Q&A: practice questions with answers

Concept: A singular subject needs a singular verb, even inside a 'the more…, the less…' structure.

1. Subject of part (A) = the population → one group → singular.
2. Singular subject in present tense takes verb + s: grow ✗ → grows ✓.
3. Correct: The more the population grows, … Parts (B) and (C) are fine.

Trick: Cover the comparative words and read only 'the population grow' — the mismatch jumps out.

Answer: (A) The more the population grow,

Concept: Fewer + countable plural noun; less + uncountable noun.

1. (a) pens = countable → 'fewer pens' needed ✗
2. (b) salt, (d) wealth = uncountable → 'less' needed ✗
3. (c) workers = countable plural → 'fewer workers' ✓

Trick: If you can put a number before the noun (3 workers), use fewer; if not (3 salts ✗), use less.

Answer: (C) They want fewer workers this time.

Concept: Fixed phrase: under suspicion for + the wrong act.

1. The blank links the suspicion to its cause (cheating).
2. Standard usage: under suspicion for cheating / for theft.
3. 'in', 'around', 'upon' do not pair with suspicion in this sense.

Trick: Arrested for, punished for, suspected/under suspicion for — the reason of blame takes 'for'.

Answer: (C) for

Concept: Choose the idiom matching 'bold claims but nothing real'.

1. 'but in the end' signals the claims were hollow.
2. Smoke and mirrors = an illusion meant to impress while hiding lack of substance ✓
3. Beating around the bush = avoiding the point; barking up the wrong tree = wrong target; adding fuel to the fire = worsening a situation.

Trick: Picture a magic show: smoke + mirrors create an illusion — no real trick behind it.

Answer: (C) smoke and mirrors

Concept: Spot the wrongly spelt word.

1. Part A has 'forcast'.
2. Correct spelling: fore + cast = forecast (to predict beforehand).
3. heavy, tomorrow, afternoon, cancel, immediately are all correct.

Trick: fore = before (forehead, foresee, forecast) — keep the 'e'.

Answer: (A) A

Concept: Spot the wrongly spelt word.

1. Part B has 'vougue'.
2. Correct: vogue (v-o-g-u-e), meaning current fashion; 'in vogue' = fashionable.
3. retro, runways, street wear are fine.

Trick: Only one 'u' — it sits after the g, like in 'rogue'.

Answer: (B) B

Concept: Motion along a river with the current is expressed by down the river.

1. The leaf is moving 'towards the sea' — so movement, not position.
2. Rivers flow down to the sea → float down the river ✓
3. 'into' = entering from outside; 'above' = over, not in the water.

Trick: Towards the sea = downstream = down the river; towards the source = up the river.

Answer: (A) down the river

Concept: A homonym has the same spelling/sound but a different meaning.

1. Given: well = a pit dug for water (noun).
2. (a) 'did not feel well' = healthy — a different meaning ✓
3. (b), (c), (d) all use well = water pit — same meaning, so not homonyms of it.

Trick: Odd-one-out: three options share one meaning; the one that differs is the homonym.

Answer: (A) She did not feel well after the long journey.

Concept: Past reporting verb → back-shift the tense of the reported clause.

1. Reporting verb 'said' is past.
2. will be implemented → would be implemented; inverted commas → 'that'.
3. 'is', 'must', 'should' change the tense or meaning ✗

Trick: Modal shift chart: will→would, shall→should, can→could, may→might.

Answer: (C) The manager said that the new policy would be implemented across all departments after a week.

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

1. Agent 'the teacher' becomes the subject; 'the assignment' becomes the object.
2. is being checked → is checking.
3. Active: The teacher is checking the assignment.

Trick: Spot 'being' → the tense is continuous; the answer must contain '-ing'. Only (B) and (C) have it, and (B) reverses roles.

Answer: (C) The teacher is checking the assignment.

Concept: 'requested … to + verb' comes from an imperative with Please.

1. Reporting verb becomes said; reported part becomes an order beginning 'Please'.
2. Pronoun from speaker's view: her → me.
3. Direct: She said, "Please help me with the project."

Trick: requested/ordered/advised in indirect → imperative (no subject) in direct speech.

Answer: (A) She said, "Please help me with the project.'

Concept: Find the misspelt word.

1. Singular = criterion; plural = criteria.
2. (c) writes 'criteriya' — no such spelling ✗
3. (a), (b), (d) spell 'criteria' correctly.

Trick: Greek plurals: criterion → criteria, phenomenon → phenomena — never a 'y'.

Answer: (C) The teacher explained that the criteriya for the assignment were clear.

Concept: Cause → result is joined by so; 'but' is only for contrast.

1. Nice weather (cause) → safe to play outside (result). No contrast exists.
2. Correct: The weather is nice, so it will be safe to play outside.
3. 'although' = contrast, 'when' = time, 'thus' is an adverb, not a joining word here.

Trick: Ask 'why is it safe?' — because the weather is nice → cause-effect → so.

Answer: (B) so

Concept: will have been + V3 (passive) ↔ will have + V3 (active).

1. Agent 'the research team' becomes the subject.
2. will have been completed → will have completed.
3. Result: The research team will have completed the report.

Trick: Keep the tense: if 'will have' is in the question, it must stay in the answer — only (A) keeps it.

Answer: (A) The research team will have completed the final report on the project.

Concept: To make a sentence negative without changing meaning, use two negatives that cancel.

1. has become = has not failed to become (not + failed = positive).
2. Tense (present perfect) stays the same.
3. (b), (c), (d) simply deny the fact — meaning reversed ✗

Trick: not + fail, not + without, nobody + but — double negative = same positive meaning.

Answer: (A) Physical fitness has not failed to become a vital aspect of an individual's overall health.

Concept: Active: X claims that A requires B → Passive: A is claimed (by X) to require B.

1. Subject of the that-clause, 'maintaining fitness', moves to the front.
2. claims (present) → is claimed; requires → to require.
3. (a) changes the subject, (c) changes tense to 'has been', (d) is meaningless.

Trick: Pattern: is said / is believed / is claimed + to-infinitive.

Answer: (B) Maintaining fitness is claimed by health experts to require consistent effort and discipline.

Concept: Pick the word that means 'make better' as used in the passage.

1. Habits 'greatly improve physical well-being' = raise it to a higher level.
2. Enhance = increase the quality or value ✓
3. Worsen = opposite; relieve/alleviate = reduce pain or trouble.

Trick: Relieve and alleviate are near-synonyms of each other — both can't be the single answer; eliminate them together.

Answer: (D) Enhance

Concept: Proactive = acting in advance to prevent a problem.

1. Opposite = acting only after something happens = reactive ✓
2. Positive and responsible are similar in tone; aggressive means hostile — none is the opposite.

Trick: pro-active (before) ↔ re-active (in response, after) — the prefixes give it away.

Answer: (A) Reactive

Concept: A valid inference stays within what the passage says, without extreme words.

1. Passage: places that promote fitness programmes and encourage participation see healthier, more energetic people.
2. (b) says encouraging participation can help health and energy ✓
3. (a) 'only', (c) 'always' are too absolute; (d) contradicts the passage.

Trick: Reject options with 'only / always / never' in inference questions unless the passage says so.

Answer: (B) Encouraging participation in fitness programs can have a positive effect on overall health and energy.

Concept: Arrange steps of a process in the order they happen.

1. P: heat the rod till soft (must be first).
2. Q: shape the softened glass into a vase.
3. R: after cooling, polish it. S: describes the finished vase — conclusion.
4. Order: P → Q → R → S.

Trick: Only option (A) starts with P — and a process must start with heating.

Answer: (A) P, Q, R, S