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

Fill blank (i).

Directions: The following passage has some numbered blanks.

Naval architects never (i) ___ that a ship is unsinkable, but the sinking of the passenger-and-car ferry Estonia in the Baltic surely (ii) ____ have never (iii) ____. It was well (iv) ____ and carefully maintained. It carried the proper number of lifeboats. It (v) ____ thoroughly inspected on the day of its (vi) ____ voyage. Yet hours later, the Estonia rolled over and sank in a cold, stormy night. It went down so (vii) ____ that most of those (viii) ____, caught in their dark, flooding cabins, (ix) _____ no chance to save themselves. Of those who managed to (x) ____ overboard, only 139 survived. The rest died of (xi) _____ before the rescuers could pluck them from the cold sea.

  1. allege

  2. claim

  3. plead

  4. refute

  5. request
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

To claim is to assert, as a fact. This context refers to ‘naval architects who never assert the fact that a ship is unsinkable’. This means that they never claim that there is such a ship which cannot sink. Thus, here ‘claim’ is the correct option.

Multiple choice

Direction: In the question, you have five alternative pairs of words. From the alternatives, choose the pair which shows the same relationship as the pair in bold letters.

I : Mine

  1. He : His

  2. She : Her

  3. Them : Theirs

  4. I : Myself

  5. We : Us
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

 The relationship is that of a pronoun in subjective case and a pronoun in possessive case. The same relationship is seen in option 1, where 'He' is in subjective case and 'His' is the possessive case.

Multiple choice

Fill blank (iii).

Directions: Read the following passage having some numbered blanks.

With the exhilarating arrival of Mars Orbiter Mission today, India has joined the ___ (i) ___ of interplanetary nations. Actually, you ___ (ii) ___ argue that India's been interplanetary ever since Mars Orbiter Mission departed Earth's gravitational influence. Mars Orbiter Mission ___ (iii) ___ homegrown in India, built ___ (iv) ___ a successful and skilled Indian aerospace establishment, carrying Indian-built instruments and operated ___ (v) ___ Bangalore; the main foreign contribution to this mission's success has been the ___ (vi) ___ communications services of NASA's Deep Space Network, delivering Mars Orbiter Mission's ___ (vii) ___ to Earth. India has dared to do something ___ (viii) ___ was previously beyond its reach - and by daring, and then achieving it, India has ___ (ix) ___ its own possibilities. India created history today, becoming the first country to successfully get a spacecraft into the Martian orbit in its ___ (x) ___ attempt.

  1. are

  2. were

  3. was

  4. might be

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

‘Was’ is the singular past tense of ‘be’. In this context ‘Mars Orbiter Mission’ is a singular subject, so the singular ‘was’ in past tense can be used.

Multiple choice

The lady ---- to the Chief Minister about the issue.

  1. report

  2. wrote

  3. written

  4. write
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

The simple past tense 'wrote' indicates a completed action in the past. The sentence describes a lady communicating with the Chief Minister about an issue, and 'wrote' (simple past of 'write') is the appropriate form for this context.

Multiple choice

I haven't --- many films this year

  1. see

  2. saw

  3. seen

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

Present perfect with 'haven't' requires the past participle. 'Seen' is the past participle of 'see.' 'See' is base form, 'saw' is simple past.

Multiple choice

Directions: Choose the appropriate word from the given options and fill in the blank. Productive employment is the only ----------------- solution to poverty in any country.

  1. sustainable

  2. necessary

  3. satisfactory

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

Sustainable means a solution that can be maintained over the long term without depleting resources or causing harm. Productive employment provides ongoing income and economic stability, making it the only enduring solution to poverty. Necessary means simply required, not necessarily lasting. Satisfactory implies barely adequate, while required is similar to necessary.