English Language

English Grammar and Usage

2,780 Questions

English grammar and usage questions test fundamental sentence structure, correct verb forms, and accurate syntax. Topics include identifying grammatical errors, filling blanks with appropriate verbs, and changing narration. These are essential for the English language sections of competitive exams.

Verb FormsSentence CorrectionTense IdentificationNarration ChangeRelative PronounsSyntactic Productivity

English Grammar and Usage Questions

Multiple choice inverted commas/quotation marks punctuation english

Choose the option which correctly punctuates the sentence:

He wrote, "I will return soon," Jim said to me.

  1. NO CHANGE

  2. He wrote, "I will return soon, Jim said to me."

  3. "He wrote, 'I will return soon,' " Jim said to me.

  4. "He wrote, I will return soon," Jim said to me.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation
Quotation marks are used to indicate material that is being reproduced word for word. Quotes within quotation marks are marked using single quotes. Thus, the correct answer should be Option C.
Option A and B are incorrect as, the correct part of speech is not enclosed within quotation marks.
Option D is incorrect because the quote within the quotations is not punctuated correctly.
Multiple choice apostrophe mark punctuation english

Select the correctly punctuated sentence.

  1. That tall man, Paul's grandad, is this month's winner.

  2. That tall man Paul's grandad is this month's winner.

  3. That tall man, Paul's grandad, is this months winner.

  4. That tall man, Pauls grandad, is this month's winner.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

The Genitive case is a grammatical case for nouns and pronouns. It is used to show possession, but it can also show source of thing or characteristic of something. Unlike Possessive case, which is only related to ownership.

  Genitive case involves adding an apostrophe followed by "s" to the end of noun.

Correct answer: option (A)
Reason:
  • Apostrophe is in correct place. (Paul's grandad= grandad of Paul ; month's winner= winner of the month)
  • Punctuation (comma) is in correct place.

Option (B) (C) (D) are incorrect.
Reason:
For option (B) - Punctuation (comma) is absent at required position. (Between words: man and Paul's ; Between words: grandad and is)
For option (C) - Apostrophe is absent before s in 'months'
For option (D) - Apostrophe is absent before s in 'Pauls'

Final answer; That tall man, Paul's grandad, is this month's winner.

Multiple choice apostrophe mark punctuation english

Among the following sentences, only one has all the apostrophes correctly placed. Identify that correct sentence.

  1. It's owners made Ted, the cat's life very comfortable.

  2. It's owners' made Ted, the cats life very comfortable.

  3. Its owners made Ted, the cat's life very comfortable.

  4. Its owners made Ted, the cats' life very comfortable.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation
There is a difference between 'it's' and 'its'. 'Its' is the possessive form of it - meaning 'belonging to it' whereas, 'it's' is a shortened form of 'it is' or 'it has'.  Here we are talking about the cat's life as a possession, thus the usage of 'it's' will be incorrect. 
The second half of the sentence talks about only one cat, Ted. So, the usage of an apostrophe with the word cat is required.
Hence, Option C is the correct answer.
The other given Options do not fit the requirement of the sentence.
Multiple choice apostrophe mark punctuation english

Choose the options that use the apostrophe correctly to indicate possession:

  1. My wife's cooking is considered the best in the country.

  2. Greece has many beautiful island's.

  3. They own several splendid house's.

  4. The two boys' friendship has stood the test of time.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A,D Correct answer
Explanation

Apostrophe is used to indicate possession. Apostrophe is used before 's' with singular nouns and after 's' with plural nouns. 
Option A: 'Wife' is a singular noun and 'cooking' is that of the 'wife', therefore 'wife's cooking' is correctly punctuated. 
Option B: 'Island' is marked with apostrophe followed by 's', but there is nothing mentioned that belongs to the island, therefore the use of apostrophe is not appropriate here. 
Option C: 'House' is marked with apostrophe followed by 's' but there is nothing mentioned that belongs to the house, therefore the use of apostrophe is not appropriate here either. 
Option D: 'Boys' is a plural noun and 'friendship' belongs to the two boys. Therefore, apostrophe is used appropriately here, ie. boys' friendship. 

Multiple choice apostrophe mark punctuation english

Choose the option that best corrects the underlined word:
Its a beautiful day!

  1. It's

  2. Its'

  3. Its -

  4. NO CHANGE
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Apostrophe can be used to show that a letter or letter(s) is missing from a word. In the given sentence, apostrophe replaces the letter 'i', and the two words (It and Is) are joined to make one. Thus, option A is correct answer.

Multiple choice apostrophe mark punctuation english

He passed through his father's alma mater, St. Pauls College, and got straight As.

Choose the option that best corrects the sentence.

  1. NO CHANGE

  2. He passed through his father's alma mater, St. Paul's College, and got straight As.

  3. He passed through his fathers alma mater, St Paul's College, and got straight As.

  4. He passed through his father's alma mater, St. Paul's College, and got straight A's.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation
According to general rule, the possessive of a singular noun is formed by adding an apostrophe and s, whether the singular noun ends in s or not. Therefore, in the given sentence, the possessive of the word father should be written as 'father's'.
The possessive is seldom used to form a plural noun. Thus, the plural of A can be written as 'A's'. 
Therefore, according to the rule, the correct answer will be Option D.
Multiple choice apostrophe mark punctuation english

The music we listened to at the Jones house was very popular in the 90s.

Choose the option that best corrects the sentence.

  1. The music we listened to at the Jones house was very popular in the 90's.

  2. The music we listened to at the Jones' house was very popular in the 90s.

  3. The music we listened to at the Jones's house was very popular in the 90's.

  4. NO CHANGE
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation
The general rule of using an apostrophe is that the possessive of a singular noun is formed by adding an apostrophe and s, whether the singular noun ends in a or not. In the given sentence, the noun is singular and so, an apostrophe and s should be added. 
An apostrophe is also sometimes used to pluralize a letter, sign or number. Therefore, in the given sentence, the plural of the year should be written as '90's'.
Thus, according to the rules, the correct answer is Option C and the other options are incorrect.

Multiple choice apostrophe mark punctuation english

Jenna was always careful to mind her Ps and Qs when her husbands mother visited her.

Choose the option that best corrects the sentence.

  1. Jenna was always careful to mind her P's and Q's when her husbands mother visited her.

  2. Jenna was always careful to mind her P's and Q's when her husband's mother visited her.

  3. Jenna was always careful to mind her Ps and Qs when her husbands' mother visited her.

  4. NO CHANGE
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

The words 'mind one's P's and Q's' is an expression that means 'mind one's manners' or 'mind one's language'.
"P's and Q's" (or Ps and Qs) originally means 'pints and quarts'. These letters refer to plural words, and hence they are followed by apostrophes. However, many people leave out the apostrophe and let the 's' remain. But, it is preferred to keep the apostrophe '.
Option B: This option is correct because the apostrophes have been sufficiently placed, at "P's and Q's" and "husband's".  The apostrophe for husband denotes possession 'the mother of her husband'.
Option A is incorrect because the apostrophe ' after 'husbands' is missing.
Option C is incorrect because the apostrophe has been placed after 's'; it has changed 'husbands' to a plural noun, meaning that she has more than one husband. But, (even if that's the case), there's only one mother in question. Hence the sentence is ambiguous in meaning.
Option D is incorrect because the sentence requires change, at 'Ps and Qs' and 'husbands'.

Multiple choice apostrophe mark punctuation english

The childrens baseball bats and balls had been left in their uncles patio.

Choose the option that best corrects the sentence.

  1. The children's baseball bats and balls had been left in their uncle's patio.

  2. The children's baseball bats and balls had been left in their uncles patio.

  3. The childrens baseball bat's and ball's had been left in their uncles patio.

  4. NO CHANGE
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation
According to general rule, the possessive of singular nouns and plural nouns that do not end in s, use an apostrophe followed by s. However, the plural of nouns, like bat and ball, do not require an apostrophe. 
Thus, according to the rules, the correct answer will be Option A. The remaining options are incorrect.
Multiple choice apostrophe mark punctuation english

Choose the option that best corrects the sentence:
There are two new lady MPs in Johnsons party at Parliament.

  1. There are two new lady MP's in Johnson's party at Parliament.

  2. There are two new lady MP's in Johnsons party at Parliament.

  3. There are two new lady MPs in Johnson's party at Parliament.

  4. NO CHANGE
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation
According to general rule, the possessive of a singular noun is formed by adding an apostrophe and s, whether the singular noun ends in s or not. Therefore, in the given sentence, the possessive of the word Johnson should be written as 'Johnson's'.
The possessive is seldom used to form a plural noun. Thus, the plural of MP  can be written as 'MP's'.
Therefore, according to the rule, the correct answer will be Option C.
Multiple choice apostrophe mark punctuation english

Choose the option that best corrects the given sentence:
The ladies tennis clubs latest newsletter has news of their members latest achievements.

  1. NO CHANGE

  2. The lady's tennis clubs latest newsletter has news of their member's latest achievements.

  3. The ladies tennis club's latest newsletter has news of their members latest achievements.

  4. The ladies' tennis club's latest newsletter has news of their members' latest achievements.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation
Regular nouns are nouns that form their plurals by adding either the letter s or es (in the given sentence - ladies, members). According to general rule, an apostrophe after the s is used to indicate the plural possession of such regular nouns.
However, the possession of singular nouns require an apostrophe followed by s.
Thus, according to rules, the correct answer is Option C. The remaining options are incorrect.
Multiple choice

On Halloween kids go from door to door and say...

  1. "How are you?"

  2. "Good evening."

  3. "Trick or treat?"

  4. "Happy birthday!"
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

During Halloween, children participate in the tradition of trick-or-treating, where they visit houses and ask for candy by saying the phrase 'Trick or treat'.