English Grammar Gap Fills

The verb 'stop' is followed by a gerund (-ing form) when it means to cease or quit an action. 'Stop quarreling' is the correct construction. 'Stop to quarrel' would mean pausing one activity in order to quarrel, which changes the meaning entirely.

Trains are referred to by their departure time and as such 'five fifteen' is correct. The same would apply if the departure time is at 4:30 pm; then it would be the 'four thirty train' or the 'two fifty five train', and so forth.

 "How to swim" is the correct answer as the infinitive form is used with verbs of thinking.

'Such a' is the correct construction before a singular countable noun. 'Hurry' is a singular noun meaning haste or urgency. 'Such' alone is used before uncountable nouns or plural nouns. 'So' requires an adjective or adverb after it (so hurried, not so hurry). 'A such' is incorrect word order.

The preposition 'with' is used to indicate the instrument or tool used to perform an action. When someone is killed using a weapon, we say 'killed with a gun.' 'From' would indicate source or cause, 'in' would indicate location or method, and 'of' would indicate possession or origin - none of which fit the context of using a weapon.

The sentence is in reported speech. Hence, 'told' will be used.

The sentence requires the simple past tense 'left' because it's referring to a completed action in the past. The context is remembering where an action occurred - 'where she left' is the correct past tense form. 'Would have left' is conditional perfect, 'is leaving' is present continuous, and 'had left' lacks the subject 'she'.

The correct phrase is 'robbed of' when someone has their valuables taken away. 'Rob' is the verb, and in passive voice ('was robbed'), we use 'robbed of something.' 'Stole' is the active past form of steal, 'stolen' is the past participle used as an adjective, and 'pinched' is an informal term for stealing.

'Lay' is the past tense of the verb 'lie' (to rest or be positioned). Since the book's position on the table is being described in the past, 'which lay' is correct. 'Lie' is present tense, 'lied' means told a falsehood, and 'laid' is the past tense of 'lay' (to put something down), which would require an object.

'Hear' is the correct verb because it means to perceive sound. When someone speaks too softly, the problem is that others cannot 'hear' (perceive) what is said. 'Listen' implies intentional attention and effort, and doesn't fit as naturally in this context. 'Hear to' is grammatically incorrect - we don't use 'to' after hear in this sense.

When applying ointment to a skin area, the standard verb is 'rubbed'. 'Rubbed' means to spread the ointment with gentle pressure using circular motions. 'Scrubbed' is too harsh for sensitive skin, 'dropped' doesn't make sense contextually, and 'rub' is the wrong verb form (base form instead of past tense).

'Was holding' is the correct past continuous tense form describing an ongoing action in the past. The child's grip was continuous, so we use the -ing form. 'Holded' is grammatically incorrect - 'hold' is an irregular verb (hold-held-held). 'Catching' doesn't fit the context of gripping, and 'seizing' implies taking by force rather than holding.

When you want to make cold milk warmer, you 'heat' it. 'Heat' is the correct verb for this context. 'Warm' could also work but 'heat' is more direct. 'Fire' is a noun not a verb, and 'hot' is an adjective not a verb form, so neither can complete the sentence grammatically.

'Coward' is the only grammatically correct option that fits the article 'a'. 'Afraid' is an adjective and cannot directly modify 'man' in this structure (it would need to be 'afraid man' as a compound, but this is awkward). 'Modest' and 'brave' are adjectives that don't fit with the article 'a' - they would need different sentence structures.

'Turned on' is the correct phrasal verb for operating a tap/faucet. When you turn on a tap, water flows out. 'Opened' could work but is less specific, 'open' is the wrong tense, and 'turned around' means to rotate in place, not to activate something. The phrasal verb 'turned on' is the standard expression for taps.

'Took pity' is the correct idiomatic expression meaning to feel compassion and help someone. 'Pity' as a noun follows 'took' in this fixed expression. 'Sympathy' would need a different preposition (felt sympathy), 'kind' is an adjective, and 'kindness' doesn't fit the idiomatic structure.

'Enabled' means to make able or possible - the money enabled him to complete his studies. This is the correct verb form. 'Abled' is not a real word, 'entitled' means having a right to something, and 'performed' means to carry out an action, none of which fit the context of money empowering someone to achieve a goal.

'Wondered' means to think about something with curiosity or uncertainty - he was curious if he could sing properly. 'Thought' doesn't capture the uncertainty, 'surprised' needs an object, and 'think' is the wrong tense. 'Wondered' is the only option that conveys questioning oneself about ability.

'Brave' means showing no fear - she's not afraid to go out alone. 'Coward' would mean the opposite (afraid), while 'strong' and 'healthy' don't directly relate to fearlessness. The sentence structure specifically connects the trait to not being afraid, making 'brave' the logical choice.

'Boasted' means to talk with excessive pride about oneself - he was proudly claiming he speaks Tamil fluently. 'Proposed' means to suggest, 'suggested' means to recommend, and 'asked' means to question - none of which capture the self-praise aspect of the sentence.

'Sharply' is an adverb describing how she ordered him out - it means abruptly, sternly, or harshly. 'Hardly' means barely or almost not, 'heavy' is an adjective not an adverb, and 'heavily' refers to weight, not tone of voice. 'Sharply' correctly describes the abrupt, commanding tone.

'Marched' means to walk in a formal, organized manner, often in a group - appropriate for Independence day ceremonies. 'Loitered' means to stand around aimlessly, 'strayed' means to wander off, and 'ran' is too casual for a ceremonial occasion. Marching is the dignified action expected at formal events.

Sugar is a singular subject, so it needs the third-person singular verb form 'dissolves' in the present simple tense. 'Dissolve' would be used with plural subjects like 'They dissolve'. 'Melts' refers to changing from solid to liquid with heat, not mixing in water. 'Drowns' is incorrect as drowning applies to living things that suffocate in water.

'Leaves' is a plural subject, so it needs the plural verb form 'rustle' to describe the sound they make when wind moves through them. 'Hissed' describes a snake-like sound, 'crack' suggests breaking, and 'cracked' is past tense. The sentence requires present tense because 'blows' is in present tense.

'They' is a plural subject, so it needs the plural verb form 'pant' in the present tense. 'Pants' is the third-person singular form used with 'he/she/it'. 'Sigh' and 'blow' don't match the context of being out of breath from exertion. Note: there is a typo in the question - it should be 'breath' (noun), not 'breathe' (verb), but this doesn't affect the verb choice being tested.