IOE entrance English · Chapter 2
Grammar II
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106 questions in 6 syllabus topics · 23 are 2-mark questions.
2.1 Grammatical patterns and conditionals
15 questions
1. Choose the correct option: If you mix blue and yellow paint, you ___ green.
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General truths use the zero conditional.
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Answer: B. get
This states a general fact, so the zero conditional is used: If + present simple, present simple.
2. Choose the correct option: If it rains tomorrow, we ___ the match.
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Think of the first conditional for likely future events.
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Answer: D. will cancel
A real, possible future situation takes the first conditional: If + present simple, will + base verb.
3. Choose the correct option: If I ___ you, I would accept the offer.
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Imaginary present: If + past (subjunctive) form.
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Answer: D. were
The second conditional describes an imaginary present situation; 'were' is used for all persons in 'If I were you'.
4. Choose the correct option: If she had studied harder, she ___ the exam.
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Match 'had studied' with the third-conditional main clause.
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Answer: A. would have passed
The third conditional refers to an unreal past: If + past perfect, would have + past participle.
5. Choose the correct option: If he had taken the medicine yesterday, he ___ better now.
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Notice the time words 'yesterday' and 'now'.
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Answer: A. would feel
This is a mixed conditional: an unreal past condition (had taken) with a present result (now), so the main clause takes would + base verb.
6. Choose the correct option: If I were more careful by nature, I ___ that mistake last week.
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The condition is about the present; the result is in the past.
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Answer: D. wouldn't have made
Mixed conditional: a present unreal condition (were more careful by nature) with a past result (last week) takes would have + past participle.
7. Choose the word that correctly begins the sentence: ___ I known about the traffic, I would have left earlier.
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Inversion replaces 'if' in a third conditional.
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Answer: C. Had
In formal third conditionals 'if' can be dropped by inverting the auxiliary: 'Had I known' = 'If I had known'. 'If I known' is ungrammatical.
8. Which sentence has the same meaning as 'Unless you hurry, you will miss the bus'?
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Replace 'unless' with 'if ... not'.
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Answer: A. If you don't hurry, you will miss the bus.
'Unless' means 'if not', so 'Unless you hurry' = 'If you don't hurry'.
9. Which sentence has the same meaning as 'Should you need any help, call me'?
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This 'should' is not about obligation.
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Answer: D. If you need any help, call me.
'Should you need' is an inverted first conditional meaning 'If you need'.
10. Choose the correct option: I wish I ___ to the party last night.
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Wishes about the past go one tense back, to the past perfect.
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Answer: D. had gone
A wish about the past takes the past perfect: I wish I had gone.
11. Identify the sentence pattern of: 'The members made him captain.'
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Does 'captain' describe the object or receive something?
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Answer: B. S + V + O + C
'him' is the object and 'captain' describes the object, so it is an object complement: Subject + Verb + Object + Complement.
12. Identify the sentence pattern of: 'They gave the children sweets.'
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Who receives, and what is given?
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Answer: B. S + V + IO + DO
'the children' is the indirect object (receiver) and 'sweets' is the direct object (thing given).
13. Choose the correct option: Neither the teacher nor the students ___ present.
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Proximity rule for neither ... nor.
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Answer: A. were
With 'neither ... nor', the verb agrees with the nearer subject; 'students' is plural, so 'were'.
14. Choose the correct option: It's high time we ___ home.
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This structure uses an unreal past form.
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Answer: D. left
'It's (high) time' + subject is followed by the past simple to express the present: It's high time we left.
15. Which of the following conditional sentences is grammatically INCORRECT?
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Check the verb inside the if-clause.
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Answer: C. If I will see him, I will tell him.
In standard English 'will' is not used in the if-clause of a first conditional; it should be 'If I see him, I will tell him'.
2.2 Parts of speech and voice
20 questions
16. In the sentence 'He ran fast to catch the bus', the word 'fast' is a/an:
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Ask what word 'fast' modifies.
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Answer: B. adverb
'fast' modifies the verb 'ran' (how he ran), so it is an adverb.
17. In the sentence 'The monk broke his fast after three days', the word 'fast' is a/an:
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A word after a possessive like 'his' is usually a ...
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Answer: D. noun
Here 'fast' is the object of 'broke' and is preceded by 'his', so it is a noun (a period without food).
18. In 'She walked down the road', the word 'down' is a/an:
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Does 'down' have an object after it?
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Answer: A. preposition
'down' has an object, 'the road', and shows its relation to 'walked', so it is a preposition.
19. In 'Please sit down', the word 'down' is a/an:
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Compare with 'down the road', which has an object.
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Answer: D. adverb
'down' has no object here; it modifies 'sit', so it is an adverb (adverb particle).
20. In 'Wow! What a goal!', the word 'Wow' is a/an:
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It expresses sudden emotion.
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Answer: A. interjection
A word expressing sudden feeling and standing grammatically apart from the sentence is an interjection.
21. Identify the conjunction in: 'I stayed at home because it was raining.'
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Find the word that joins two clauses.
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Answer: A. because
'because' joins the two clauses 'I stayed at home' and 'it was raining', so it is a conjunction.
22. In 'Her singing delighted the audience', the word 'singing' functions as a:
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What is the subject of 'delighted'?
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Answer: C. noun
'singing' is the subject of 'delighted'; an -ing form used as a subject is a gerund, which works as a noun.
23. In 'He is the man whom I met yesterday', the word 'whom' is a:
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It refers back to a noun before it.
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Answer: B. relative pronoun
'whom' refers back to 'the man' and introduces a relative clause in which it is the object of 'met', so it is a relative pronoun.
24. In 'Which book do you want?', the word 'which' is a/an:
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Is 'which' standing alone or describing a noun?
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Answer: A. adjective
'which' qualifies the noun 'book', so it is an interrogative adjective (determiner). In 'Which do you want?' it would be a pronoun.
25. Change into passive voice: 'She writes a letter.'
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Keep the tense the same: present simple.
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Answer: D. A letter is written by her.
Present simple active becomes is/am/are + past participle in the passive: A letter is written by her.
26. Change into passive voice: 'They are building a bridge.'
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Continuous tenses need 'being' in the passive.
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Answer: D. A bridge is being built by them.
Present continuous passive = is/am/are + being + past participle.
27. Change into passive voice: 'He has finished the work.'
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Present perfect passive needs 'been'.
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Answer: A. The work has been finished by him.
Present perfect passive = has/have + been + past participle.
28. Change into passive voice: 'Who wrote this poem?'
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Who becomes by whom, and keep question word order.
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Answer: D. By whom was this poem written?
'Who' becomes 'By whom'; the question keeps auxiliary-before-subject order, and past simple gives 'was ... written'.
29. Change into passive voice: 'Open the door.'
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Imperative passives begin with 'Let'.
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Answer: A. Let the door be opened.
Imperative sentences with an object form the passive with 'Let + object + be + past participle'.
30. Choose the correct passive form of: 'People say that he is honest.'
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Use subject + is said + to-infinitive.
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Answer: D. He is said to be honest.
With reporting verbs, the subject of the that-clause can become the subject: He is said to be honest (present 'say' stays 'is said'; present 'is' becomes 'to be').
31. Change into passive voice: 'The police will arrest the thief.'
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After 'will', use 'be' + past participle.
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Answer: C. The thief will be arrested by the police.
Modal passive = modal + be + past participle: will be arrested.
32. Change into active voice: 'The match was won by Nepal.'
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Keep the same tense as 'was won'.
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Answer: B. Nepal won the match.
'was won' is past simple passive, so the active is past simple: Nepal won the match.
33. Change into passive voice: 'Did she cook the rice?'
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Replace 'did' with the correct form of 'be'.
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Answer: D. Was the rice cooked by her?
A past simple question with 'did' becomes 'Was/Were + object + past participle + by ...?'
34. Which of the following sentences CANNOT be changed into the passive voice?
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Only transitive verbs (with objects) have passives.
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Answer: D. The baby slept peacefully.
'slept' is an intransitive verb with no object, so there is nothing to become the subject of a passive sentence.
35. Choose the correct passive form of: 'Someone must do this work.'
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Indefinite agents are dropped in the passive.
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Answer: B. This work must be done.
Modal + be + past participle; the vague agent 'someone' is normally omitted.
2.3 Infinitives, gerunds and participles
15 questions
36. Choose the correct option: I enjoy ___ novels in my free time.
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Some verbs take only the -ing form.
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Answer: A. reading
'enjoy' is followed by a gerund (-ing form), not an infinitive.
37. Choose the correct option: After much thought, she decided ___ abroad.
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Verbs of planning usually take 'to' + verb.
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Answer: C. to study
'decide' is followed by the to-infinitive.
38. Choose the correct option: I am looking forward to ___ you next week.
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Is 'to' here part of an infinitive or a preposition?
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Answer: D. seeing
In 'look forward to', 'to' is a preposition, so it is followed by a gerund.
39. Choose the correct option: When the doctor warned him, he stopped ___ for good.
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Did he quit or pause in order to do it?
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Answer: C. smoking
'stop + gerund' means to quit an activity; 'stop + to-infinitive' means to pause in order to do something.
40. What does 'On his way home, he stopped to talk to his old teacher' mean?
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The to-infinitive here shows purpose.
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Answer: B. He interrupted his journey in order to talk to his teacher.
'stop + to-infinitive' expresses purpose: he stopped (walking) in order to talk.
41. What does 'I remember posting the letter' mean?
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Gerund after 'remember' looks back in time.
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Answer: C. I posted the letter and now I recall doing it.
'remember + gerund' refers to recalling a past action; 'remember + to-infinitive' refers to not forgetting a future duty.
42. Choose the correct option: Let him ___ if he wants to.
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'let' and 'make' take the bare infinitive.
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Answer: C. go
'let' is followed by object + bare infinitive (without 'to').
43. Choose the correct option: ___ the work, he went home.
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Which action happened first, and who did it?
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Answer: C. Having finished
A perfect participle (having + past participle) shows an action completed before the main action; the active form fits because he did the finishing.
44. Which sentence is correctly constructed (has no dangling participle)?
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Who was walking? That must be the subject of the main clause.
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Answer: A. Walking along the road, I saw a snake.
The subject of the main clause must be the doer of the participle. Only 'I' could be walking along the road.
45. Choose the correct option: The ___ child was comforted by her mother.
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-ed describes the feeling; -ing describes the cause.
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Answer: C. frightened
The child felt fear, so the past participle 'frightened' (describing feeling) is needed; 'frightening' means causing fear.
46. Choose the correct option: The film was so ___ that I fell asleep.
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Did the film feel bored, or cause boredom?
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Answer: A. boring
The film caused the boredom, so the present participle 'boring' is used.
47. In which sentence is the -ing word a gerund?
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A gerund does the job of a noun.
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Answer: B. Swimming is good exercise.
In 'Swimming is good exercise', 'swimming' is the subject and functions as a noun, so it is a gerund. In the others it is a participle.
48. Choose the correct option: The teacher made him ___ the room.
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'make somebody do something'.
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Answer: B. clean
In the active voice, 'make' + object takes the bare infinitive: made him clean.
49. Choose the correct option: He has lived in the village for years, so he is used to ___ early.
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'be used to' and 'used to' are different structures.
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Answer: D. getting up
'be used to' (meaning 'be accustomed to') has 'to' as a preposition, so it takes a gerund. Do not confuse it with 'used to + base verb' for past habits.
50. Choose the correct option: The old man is too weak ___.
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too ... to ...
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Answer: A. to walk
The pattern 'too + adjective + to-infinitive' expresses that something is not possible.
2.4 Punctuation and prepositions
21 questions
51. He is one person I count ………… in times of difficulty.
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Which preposition makes “count” mean “rely”?
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Answer: D. on
“Count on someone” means to rely on them.
52. Which sentence with a question tag is correctly punctuated?
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Check the contraction and the question tag.
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Answer: C. It's raining, isn't it?
'It's' = 'it is' needs an apostrophe, a comma separates the question tag, and a question tag ends with a question mark.
53. Which phrase correctly refers to books belonging to several boys?
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Plural possessive of a noun ending in s.
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Answer: C. the boys' books
For a plural noun ending in -s, the possessive adds only an apostrophe after the s: boys'.
54. The speaker has only ONE brother. Which sentence is correctly punctuated?
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Non-defining relative clauses need commas on both sides.
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Answer: D. My brother, who lives in Pokhara, is a doctor.
With only one brother, the clause adds extra (non-defining) information, so it is enclosed by a pair of commas.
55. Choose the punctuation mark that best fills the blank: You need three things to succeed___ patience, practice and hard work.
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Which mark introduces a list?
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Answer: C. a colon (:)
A colon introduces a list after a complete clause.
56. Choose the punctuation mark that best fills the blank: I wanted to go to the concert___ however, it was too late to buy tickets.
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'however' is not a conjunction.
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Answer: A. a semicolon (;)
Two independent clauses linked by a conjunctive adverb like 'however' are separated by a semicolon; a comma alone would create a comma splice.
57. Which sentence of direct speech is correctly punctuated?
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Check the comma, capital letter and position of the full stop.
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Answer: A. He said, "I am tired."
Direct speech is introduced by a comma, starts with a capital letter, and is enclosed in quotation marks with the full stop inside them.
58. Which sentence uses the hyphen correctly?
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Hyphenate a compound adjective before a noun.
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Answer: B. She is a well-known writer.
A compound adjective placed before a noun is hyphenated: a well-known writer.
59. Choose the correct option: The dog wagged ___ tail happily.
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Possessive pronouns never take an apostrophe.
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Answer: C. its
'its' is the possessive pronoun and has no apostrophe; 'it's' means 'it is' or 'it has'.
60. Which sentence containing a reported question is correctly punctuated?
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Reported questions are not real questions.
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Answer: B. He asked me where I lived.
An indirect (reported) question is a statement, so it ends with a full stop and uses statement word order.
61. Which phrase uses the apostrophe correctly?
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Plurals that don't end in s take 's.
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Answer: B. the children's toys
'children' is an irregular plural not ending in s, so the possessive adds 's: children's.
62. Choose the correct preposition: He is very good ___ mathematics.
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good ___ something you can do well.
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Answer: D. at
The adjective 'good' takes 'at' when talking about skill in a subject or activity.
63. Choose the correct preposition: She has been ill ___ Monday.
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Is Monday a point or a period of time?
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Answer: D. since
'since' is used with a point in time with the present perfect; 'for' is used with a period of time.
64. Choose the correct preposition: I have lived in Lalitpur ___ ten years.
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Ten years is a duration.
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Answer: C. for
'for' is used with a length of time (ten years) in the present perfect.
65. Choose the correct preposition: Many people died ___ cholera in the village.
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Diseases take a particular preposition after 'die'.
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Answer: D. of
'Die of' is the usual preposition with a disease: many people died of cholera. ('Die from' is also heard, but it isn't one of the options; 'in', 'with' and 'by' are wrong here.)
66. Choose the correct preposition: We arrived ___ the airport at noon.
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arrive ___ a building or point.
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Answer: D. at
'arrive' never takes 'to'; it takes 'at' for a specific place or building and 'in' for a city or country.
67. Choose the correct preposition: She is married ___ a doctor.
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Common collocation with 'married'.
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Answer: D. to
The correct collocation is 'married to'.
68. Choose the correct preposition: I prefer tea ___ coffee.
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'prefer A ___ B'.
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Answer: D. to
'prefer' is followed by 'to' when comparing two nouns: prefer tea to coffee.
69. Choose the correct preposition: The clerk was accused ___ theft and charged ___ fraud.
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Both verbs have fixed prepositions for crimes.
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Answer: D. of, with
The fixed collocations are 'accused of' and 'charged with' a crime.
70. Choose the correct preposition: Divide the sweets ___ the two children.
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How many children are there?
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Answer: C. between
'between' is used for two people or things; 'among' for more than two.
71. Choose the correct preposition: He insisted ___ paying the bill himself.
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insist ___ + gerund.
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Answer: C. on
The verb 'insist' takes 'on' (insist on doing something).
2.5 Vocabulary
20 questions
72. Choose the word closest in meaning to ABUNDANT:
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Think of 'abundance of food'.
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Answer: B. plentiful
'abundant' means existing in large quantities, i.e. plentiful. The other options mean the opposite.
73. Choose the word closest in meaning to CANDID:
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A candid opinion is an honest one.
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Answer: B. frank
'candid' means honest and straightforward, i.e. frank.
74. Choose the word opposite in meaning to TRANSPARENT:
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Glass vs a brick wall.
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Answer: A. opaque
'transparent' means allowing light to pass through; 'opaque' means not allowing light through.
75. Choose the word opposite in meaning to ANCIENT:
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Three options are near synonyms.
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Answer: D. modern
'ancient' means very old; its antonym is 'modern'. The other words are synonyms.
76. Choose the word opposite in meaning to BENEVOLENT:
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Look at the Latin prefixes bene- and male-.
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Answer: A. malevolent
'benevolent' (bene = good) means kind and well-meaning; 'malevolent' (male = bad) means wishing harm to others.
77. One-word substitution: A person who does not believe in the existence of God.
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Prefix a- means 'without'.
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Answer: A. atheist
An atheist denies the existence of God; an agnostic holds that it cannot be known; a theist believes in God.
78. One-word substitution: A person who can speak many languages.
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'poly' means many.
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Answer: C. polyglot
'poly' = many, 'glot' = tongue; a polyglot knows many languages. A monoglot knows one; a bibliophile loves books.
79. One-word substitution: A place where bees are kept.
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Latin 'apis' means bee.
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Answer: D. apiary
An apiary is a place for beehives; an aviary is for birds; a granary stores grain.
80. One-word substitution: The life story of a person written by that person.
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'auto' means self.
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Answer: C. autobiography
'auto' = self; an autobiography is written by the subject. A biography is written by someone else.
81. Choose the correctly spelt word meaning 'a place to live or stay':
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Two c's and two m's.
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Answer: A. accommodation
The correct spelling has double c and double m: accommodation.
82. Choose the correctly spelt word meaning 'an event; something that happens':
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Double c, double r.
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Answer: C. occurrence
The correct spelling is occurrence: double c, double r, ending -ence.
83. Which of the following words is INCORRECTLY spelt?
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One word needs both a double r and a double s.
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Answer: A. embarass
The correct spelling is 'embarrass' with double r and double s. The others are correctly spelt.
84. Choose the correct word form: The ___ of the bridge took two years.
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The blank needs a noun.
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Answer: D. construction
After 'The' and before 'of' a noun is needed: construction.
85. Choose the correct word form: Her ___ to solve problems quickly impressed everyone.
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A possessive is followed by a noun.
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Answer: B. ability
After the possessive 'Her' a noun is required; the noun form of 'able' is 'ability'.
86. Choose the correct word form: He showed great ___ in the face of danger.
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Adjective + noun.
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Answer: D. courage
After the adjective 'great' and as the object of 'showed', a noun is needed: courage.
87. Choose the correct word: The new medicine had a good ___ on the patient.
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a/an + noun; 'affect' is usually a verb.
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Answer: B. effect
'effect' is normally the noun (a result); 'affect' is normally the verb (to influence).
88. Choose the correct word: The bus remained ___ at the traffic light.
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Stationery = paper and envelopes.
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Answer: A. stationary
'stationary' (with -ary) means not moving; 'stationery' (with -ery) means writing materials.
89. Choose the correct word: He refused to tell a lie because he is a man of ___.
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Which word means a moral rule?
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Answer: A. principle
'principle' means a moral rule or belief; 'principal' means the head of a school or main.
90. Choose the correct word: I ___ you to see a doctor at once.
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The blank needs a verb.
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Answer: A. advise
The verb is 'advise' (with s); 'advice' (with c) is an uncountable noun.
91. Choose the word closest in meaning to EPHEMERAL:
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Think of a mayfly that lives only a day.
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Answer: D. short-lived
'ephemeral' means lasting for a very short time. 'Eternal' is its opposite; 'ethereal' (delicate, heavenly) is a look-alike.
2.6 Idiomatic expressions
15 questions
92. The idiom 'a piece of cake' means:
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'The test was a piece of cake.'
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Answer: A. something very easy
'a piece of cake' describes a task that is very easy to do.
93. The idiom 'once in a blue moon' means:
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A blue moon is a rare event.
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Answer: B. very rarely
'once in a blue moon' means very seldom.
94. The idiom 'to burn the midnight oil' means:
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Think of a student before exams.
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Answer: C. to work or study late into the night
It means to stay up late working or studying, originally by the light of an oil lamp.
95. The idiom 'to beat about the bush' means:
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'Stop ___ and tell me what happened.'
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Answer: C. to avoid coming to the main point
It means to talk around a subject without coming to the point.
96. The idiom 'to let the cat out of the bag' means:
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Something hidden becomes known.
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Answer: C. to reveal a secret
It means to disclose a secret, usually by accident.
97. The idiom 'to turn a deaf ear' (to something) means:
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Deliberate ignoring.
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Answer: A. to refuse to listen to it
To turn a deaf ear means to deliberately ignore a request or advice.
98. The idiom 'a white elephant' refers to:
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Think of something costly to keep but useless.
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Answer: D. a possession that is costly to maintain but of little use
A white elephant is something expensive to keep that gives little benefit, e.g. a huge stadium that is rarely used.
99. The idiom 'at the eleventh hour' means:
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'The deal was signed at the eleventh hour.'
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Answer: D. at the last possible moment
It means at the latest possible time before it is too late.
100. In 'The meeting was called off because of the strike', 'called off' means:
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The meeting will not happen.
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Answer: D. cancelled
'call off' means to cancel something planned.
101. In 'Please look after my dog while I am away', 'look after' means:
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What do you do for a pet when its owner is away?
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Answer: C. take care of
'look after' means to take care of somebody or something.
102. In 'I came across an old photograph in the drawer', 'came across' means:
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Was the finding planned?
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Answer: A. found by chance
'come across' means to find or meet unexpectedly.
103. In 'Sita takes after her mother', 'takes after' means:
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Family likeness.
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Answer: A. resembles
'take after' means to resemble an older family member in appearance or character.
104. In 'We have run out of sugar', 'run out of' means:
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There is none left.
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Answer: B. used up the supply of
'run out of' means to have no more of something left.
105. Choose the correct option: I can't ___ his rude behaviour any longer.
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Which phrasal verb means 'tolerate'?
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Answer: A. put up with
'put up with' means to tolerate. 'put off' = postpone, 'put out' = extinguish, 'put up' = give accommodation or raise.
106. In which sentence does 'take off' mean 'leave the ground'?
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Think of airports.
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Answer: D. The plane took off on time.
For aircraft, 'take off' means to leave the ground. In the others it means to remove clothing, to have time away from work, and to imitate.