Grade 10 English – 8.2.1 Study Skills Quiz
1. Either the headmaster or the pupils ____ responsible for organising the assembly.
With 'either...or' the verb agrees with the nearer subject. 'Pupils' is plural and nearer, so the plural verb 'are' is correct.
2. Choose the correct passive form of: 'They will finish the project by Monday.'
Passive voice uses the appropriate form of 'be' + past participle. Future passive is 'will be' + 'finished'.
3. Choose the correct reported speech: She said, 'I have finished my homework.'
When reporting a past statement with present perfect, the tense normally shifts back to past perfect: 'have finished' → 'had finished'.
4. Fill the blank with the correct article: He is ____ honest man.
'Honest' begins with a vowel sound (silent h), so the article 'an' is used before it.
5. Choose the correct preposition: She congratulated him ____ his success.
The correct collocation is 'congratulate someone on something' (e.g., congratulate him on his success).
6. Which modal expresses advice in this sentence: 'You ____ see the guidance teacher about revision strategies.'
'Should' is the modal commonly used to give advice or recommend an action.
7. Fill the blank with the correct relative pronoun: The book ____ I borrowed is on the desk.
For defining relative clauses referring to things, 'that' (or 'which') is correct; 'that' is common in everyday English: 'The book that I borrowed...'.
8. Choose the correct conditional: If I ____ more time, I would read the novel.
This is the second conditional (unreal present): 'If I had more time, I would...'. Use the simple past 'had'.
9. Choose the correct form: She enjoys ____ novels in her free time.
After verbs like 'enjoy' we use the gerund (-ing) form: 'enjoy reading'.
10. Choose the correct comparative form: This exercise is ____ than the last one.
One-syllable and many two-syllable adjectives form comparatives by adding '-er': 'easy' → 'easier'. 'More easy' is less natural and 'more easier' is incorrect.
11. Choose the correct pronoun: Between you and ____, I prefer group study.
After 'between you and...' the object pronoun 'me' is correct because it functions as the object of the preposition 'between'.
12. Choose the correct perfect continuous form: He ____ studying for three hours.
To express an action that started in the past and continues to the present we use present perfect continuous: 'has been studying'.
13. Choose the correct parallel structure: She likes swimming, cycling and ____.
Parallelism requires matching forms: after 'swimming, cycling' (gerunds), use 'running' to keep the same -ing form.
14. Choose the correct word form: She sings ____ at school concerts.
To describe how she sings (a verb), use an adverb: 'beautifully'.
15. Choose the correct question tag: They will submit the homework, ____?
For positive main clauses with future 'will', the question tag is negative: 'won't they?'.
16. Choose the correct option for countable/uncountable noun: There is ____ information about the exam.
'Information' is uncountable, so we use 'much' rather than 'many' or 'several'.
17. Choose the correct verb with the collective noun: The team ____ winning the match.
In standard British English a team as a single unit takes a singular verb: 'The team is winning.' (Note: using 'are' is possible when focusing on individuals, but 'is' is correct here.)
18. Fill the blank with the correct conjunction: He studied hard, ____ he failed the test.
Use 'but' to show contrast between studying hard and failing the test.
19. Choose the correct article: She wants to be ____ engineer when she finishes school.
Before words beginning with a vowel sound like 'engineer' we use 'an'.
20. Choose the correct reflexive pronoun: He made the decision by ____.
The standard reflexive pronoun for 'he' is 'himself'. 'Hisself' and other forms are nonstandard.
21. Which sentence is punctuated correctly for a restrictive clause: The students who arrived late missed the lesson.
A restrictive (defining) clause identifies which students and should not be set off by commas: 'The students who arrived late missed the lesson.'
22. Choose the correct sequence of tenses: If she had studied, she ____ the exam.
This is the third conditional (past unreal): If + past perfect, then 'would have' + past participle. So 'would have passed' is correct.
23. Choose the correct plural form (irregular): One analysis, two ____.
The plural of 'analysis' is formed irregularly as 'analyses' (change -is to -es).
24. Choose the correct form after verbs expressing suggestion: I suggest that he ____ earlier to finish his work.
After verbs like 'suggest' in that-clauses, the subjunctive (base form) is used: 'I suggest that he arrive earlier.'