Q&A: practice questions with answers

Concept: Pick the word that names a person with deep, specialised knowledge.

1. Key clue: highly knowledgeable in a particular field.
2. Expert = a specialist who has mastered one subject.
3. Amateur = does it as a hobby; Novice = a beginner; Prodigy = an unusually gifted child – none means 'specialist'.

Trick: Amateur and Novice are the opposites of Expert – strike them out first; Prodigy is about age + talent, not field knowledge.

Answer: (C) Expert

Concept: Find the word for someone who leaves the religion he once followed.

1. Apostate = one who renounces his earlier religion or belief.
2. Agnostic = says God's existence can't be known.
3. Devotee = a loyal follower; Infidel = one who doesn't believe in a given religion at all (never had it).

Trick: Apostate = 'apo' (away) + 'stasis' (standing) → 'stands away' from the old faith.

Answer: (A) Apostate

Concept: The verb agrees with the head noun of the subject, not with the noun inside an 'of…' phrase.

1. In (A) the head noun is principles (plural); of science is just a modifier.
2. Plural subject → plural verb: is must become are.
3. (B) Responses…have, (C) The writer…is, (D) lines…are – all agree correctly.

Trick: Cover the 'of + noun' phrase with your finger and read subject + verb together: 'principles is' instantly sounds wrong.

Answer: (A) The basic principles of science is hard to grasp.

Concept: 'Insist' is always followed by the preposition on (or upon) when it means 'demand firmly'.

1. Pattern: insist on + noun / -ing.
2. So: insisted on absolute silence.
3. over / with / at do not pair with 'insist'.

Trick: Similar 'on' verbs: insist on, rely on, depend on, comment on, congratulate on.

Answer: (C) on

Concept: We leave a closed vehicle (car, taxi) with out of; an open one (bus, bike, train) with off.

1. 'stepped from the car' is not idiomatic.
2. Replace it with stepped out of → '…as Rohit stepped out of the car.'
3. (B) and (C) would repeat 'the car'; (C) also misses 'of'.

Trick: Car = out of; bus/train/plane/bike = off. Think: you crawl OUT of a box, you jump OFF a platform.

Answer: (A) stepped out of

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

1. Given sentence: wave = a hand gesture of goodbye.
2. (A), (C), (D) also use wave = hand gesture → same meaning.
3. (B) wave = a moving ridge of sea water → different meaning, so it is the homonym.

Trick: Three options share one meaning – the odd one out is the answer.

Answer: (B) A huge wave crashed onto the shore.

Concept: Do not + V1 + object → Let + object + be not + V3.

1. 'Do not put your arm' → Let your arm be not put over the stove.
2. The 'lest' clause also goes passive: 'you should burn your skin' → your skin should be burnt.
3. (C) misses 'be', (D) keeps 'should burn' active, (B) swaps 'let' and 'lest'.

Trick: Check two things only: 'be not + V3' in part 1 and 'be + V3' after 'lest' – only (A) has both.

Answer: (A) Let your arm be not put over the stove lest your skin should be burnt.

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

1. Object of 'wrap' = the gift → Let the gift be wrapped by her.
2. 'with that blue paper kept on the shelf' stays together (kept on the shelf describes the paper).
3. (B) lacks 'be', (C) splits paper from its phrase, (A) is jumbled.

Trick: Never break a describing phrase from its noun – 'paper kept on the shelf' must stay as one block.

Answer: (D) Let the gift be wrapped by her with that blue paper kept on the shelf.

Concept: Imperative with 'please' → reporting verb requested + object + to + V1; drop 'please'.

1. said to → requested; 'Please help' → to help.
2. me → her, my → her (Priya is the speaker).
3. (B) keeps 'please'; (C), (D) keep 'me'.

Trick: 'Please' + 'requested' together is double politeness – any option keeping both is wrong.

Answer: (A) Priya requested her father to help her with her homework.

Concept: Wh-question → asked + wh-word + statement order; tense goes one step back; today → that day.

1. said to → asked; 'What is the matter' → what was the matter.
2. 'you look' → he looked; 'with you' → with him.
3. today → that day. (A) keeps today, (C) keeps looks, (D) keeps is.

Trick: Scan options for the time word first: only (B) and (C) have 'that day'; then tense check picks (B).

Answer: (B) He asked Mohit what was the matter with him that he looked so cross that day.

Concept: With a past reporting verb: past continuous → past perfect continuous; simple past → past perfect.

1. 'were you doing' → he had been doing.
2. 'took place' → had taken place.
3. Only (C) changes both; (A) misses the first, (B) the second, (D) has no subject.

Trick: Count the changed verbs: two past verbs inside the quote → the answer must show two 'had's.

Answer: (C) The teacher asked the student what he had been doing in the library at 9:00 am on Friday when the event had taken place.

Concept: will be + V3 (passive) → will + V1 (active); no agent given → use 'They'.

1. Agent missing → subject = They.
2. will be presented → will present.
3. Object = the prize → They will present the prize to the champion.

Trick: Active form must not contain 'be + V3' – (B), (C), (D) still do, so (A) is left.

Answer: (A) They will present the prize to the champion.

Concept: had been + V3 (passive) → had + V3 (active); the 'by' agent becomes subject.

1. Agent: the engineers → subject.
2. had been completed → had completed.
3. Result: The engineers had completed the project.

Trick: Tense must stay the same: past perfect in, past perfect out – look for 'had + V3'.

Answer: (C) The engineers had completed the project.

Concept: Going back to direct speech reverses the backshift: each verb moves one step forward.

1. had been misunderstood → have been misunderstood.
2. might have distorted → may have distorted.
3. commented that → said, "…".

Trick: Reverse map: had → have/has, might → may, would → will, could → can.

Answer: (C) The researcher said, "The survey results have evidently been misunderstood, which may have distorted the findings."

Concept: In the passive of a verb + preposition ('argue for'), the preposition stays after V3.

1. Tense: simple present → is + V3.
2. Object 'a structured framework' (singular) → is argued for.
3. (A) changes tense and drops 'for'; (B) wrong form; (D) not passive.

Trick: Look for the option that keeps 'for' – only (C) does.

Answer: (C) A structured framework is argued for by managers.

Concept: Present perfect = has/have + V3.

1. (A) 'has become' = has + V3 → present perfect.
2. (B) 'are', (C) 'argue' = simple present.
3. (D) 'can have' = modal + base verb.

Trick: Spot 'has/have' followed by a third-form verb – that's the present perfect.

Answer: (A) Managing remote productivity has become a significant topic.

Concept: Use the surrounding examples to fix the meaning.

1. The passage lists burnout, low job satisfaction, weak team bonding as results.
2. These are harmful outcomes, so adverse = harmful.
3. Unfavorable matches; Helpful is the opposite.

Trick: Adverse = 'against' (think 'adversary' = opponent) → unfavorable.

Answer: (B) Unfavorable

Concept: A contrast pair ('benefit' vs 'hurdle') reveals the meaning.

1. The text wants flexibility to be a benefit, not a hurdle.
2. So hurdle = the opposite of benefit = a barrier.
3. Obstacle = something that blocks progress → synonym.

Trick: Hurdle in a race is a barrier you must jump – i.e. an obstacle.

Answer: (A) Obstacle

Concept: Pick the option that restates what the passage actually recommends.

1. Last sentence lists: social interaction, tracking progress, defining boundaries.
2. (C) repeats two of these methods.
3. (A), (B), (D) go against the passage (it favours telecommuting, warns against isolation, stresses shared goals).

Trick: Extreme words like 'avoid entirely', 'total isolation', 'ignore' usually signal wrong RC options.

Answer: (C) Define boundaries and promote social interaction.

Concept: Imbue = to fill something deeply with a feeling or quality.

1. 'imbued with deep emotion' = full of emotion.
2. Infused = filled/soaked with a quality → same sense.
3. Lacking, Removed, Depleted all mean absence – opposites.

Trick: Three options mean 'less/none'; the one meaning 'filled' must be the synonym.

Answer: (C) Infused