Q&A: practice questions with answers

Concept: Some adverbs naturally pair with certain words (collocation).

1. 'Respected' takes the degree adverb 'highly': a highly respected member.
2. Common pairs: closely related, seriously ill, sensibly dressed – not with 'respected'.

Yaad rakhein: Similar fixed pairs: highly qualified, highly recommended, highly successful.

Answer: (B) highly

Concept: Colossal = extremely large, huge.

1. Massive = very large and heavy → same meaning.
2. Miniature, petite, diminutive all mean 'very small' → antonyms.

Trick: Three options share one meaning (small) – the odd one out is the synonym.

Answer: (D) Massive

Concept: Devote (time) = give fully to a purpose.

1. Dedicate = commit one's time or effort to something → fits 'dedicate more time to volunteering'.
2. Plan = arrange beforehand; Divide = split; Waste = use uselessly.

Trick: Put each option in the sentence – only 'dedicate more time to' sounds natural.

Answer: (D) Dedicate

Concept: Everlasting = lasting forever, endless.

1. Opposite = lasting a very short time → Momentary.
2. Fantabulous (wonderful), tampered (interfered with), calibrating (adjusting) have nothing to do with time.

Trick: Antonym must be about the same idea (duration); only 'momentary' is.

Answer: (A) Momentary

Concept: In anthropology, 'emic' = insider's view; 'etic' = outsider's analytical view of a culture.

1. An outsider (etic) approach studies a culture through the researcher's own categories – it can give rich data but may raise concerns of cultural appropriation.
2. Emit = give out (verb); emetic = causing vomiting; empathetic describes feelings, not a research approach.

Trick: Look-alike options: knock out the verb (emit) and the medical word (emetic) first.

Answer: (D) etic

Concept: Two adverbs joined by 'and' before 'than' must both be comparative.

1. 'Higher than ever before' is comparative, so 'fast' must also be comparative → faster.
2. Correct: 'is rising faster and higher than'.
3. (A) mixes superlative; (C) 'is rise' is wrong; (D) wrong tense and 'high'.

Trick: 'than' needs comparative (-er/more) forms on both sides of 'and'.

Answer: (B) is rising faster and higher than

Concept: Sufficiency with an adjective is shown by 'enough', placed after the adjective.

1. 'big much to lift' is wrong – 'much' cannot show sufficiency here.
2. Correct: 'is not big enough to lift' (or 'too big to lift' for the opposite sense).
3. The other parts are correct.

Trick: Pattern: adjective + enough + to-infinitive (old enough to vote, strong enough to lift).

Answer: (B) is not big much to lift

Concept: Pivotal = of central importance; advancing = moving forward.

1. 'Pivotal in advancing' = 'essential in furthering' (furthering = helping progress).
2. Other options (irrelevant, minor, inconsequential + stalling/restricting/hindering) reverse the meaning.

Trick: The original is positive + positive; pick the only option where both words are positive.

Answer: (D) essential in furthering

Concept: An adverb of place like 'nearby' normally comes after the verb/participle or after a noun.

1. (B) 'that was nearby situated' is wrong → 'that was situated nearby'.
2. (A) and (C) 'the restaurant nearby' are correct; (D) uses 'near' as a preposition.

Yaad rakhein: Adverbs of place (here, there, nearby, outside) usually go at the end of the clause.

Answer: (B) My colleague invited everyone to her house for her son's birthday party that was nearby situated.

Concept: Check each word letter by letter.

1. Affected, Exposure, Charity – all correct.
2. 'Fissible' is wrong; the correct word is 'fissile' (able to undergo nuclear fission).

Yaad rakhein: Don't confuse with 'feasible' (possible) – fissile has no 'b'.

Answer: (A) Fissible

Concept: Rule: 'i before e, except after c'.

1. After 'c' the order is 'ei' → Receive (also ceiling, deceive).
2. Idiotic, Proceed, Anxiety are correct.

Yaad rakhein: Exceptions to the rule exist (weird, seize), but c-words like receive, receipt, conceive follow 'ei'.

Answer: (D) Recieve

Concept: Out of the blue = suddenly, without any warning.

1. It refers to something that happens unexpectedly, like thunder from a clear sky.
2. Example: My old friend called me out of the blue last night.

Yaad rakhein: Similar idiom – 'a bolt from the blue' = a sudden shock.

Answer: (A) Completely unexpected

Concept: Competent = having the ability/skill to do something well.

1. Skilled = trained and capable → same meaning.
2. Gracious = polite; ambitious = eager to succeed; humble = modest.

Trick: Competent is about ability; only 'skilled' is an ability word.

Answer: (A) Skilled

Concept: Before a noun phrase use a preposition (due to); before a clause use a conjunction (because/since).

1. 'the unexpected power outage' is a noun phrase, not a clause.
2. 'Due to' takes a noun phrase → correct.
3. 'Because' would need 'because of'; 'since' needs a clause; 'for' shows duration here.

Trick: Noun after blank → 'due to / because of'; subject + verb after blank → 'because / since'.

Answer: (C) due to

Concept: Gullet = the food pipe / throat.

1. A bone gets stuck in the gullet = in the throat.
2. Chest, molars (back teeth) and stomach are different body parts.

Yaad rakhein: Gullet is another name for the oesophagus (food pipe).

Answer: (A) throat

Concept: Has/have + past participle (V3).

1. 'has ___ to advancements' → present perfect.
2. V3 of 'lead' is 'led' → 'has led to'.

Trick: After has/have, check for the V3 form – 'led', not 'lead' (lead is V1).

Answer: (A) led

Concept: A completed past event takes the simple past.

1. The invention of the Internet is a finished event → past tense.
2. 'catalysed' = triggered/sparked → 'catalysed a global revolution'.
3. 'catalyse' doesn't agree with singular subject; 'catalysing' isn't a finite verb.

Trick: Blank is the main verb of a singular subject → only -s or -ed forms can fit; the event is past → -ed.

Answer: (D) catalysed

Concept: The main verb must agree with the subject and keep the paragraph's tense.

1. Subject 'Innovations' is plural → 'promotes' is out; 'promoting' gives no main verb.
2. The passage describes achievements so far (has led, catalysed) → simple past 'promoted' keeps the flow.

Trick: Plural subject → remove the -s form first; then match tense with nearby verbs.

Answer: (C) promoted

Concept: Singular subject in simple present takes verb + s.

1. 'technology' is singular; the process is ongoing → simple present.
2. Singular → 'continues'.
3. 'continue' is plural form; 'continuing' is non-finite.

Trick: 'As technology ___ to evolve' – an ongoing fact → present + s.

Answer: (B) continues

Concept: Plural subject in simple present takes the base verb (no -s).

1. Subject 'implications' is plural.
2. Present tense (parallel with 'continues') → 'deserve'.
3. 'deserves' is singular; 'deserving' can't be a main verb alone.

Trick: Noun ending in -s (plural) → verb without -s.

Answer: (B) deserve