Q&A: practice questions with answers

Concept: Pick the idiom whose sense matches 'a breakthrough after stagnation'.

1. The project is now doing very well, so we need an idiom of full efficiency.
2. Firing on all cylinders = working at maximum power and effectiveness.
3. 'Back to the drawing board' = starting again after failure; 'barking up the wrong tree' = wrong approach; 'skating on thin ice' = in a risky position.

Trick: Breakthrough = positive tone; three options are negative, only one is positive.

Answer: (B) firing on all cylinders

Concept: A comparative is made either with '-er' or with 'more', never both.

1. 'Fast' is a one-syllable adjective → comparative 'faster'.
2. 'More faster' uses both markers – a double comparative error.
3. Correct: 'much faster and costlier than the old one'. 'Much' as an intensifier is fine.

Trick: Spot 'more + ___er' (more better, more taller) – it is always wrong.

Answer: (B) much more faster

Concept: A reward that depends on an action needs a conditional conjunction.

1. Provided that = on the condition that → reward comes only if you act selflessly.
2. 'Yet' and 'while' show contrast/time, not condition.
3. 'If only' expresses a wish (If only I were rich!), not a plain condition.

Trick: Test: replace blank with 'on the condition that' – if the sentence still makes sense, choose 'provided that'.

Answer: (C) provided that

Concept: Synonym = word with the same meaning.

1. Kindness = being caring and gentle towards others.
2. Compassion = sympathy and care for others' suffering – same sense.
3. Bitterness, ill-will, rancor = hostility/resentment – all opposite in tone.

Trick: Three options share one negative meaning; the odd positive one is the synonym.

Answer: (C) Compassion

Concept: Admit (in one sense) = allow someone to enter / accept.

1. Welcome = receive someone gladly – the idea of letting in.
2. Shun and eschew = avoid; chase = run after – none mean 'let in'.

Trick: Shun = eschew (same meaning) – two options with the same meaning usually cancel each other out.

Answer: (B) Welcome

Concept: Check each segment for the standard spelling.

1. Segment B has 'parliment'.
2. Correct spelling: parliament (parli-a-ment).
3. 'supporters', 'stood aside', 'price' are correctly spelt.

Trick: Think of 'parliamentary' – the 'a' is clearly heard there, so it is kept in 'parliament'.

Answer: (B) B

Concept: Find the word for a popular but untrue belief.

1. Myth = a commonly believed idea that is false.
2. Veracity = truthfulness (opposite idea).
3. Axiom/Postulate = statements accepted as true without proof.

Trick: Only 'myth' carries the idea of falsehood; the other three are about truth.

Answer: (A) Myth

Concept: Antonym = opposite meaning.

1. Sagacious = wise, having good judgement.
2. Opposite = Foolish.
3. Prudent and learned are near-synonyms; prodigy = gifted person (a noun).

Trick: Remove the synonyms (prudent, learned) and the wrong part of speech (prodigy) – one option remains.

Answer: (A) Foolish

Concept: Imperative with 'please' → reporting verb 'requested' + to-infinitive.

1. 'said, Driver! Please...' → 'requested the driver to tell'. 'Please' is dropped.
2. 'us' → 'them' (refers to the police).
3. Present 'is' → past 'was' because the reporting verb is past.

Trick: If 'please' appears in the indirect form, reject it at once (eliminates B).

Answer: (A) The police requested the driver to tell them who was inside the car.

Concept: Paucity = shortage, scarcity.

1. Opposite = abundance → Plenitude.
2. Meagreness, deficiency, scarcity all mean shortage – synonyms, not antonyms.

Trick: Three options mean the same thing as the given word; the odd one is the antonym.

Answer: (D) Plenitude

Concept: Check each segment for a misspelt word.

1. Segment D: 'possesion' is wrong.
2. Correct: possession – double 's' twice (po-ss-e-ss-ion).
3. wealthy, surprised, silver are correct.

Trick: Possession has 4 s's – 'ss' + 'ss'.

Answer: (D) D

Concept: Passive 'Let + object + be + V3 + by + agent' → Active 'Let + agent + V1 + object'.

1. Agent = the user; object = the software's instructions; V1 = review.
2. Active: Let + the user (doer) + review (V1) + the instructions (object).
3. A and B change the sentence type (statement / 'should'); C drops the doer.

Trick: A 'Let' passive stays a 'Let' sentence in the active – choose the option that begins with 'Let'.

Answer: (D) Let the user carefully review the software's instructions before installation.

Concept: A plural amount of money/time/distance treated as one sum takes a singular verb.

1. 'Ten thousand dollars' = one price (one amount).
2. So the verb is singular: is.
3. Correct: Ten thousand dollars is the price of the workstation.

Trick: Ask 'one amount or many items?' – one amount → is/was.

Answer: (B) Ten thousand dollars is the price

Concept: Present perfect passive = has/have + been + V3.

1. Active: has launched (present perfect).
2. Object 'a mobile application' becomes subject (singular) → has been launched.
3. Pattern: subject + has been + launched + by + agent.

Trick: Tense never changes in voice change: 'has' must stay 'has' – only C keeps it.

Answer: (C) A mobile application has been launched by the tech company.

Concept: Going back to direct speech, reverse the tense shift and pronoun change.

1. 'told him that' → 'said to him, "..."'.
2. 'he' (the father himself) → 'I'.
3. 'would' (past of will) → 'will'. So: "I will not …"

Trick: Back-shift reversal: would→will, could→can, was→is.

Answer: (B) His father said to him, "I will not sell the house."

Concept: A clause that qualifies a noun is an adjective clause.

1. In the passage the clause comes right after the noun 'framework'.
2. 'where every borrowed rupee is transformed...' describes what kind of framework.
3. So it is an adjective clause (relative adverb 'where' = in which).

Trick: Replace 'where' with 'in which' – if it fits after a noun, it is an adjective clause.

Answer: (B) Adjective clause

Concept: Interrogative negative = question form + 'not' (usually contracted).

1. Modal 'can' + not = can't, placed before the subject.
2. Can't + the state + direct …?
3. A has no negative; B is a tag question; D changes the modal.

Trick: Look for helping verb + n't at the very start of the sentence.

Answer: (C) Can't the state direct massive capital toward nation-building projects?

Concept: Ostensibly = apparently or seemingly, while the real reason is different.

1. The passage: bonds are issued 'ostensibly' to invite public participation.
2. Next it reveals their primary function is to bridge the revenue–expenditure gap.
3. So the word = appears one thing, is another. Fraudulently, explicitly, legally do not appear in the passage with this sense.

Trick: The answer must be a word actually used in the passage – only 'ostensibly' is.

Answer: (B) Ostensibly

Concept: Subsume = to include or absorb something into a larger group.

1. Passage: subsume departmental budgets into a centralized master plan.
2. Many small budgets → one big plan = absorbing into something larger.
3. The next sentence ('consolidating these fragmented outlays') confirms it.

Trick: 'Sub' (under) + 'sume' (take) → take under a larger whole.

Answer: (C) To include or absorb into something larger

Concept: Locate the sentence about borrowing 'too aggressively'.

1. Paragraph 2: heavy borrowing risks 'crowding out' private players.
2. The state absorbs most of the market capital, leaving less for private investors.
3. Options A, C, D are not stated anywhere in the passage.

Trick: Keyword match: 'borrows too aggressively' → 'crowding out'.

Answer: (B) It leads to "crowding out" by reducing available capital for private investors.