English Language

English Grammar and Usage

1,563 Questions

English grammar and usage form a critical component of language sections in competitive exams. This hub provides practice with fill in the blanks, prepositions, and appropriate word selection. Strong grammar skills are necessary to score well in verbal ability tests.

Fill in the blanksPrepositions usageConjunctions selectionSentence correction

English Grammar and Usage Questions

Multiple choice

Directions: The question given below consists of a sentence the constituent words/phrases of which are arranged in an arbitrary way. Each separated phrase/set of words is indicated by a unique number/letter. Select from the alternatives provided, the option that re–organizes the phrases/set of words back into the original sentence.

(A) the Constitution guarantees (B) every citizen (C) the fundamental right (D) to equality

  1. ABCD

  2. ADBC

  3. ADCB

  4. CDAB
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

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Multiple choice

Directions: Choose the answer which is grammatically correct and the best version of the underlined part of the sentence. Written in 1742, Henry Fielding scored a literary hit with his first novel, Joseph Andrews.

  1. Written in 1742, Henry Fielding scored a literary hit with his first novel Joseph Andrews.

  2. Written in 1742, Joseph Andrews, the first novel by Henry Fielding, scored a literary hit.

  3. Written in 1742, Henry Fielding scored a literary hit with Joseph Andrews, his first novel.

  4. Joseph Andrews, which was written in 1742 by Henry Fielding, scored a literary hit with his first novel.

  5. Joseph Andrews, the first novel scored a literary hit for Henry Fielding by its being written in 1742.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

Correct; the noun, Joseph Andrews, is correctly placed next to the modifier 1742.

Multiple choice

Directions: Choose the option which is grammatically correct and the best version of the underlined part of the sentence.

Ozone is formed in the atmosphere from hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides reacting with sunlight.

  1. from hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides reacting with sunlight.

  2. when hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides react with sunlight.

  3. as hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides receive sunlight.

  4. by the reaction of hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides in the sunlight.

  5. when hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides start reacting with sunlight.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

Correct; the phrase has been changed into a clause which explains the time of the formation of ozone.

Multiple choice

Directions: Fill in the blanks with appropriate words.

Many people believed that spices help ___________ food; however, nutritionists found that most spices were __________ of having any effect on the growth of microbes present in the food.

  1. preserve, incapable

  2. produce, impossible

  3. save, preventive

  4. spoil, probable
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

The sentence presents a contrast. Belief is they do some good; actually they don’t. Hence, we would use the words 'preserve' and 'incapable'.

Multiple choice

Nowhere is the difference between Nabokov's fixations and Shakespeare's ________ more apparent than in their depictions of sex and eroticism.

  1. obsessions

  2. compulsions

  3. addictions

  4. impressionability

  5. receptivity

  6. passivity
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

(1) Incorrect. The correct option has to depict the differences between Nabakov and Shakespeare. This option has the same connotation as fixations.

(2) Incorrect. The correct option has to depict the differences between Nabakov and Shakespeare. This option has the same connotation as fixations.
(3) Incorrect. The correct option has to depict the differences between Nabakov and Shakespeare. The given option does not bring forth that difference.
(4) Correct. The option brings out the contrast between Nabokov and Shakespeare by comparing one's fixation with the other's impressionability.
(5) Correct. The option brings out the contrast between Nabokov and Shakespeare by comparing one's fixation with the other's receptivity. (6) Incorrect. The correct option has to depict the differences between Nabakov and Shakespeare. The given option does not bring forth that difference.

Multiple choice

Directions: Fill blank (1) with the appropriate word from the given choices.

Direct democracy is the oldest form of democracy. Athens was a direct democracy because with only 50,000 citizens, it had (1) diversity and was manageably small. But even there, since it was not practical for all citizens to vote every day, a few voted on a given day. These few were elected and picked (2) by lot. Socrates and Plato, on the other hand, (3) direct democracy and had no faith in the mob's wisdom. They thought that direct democracy is (4) to demagoguery and the (5) of the mob.

  1. great

  2. lesser

  3. little

  4. few

  5. huge
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

Correct; the population being very small, there was practically no diversity.

Multiple choice

Directions: Fill blank (4) with the appropriate word from the given choices.

Direct democracy is the oldest form of democracy. Athens was a direct democracy because with only 50,000 citizens, it had (1) diversity and was manageably small. But even there, since it was not practical for all citizens to vote every day, a few voted on a given day. These few were elected and picked (2) by lot. Socrates and Plato, on the other hand, (3) direct democracy and had no faith in the mob's wisdom. They thought that direct democracy is (4) to demagoguery and the (5) of the mob.

  1. susceptible

  2. resistant

  3. oblivious

  4. responsible

  5. impervious
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Correct; this word suggests that in direct democracy, people are easily influenced by those leaders who appeal to their popular desires and prejudices.

Multiple choice

Directions: Fill blank (4) with the appropriate word from the given choices.

A bot is a software that ___ (1) ___ human behaviour on the internet. Bots can be used to create ___ (2) ___ accounts on social media, provide numerous likes on a particular page, send tweets or visit various websites without any human involvement. Bots already constitute a significant percentage of Non Human Traffic (NHT) online and have, according to some estimates, ___ (3) ___ human traffic. Malicious traffic, malware, hacking attempts, viruses slow down the internet and ___ (4) ___ legitimate traffic and services. Used to target systems, NHT generates fake clicks on advertisements to increase website statistics. One of the ___ (5) ___ of ignoring artificial web traffic is that it gets counted for real impressions for which clients end up paying.

  1. advance

  2. restrain

  3. postpone

  4. accelerate

  5. delay
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
E Correct answer
Explanation

Correct; a great number of accounts and tweets on the web delay the human traffic.

Multiple choice

Which of these fits gap 19?

Directions: Complete this passage by selecting the most suitable option for the corresponding gap.
The ancients ____(17)_____ the cotton plant the ‘Daughter of the Sun’.
This was _____(18)_______ it was only under the powerful rays of the sun that the plant would grow and flourish.
The hotter the sun, the whiter and stronger _____(19)______ the fibres produced.
Due to these reasons, cotton is _____(20)______ grown in hot and tropical places all over the world.

  1. may be

  2. would have been

  3. would be

  4. will be
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

Gap 19 is in "the hotter the sun, the whiter and stronger _____ the fibres produced". This is a hypothetical construction talking about what would happen. "Would be" is correct for this hypothetical result. "Will be" is too definite, "would have been" is past conditional, and "may be" is too uncertain for this context.

Multiple choice

Which of the following options best corrects / completes statement IV?

Directions: In this passage, errors or parts of a sentence, which have been left out, have been underlined. To correct these errors and correctly complete the passage, choose the correct option.
Statement I: Sir Isaac Newton is thought as one of the greatest scientists
Statement II: and mathematicians for all time. He was born on the Christmas
Statement III: morning of 1642 at Wools Thorpe in Lincolnshire. Unknown scientist
Statement IV: as he was, he ____________                                    

  1. wasted his money on expensive discoveries

  2. became famous for all the wrong reasons

  3. solved many mysteries of nature

  4. claimed the work done by others
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

Newton was an unknown scientist initially (as stated), yet he made groundbreaking discoveries in physics, mathematics, and astronomy. 'Solved many mysteries of nature' best captures his achievements like laws of motion, gravity, and calculus. The other options are inappropriate - he didn't waste money or claim others' work.