Q&A: practice questions with answers

Concept: Antonym = word with the opposite meaning.

1. Offer = to present or give something willingly.
2. Withhold = to refuse to give, keep back → exact opposite.
3. Open, Hurt, Select are unrelated in meaning.

Trick: Give ↔ keep back: Offer ↔ Withhold (also Grant ↔ Deny).

Answer: (D) Withhold

Concept: Choose the correctly spelt word that fits the sense.

1. Meaning needed: weak, lacking energy/interest.
2. Correct spelling: L-A-N-G-U-I-D (like 'liquid' ending).
3. Others add or drop letters.

Trick: Languid rhymes in spelling with 'liquid' / 'squid' → ends in -uid.

Answer: (C) Languid

Concept: Spot the misspelt word.

1. Correct form: QUAR-AN-TINE (with 'a', not 'e').
2. Elicit, Practice (noun), Concentrate are correct.
3. So 'Quarentine' is wrong.

Trick: Quarantine came from 'forty days' (Italian quaranta) → keep 'quar-an'.

Answer: (B) Quarentine

Concept: Match the meaning of the underlined phrase with an idiom.

1. Fair weather friend = one who is with you only in good times.
2. Past master = expert; great hand = skilled person; good samaritan = kind helper.
3. So the false, selfish friend = fair weather friend.

Trick: 'Fair weather' = good times only → leaves when the storm (trouble) comes.

Answer: (B) fair weather friend

Concept: Find the word opposite in meaning.

1. Abscond = to run away secretly (e.g. to escape the law).
2. Endure = to stay and bear/face the situation → opposite.
3. Flee, Hide, Withdraw all suggest escaping — near-synonyms.

Trick: Remove synonyms first: three options mean 'escape', the odd one is the antonym.

Answer: (A) Endure

Concept: Preference is shown by 'rather than'; 'seldom' (= rarely) never takes 'than'.

1. 'Seldom than walking' is ungrammatical.
2. Use 'Rather than walking' — she chooses the bus over walking.
3. Error lies in segment (B).

Trick: 'Prefer' in the sentence → look for 'rather than' / 'to'.

Answer: (B) "Seldom than walking,

Concept: Find the word with the same meaning.

1. Persiflage = light, playful teasing talk.
2. Banter = friendly joking exchange → same meaning.
3. Criticism and argument are hostile; seriousness is opposite.

Trick: Persiflage – 'per' + French 'siffler' (to whistle) → light talk = banter.

Answer: (C) Banter

Concept: Choose the idiom meaning 'upset or offend someone'.

1. Step on someone's toes = offend people by interfering in their matters.
2. Bite the bullet = face something painful bravely; steal the show = get all attention.
3. 'Scratch one's head' = be confused.

Trick: Hurting toes = hurting feelings — easy picture to remember.

Answer: (C) step on anyone's toes

Concept: 'A' goes before a consonant sound, 'an' before a vowel sound.

1. 'United' is pronounced 'yoo-nited' — starts with the 'y' consonant sound.
2. So it takes 'a': a united strength.
3. 'Any'/'no' do not fit the sense.

Trick: u = 'yoo' → a (a uniform, a useful tip); silent h → an (an hour).

Answer: (C) a

Concept: Passive (subject receives action, doer with 'by') = was/were + V3.

1. The road receives the action; 'by the workers' shows the doer.
2. So 'was repairing' must become 'was repaired'.
3. 'been repaired' needs has/had; 'repairs' is active.

Trick: 'by + doer' in the sentence → verb must be in V3 form.

Answer: (B) repaired

Concept: Collocation = words that naturally go together and fit the context.

1. 'Running late' means short of time.
2. 'A quick shower' is the natural pair and fits the hurry.
3. Luxurious, relaxed, long all suggest plenty of time.

Trick: Find the clue word in the sentence ('late') — it decides the adjective.

Answer: (A) quick

Concept: Find the opposite meaning.

1. Frugal = economical, spending very little.
2. Prodigal = wastefully extravagant → opposite.
3. Prudent and sparing are close to frugal, not opposite.

Trick: Prodigal son = the son who wasted his wealth — opposite of a frugal person.

Answer: (C) Prodigal

Concept: An adverb of manner must suit the verb it describes.

1. 'Clearly' suits verbs like speak, see, explain — not 'pack'.
2. The sense needed is 'carefully/neatly packed'.
3. Only segment (C) contains an adverb, so the error is there.

Trick: In 'adverbial error' questions, first find the only segment that has an -ly word.

Answer: (C) Evelyn clearly

Concept: Clauses joined by 'but' about the same past time stay in the past; 'prove' takes 'to be'.

1. 'led' is past → the second verb should be 'proved'.
2. Infinitive after prove: 'to be' + adjective.
3. Hence: proved to be more resilient.

Trick: Two checks — tense (proved) and missing 'be' — only option (A) passes both.

Answer: (A) proved to be more resilient

Concept: Find the word with the same meaning.

1. Frivolous = not serious, of little importance.
2. Trivial = unimportant → same meaning.
3. Momentous, eventful, substantial all suggest importance (opposite side).

Trick: Three options point to 'important' — the odd one out is the synonym.

Answer: (D) Trivial

Concept: The blank must describe pleasant weather we wait for all year.

1. The writer longs for summer weather along with long, hot days.
2. 'Cool' weather is pleasant and desirable.
3. 'Cold' belongs to winter; 'mean'/'ugly' are negative.

Trick: Words we 'look forward to' are positive — drop negative options first.

Answer: (C) cool

Concept: Choose the adjective that naturally goes with 'cold' in a gloomy winter.

1. 'Bitter cold' = severe, painful cold — a fixed collocation.
2. Warm and sweet contradict 'cold'.
3. Loving is used for people, not weather.

Trick: Remember pairs: bitter cold, heavy rain, strong wind, scorching heat.

Answer: (A) bitter

Concept: In daydreams, the beach days seem to go on forever.

1. We 'dream of those ___ days at the beach' → a positive, unlimited sense.
2. Endless = never-ending → fits.
3. Definite, confined, restricted all limit the days.

Trick: Three options mean 'limited' — the odd one is right.

Answer: (C) endless

Concept: Keep parallel structure: 'laying … and ___ing in the sun'.

1. An -ing verb is needed to match 'laying'.
2. 'Soaking in the sun' = enjoying sunshine → fits the beach scene.
3. 'Walking' clashes with lying on sand; 'dry'/'arid' are adjectives.

Trick: 'and' joins similar forms — find the -ing word that also makes sense.

Answer: (C) soaking

Concept: The blank pairs with 'burning' to describe the summer sun.

1. 'Bright and burning sun' – both describe strong sunshine.
2. Dull and unpleasant oppose the happy picture.
3. Solemn describes mood, not sunlight.

Trick: Words joined by 'and' carry similar tone — burning → bright.

Answer: (B) bright