced (past perfect passive) → had announced.
2. Subject: They.
3. Active form begins: They had announced that …

Trick: Tense must match: only (A) has 'had announced'.

Answer: (A) They had announced that the annual meeting would not be postponed this week.

Concept: Earlier of two past actions → past perfect; 'threaten' takes 'to + V1'.

1. Threat came first, law passed later → had threatened.
2. threaten + to + base verb → to block.
3. 'threaded' is a different word; 'to blocking' is wrong form.

Trick: Past-before-past = had + V3; after 'to' always V1.

Answer: (C) had threatened to block

Concept: 'Did + subject + V1?' becomes 'Was/Were + new subject + V3 + by …?'

1. New subject 'the students' is plural → Were.
2. Keep question order: Were the students taught by Rohan?
3. (B) has statement order; (A), (C) are wrong forms.

Trick: Did-question → Was/Were-question. The answer must start with Was/Were.

Answer: (D) Were the students taught by Rohan?

Concept: 'Who' is the object of 'suspect'; in passive it becomes the subject: Who was suspected by them …

1. did suspect (past) → was suspected by them.
2. The clause the clause 'was accountable …' turns into the phrase 'of being accountable …'.
3. (C) changes tense; (B), (D) change the meaning (no 'who' as suspect).

Trick: Keep tense and keep 'who' as the person suspected – only (A) does both.

Answer: (A) Who was suspected by them of being accountable for spreading the secret data to the public?

Concept: 'Aim' takes 'at' before the target, usually an -ing form.

1. aimed at closing the gender pay gap ✔.
2. 'aimed to close' is fine, but 'aimed to closing' is not; 'on/for' do not collocate.

Trick: -ing after the blank + 'aim' → at.

Answer: (D) At

Concept: Only a transitive verb can be passivised; here the object belongs to 'launch'.

1. Object 'inclusive initiatives' → subject.
2. Past tense, plural → were launched.
3. Doers go after 'by'.

Trick: (C) lacks 'been/were', (D) reverses the roles, (B) passivises 'worked' – reject all three.

Answer: (A) Inclusive initiatives were launched by international organizations and corporate leaders.