Q&A: practice questions with answers

Concept: 'Look around for' means to search for something; 'among' is used for a position within a group of many people or things.

1. 'He looked around for his friend' = he searched for his friend.
2. A crowd has many people, so 'among the bustling crowd' fits.
3. 'between' is used for two; 'at', 'by', 'about' do not fit the sense.

Trick: between → two; among → more than two (crowd, group).

Answer: (D) for; among

Concept: 'Colleague' means a fellow worker or associate in an office or profession.

1. The given phrase exactly describes 'Colleague'.
2. Consort = a wife or husband, especially of a ruler.
3. Contemporary = a person living at the same time.
4. Convict = a person found guilty of a crime.

Yaad rakhein: Colleague = co-worker (col- = together).

Answer: (A) Colleague

Concept: 'Diligent' means showing careful and persistent effort in work.

1. The given phrase exactly describes 'Diligent'.
2. Cogent = clear, logical and convincing (argument).
3. Intelligent = having high mental ability.
4. Indulgent = too generous or lenient.

Yaad rakhein: Diligent student = hard-working, careful student.

Answer: (A) Diligent

Concept: 'The' is used for a particular, specified thing; 'a' is used for one unspecified thing mentioned for the first time.

1. 'History Club of our college' is a specific club → 'The History Club'.
2. 'tour' is one unspecified tour mentioned for the first time → 'a tour'.
3. So: 'The History Club of our college is organising a tour to Aurangabad.'

Trick: Specified by 'of ...' → the; one among many, first mention → a/an.

Answer: (D) The; a

Concept: The proverb is 'Actions speak louder than words'.

1. It means what a person does shows his real intentions more than what he says.
2. 'words' contrasts with 'actions'; noises, pictures and things do not complete the proverb.

Yaad rakhein: Actions ↔ words: deeds matter more than promises.

Answer: (C) words

Concept: With a modal, passive = modal + be + V3. In a complex sentence each clause is changed; 'anything' with a negative becomes 'nothing' in passive.

1. 'Bhawna cannot do anything' → 'Nothing can be done' (modal 'can' kept).
2. 'someone gives her instructions' → 'Bhawna is given instructions' (simple present passive).
3. Full: 'Nothing can be done unless Bhawna is given instructions.'
4. B and D drop 'can'; C changes the meaning.

Trick: Modal stays: can + V1 → can be + V3.

Answer: (A) Nothing can be done unless Bhawna is given instructions.

Concept: The correct spelling is 'Metamorphosis' (meta-mor-pho-sis) — the letter 'o' after 'ph' is missing in option A.

1. Metamorphsis ✗ → Metamorphosis ✓ (a complete change of form).
2. Mezzanine ✓ (a low storey between two floors).
3. Meteorology ✓ (science of weather); Meticulous ✓ (very careful).

Trick: Break it: meta + morph + osis.

Answer: (A) Metamorphsis

Concept: 'A' is used before a consonant sound and 'an' before a vowel sound when a singular countable noun is mentioned for the first time.

1. 'silver bangle' — one bangle, first mention, 's' is a consonant sound → 'A silver bangle'.
2. 'ancient temple complex' — first mention, 'a' of 'ancient' is a vowel sound → 'an ancient temple complex'.
3. So: 'A silver bangle was discovered in an ancient temple complex ...'.

Trick: Choose a/an by sound, not by spelling.

Answer: (B) A; an

Concept: 'Amiable' means friendly and pleasant in manner.

1. Its opposite is 'Hostile' = unfriendly, aggressive.
2. 'Cordial' is a synonym (warm, friendly).
3. 'Aesthetical' relates to beauty; 'Exemplary' means serving as a good example.

Yaad rakhein: Amiable ≈ amicable ≈ cordial; opposite → hostile.

Answer: (C) Hostile

Concept: An indirect yes/no question 'asked ... whether + past tense' becomes a direct question beginning with a helping verb in the present tense.

1. 'asked the lawyer' → 'said to the lawyer'.
2. 'whether he was ready' → '“Are you ready ...?”' (was → are; he → you).
3. 'to question the witness' stays unchanged.
4. 'Will you be', 'Why don't you', 'Do you want' change the meaning.

Trick: whether/if → yes-no question; past → present in direct speech.

Answer: (C) The judge said to the lawyer, “Are you ready to question the witness?”

Concept: Past continuous passive 'was/were being + V3' becomes active 'was/were + V-ing'.

1. Doer 'the family' becomes the subject.
2. 'was being watched' → 'was watching'.
3. Object 'the film' → 'The family was watching the film.'
4. B and D change the tense; C reverses the roles.

Trick: being + V3 → V-ing (continuous tense).

Answer: (A) The family was watching the film.

Concept: In negative and interrogative sentences 'any' is used; 'some' is used in affirmative sentences.

1. The sentence is negative: 'We have not received ...'.
2. So 'some information' must be 'any information'.
3. Correct: 'We have not received any information from our coast guards yet.'

Trick: not / never / hardly + any; affirmative + some.

Answer: (D) some information from

Concept: 'Pernicious' means having a harmful effect, especially in a gradual or subtle way.

1. The given phrase exactly describes 'Pernicious'.
2. Pretentious = trying to appear more important than one is.
3. Penurious = extremely poor or mean.
4. Perfidious = deceitful, disloyal.

Yaad rakhein: Pernicious → think 'per-nicious' ≈ 'noxious' (harmful).

Answer: (D) Pernicious

Concept: A question tag repeats the auxiliary of the main clause with the opposite polarity and the pronoun of the subject.

1. The main clause is positive with auxiliary 'will' and subject 'It'.
2. So the tag must be negative: 'won't it?'
3. 'is it?' is wrong. Correct: '..., won't it?'

Trick: Positive statement → negative tag with the same auxiliary.

Answer: (B) is it?

Concept: Converting to direct speech: 'said that' → 'said, “...”', past tense → present, and third-person pronoun of the speaker → 'I'.

1. 'he was good' → '“I am good ...”' (was → am; he → I).
2. Reporting verb 'said' remains 'said' (no object).
3. B uses 'told' without an object; C keeps 'was'; D keeps 'He'.

Trick: In direct speech the speaker talks about himself → 'I'.

Answer: (A) My cousin said, “I am good at drawing landscapes.”

Concept: The verb agrees with the head noun of the subject; the present perfect needs 'has/have + V3'.

1. Head noun 'The construction' is singular → 'has', not 'have'.
2. After 'has' we need V3 'shortened', not 'shorten'.
3. A specific travel time (between Mumbai and Navi Mumbai) → 'the travel time'.
4. So: 'has shortened the travel time'.

Trick: Ignore 'of the trans-harbour link'; the subject is 'construction'.

Answer: (A) has shortened the travel time

Concept: Indirect → direct: simple past → simple present, 'that' (demonstrative) → 'this', and 'they' (the MLA's group) → 'we'.

1. 'they planned' → '“We plan ...”' (past → present; they → we).
2. 'that area' → 'this area'.
3. A changes to continuous; C and D keep 'They' and the past tense.

Trick: V2 → V1 and that → this when going back to direct speech.

Answer: (B) The MLA said, “We plan to make this area a safe place to live in.”

Concept: When one thing is compared with all others ('in the world'), the superlative degree with 'the' is used.

1. 'in the world' shows comparison with all railway lines.
2. Comparative 'faster' needs 'than'; it does not fit here.
3. Superlative: 'the fastest railway line in the world'. 'a fastest' is wrong — superlatives take 'the'.

Trick: in the world / of all → the + superlative.

Answer: (C) the fastest

Concept: Link pronouns to their nouns and follow the time order of events.

1. A ends with 'peasants planting rice'; B's 'They were wading ... in the muddy water' describes those peasants → A–B.
2. D 'They pointed to the slope ...' — the peasants show the way → B–D.
3. E 'walked straight on ... in the direction indicated' follows the pointing → D–E.
4. C 'After hours of climbing ... reached the river' comes next, and F 'Meanwhile, night had fallen' closes → BDEC.

Trick: Pronoun 'They' + 'direction indicated' give the chain B → D → E.

Answer: (C) BDEC

Concept: 'Omnipresent' means present, appearing or found everywhere.

1. The given phrase exactly describes 'Omnipresent'.
2. Omnibus = a volume containing several works / a bus.
3. Omnipotent = all-powerful.
4. Omniscient = all-knowing.

Yaad rakhein: Omni = all: present → everywhere, potent → power, scient → knowledge.

Answer: (C) Omnipresent