GRADE 8 indigenous languages – Reading for Comprehension Quiz
1. Read the sentence: "The elders in our village speak Kikuyu." Which word is the subject of this sentence?
The subject is the noun performing the action. 'Elders' perform the action 'speak', so it is the subject.
2. Choose the correct verb form: "Every morning the children _____ stories in their mother tongue."
For plural subject 'the children' the simple present uses the base verb 'read'. 'Reads' is for singular subjects.
3. Which sentence correctly shows past completed action about learning an indigenous language?
Completed past actions use the past simple 'learned'. The adverb 'last year' signals past time.
4. Choose the correct pronoun to replace the underlined words: "My brother and I teach our friends Dholuo." Replace 'My brother and I'.
'My brother and I' is a subject phrase; the subject pronoun 'we' correctly replaces it.
5. Pick the correct possessive adjective: "That is _____ book about local songs." (speaking to one student)
'Your' is the possessive adjective used before a noun ('book'). 'Yours' is a possessive pronoun used without a following noun.
6. Which form correctly shows a habitual action: "Every Sunday my aunt _____ stories in Kamba."
Habitual actions use the simple present. 'Tells' matches the singular subject 'my aunt'.
7. Choose the correct negative form: "They _____ speak Kisii during assembly." (meaning they do not speak it)
For plural subject 'They', the negative simple present is 'do not' + base verb: 'do not speak'.
8. Select the correct relative pronoun: "The storyteller _____ told us about the festival was very kind."
'Who' is used for people (the storyteller). 'Which' is for things; 'where' and 'when' are adverbial.
9. Which sentence uses the correct article before a vowel sound: "She is _____ elder who remembers the songs."
'Elder' begins with a vowel sound, so 'an' is the correct indefinite article: 'an elder'.
10. Choose the correct comparative form: "Kikuyu songs are _____ popular than before."
When comparing popularity (an adjective) between two states, use 'more popular'. 'Most' is superlative; 'much' and 'very' do not form comparisons here.
11. Select the sentence with correct word order for an English question:
Yes/no questions in English require subject-auxiliary inversion: 'Do' + subject + base verb.
12. Pick the correct form after the verb 'enjoy': "They enjoy _____ folk tales together."
After 'enjoy' we use the gerund form ('-ing'): 'enjoy telling'.
13. Which choice correctly shows reported speech for: Teacher says, "I will teach you a song tomorrow."
In reported past speech, 'will' changes to 'would' and time expressions shift ('tomorrow' to 'the next day').
14. Choose the correct modal for obligation: "As students learning our languages, we _____ practise every day."
'Should' expresses advice or obligation to do something regularly. 'Can' expresses ability; 'may'/'might' express possibility or permission.
15. Which sentence correctly uses a demonstrative for nearby plural nouns: "_____ songs played at the school festival are ours."
For plural items that are near, use 'these'. 'This'/'that' are singular; 'those' is plural but for items farther away.
16. Pick the correct form of the irregular plural: "Many _____ attended the story evening."
'People' is the correct common irregular plural of 'person' in general contexts. 'Persons' is less common and used in formal/legal contexts.
17. Choose the correct preposition: "We met at the chief's homestead _____ evening to listen to songs."
We say 'in the evening' to refer to that time of day. 'On the evening' can be used with specific dates but 'in the evening' is standard for general time.
18. Which sentence correctly uses the passive voice: "A song _____ by the children each performance."
Passive voice with present habitual action is 'is sung' (a song is sung). 'Sings' is active; 'sang' is past; 'will sing' is future active.
19. Select the correct use of apostrophe for possession: "The elder's reputation for storytelling is known across the county."
For one elder, possession is shown by apostrophe + s: 'elder's'. 'Elders'' would be for plural possessors.
20. Which sentence uses the correct adjective order: "She taught us a beautiful old Luo song."
Standard English adjective order puts opinion (beautiful) before age (old) before origin (Luo) before noun (song).
21. Choose the correct quantifier: "There are only a _____ of students who still speak their ancestral language at home."
'Few' is used with countable nouns like 'students'. 'Little'/'much' are for uncountable nouns; 'less' compares amounts.
22. Which sentence correctly uses a conjunction to show reason: "They preserved traditional songs _____ they value their culture."
'Because' introduces a reason. 'So' introduces a result; 'but' and 'however' introduce contrast.
23. Pick the correct form to complete the conditional: "If learners practise regularly, they _____ improve their fluency in the language."
First conditional for real future possibility uses 'If' + present simple, then 'will' + base verb: 'they will improve'.
24. Choose the correct form of the verb for subject-verb agreement: "Each child in the class _____ a short story in their language."
With singular subject 'Each child', use singular verb 'writes'. 'Write' is plural; 'are writing' is plural continuous; 'writeing' is misspelled.
25. Reading the Swahili sentence: "Mwalimu anasoma kitabu." What is the grammatical subject of the sentence?
Mwalimu (teacher) performs the action 'anasoma' (is reading), so it is the subject. 'Anasoma' is the verb and 'kitabu' is the object.
26. In the sentence: "Watoto walicheka saa mbili zilizopita." What does the tense marker 'wali-' indicate?
The prefix 'wali-' (wa- + -li-) marks past tense for plural subject 'watoto', indicating the action happened in the past and is completed.
27. Look at: "Nimekula ndizi." What does the prefix 'ni-' in 'nimekula' indicate?
'Ni-' is the subject prefix for first person singular (I) in Swahili; combined with '-me-' it forms present perfect 'I have eaten'.
28. In the sentence: "Alienda sokoni kwa ajili ya kununua nyama," which part shows purpose?
"Kwa ajili ya kununua" literally means 'for the purpose of buying', so it expresses the reason or purpose for going.
29. What is the object marker in: "Ninamwona dada yangu kila asubuhi"?
In 'Ninamwona', 'ni-' is I, '-na-' marks present tense, and 'm-' is the object prefix referring to 'dada yangu' (my sister).
30. Read: "Anaandika barua ambayo ni muhimu." What does 'ambayo' introduce?
'Ambayo' is a relative pronoun linking to 'barua' and introduces a clause that gives more information about the letter.
31. In the sentence "Kitabu hiki ni kipya," why is the adjective 'kipya' used instead of 'mapya'?
Noun-adjective agreement requires the adjective to match the noun class prefix: 'kitabu' (ki-/vi- class) pairs with 'kipya'. 'Mapya' is for m-/mi- class plurals or other classes.
32. What does the negative form in: "Sijakuona hapo" tell you about the action?
'Si-' (negative of 'ni-') plus perfect marker '-ja-' and object '-ku-' forms 'sijakuona' meaning 'I have not seen you/it'.
33. Consider: "Tutaenda nyumbani kesho." What does 'tuta-' express?
'Tuta-' is composed of subject prefix 'tu-' (we) and future tense marker '-ta-', indicating 'we will go'.
34. In the sentence: "Aliwafundisha watoto wimbo mpya," which word is the indirect object?
'Aliwafundisha' means 'he/she taught them'; 'watoto' (children) are the recipients (indirect object) of the teaching; 'wimbo mpya' is the thing taught (direct object).
35. What grammatical function does '-sha' serve in: "Mwalimu alitafsiri na kisha alifundisha kusoma bila shida"? (Note: focus on verb forms used for causation and action sequence.)
The sentence uses regular verbs 'alifundisha' (taught) and 'alitafsiri' (interpreted). The causative suffix '-sha' is present in 'fundisha' but here 'alifundisha' is already a causative form meaning 'made/caused to learn'.
36. In: "Walimu wanapenda kuchangia maoni yao," which form shows habitual or general action?
'Wana-' with present tense marker '-na-' often expresses present/habitual actions: 'teachers like to contribute'.
37. Which word in: "Kitanda kiko chini ya dirisha" is a locative marker indicating position?
'Chini ya' means 'under' or 'below' and shows location relative to 'dirisha' (window). 'Kiko' is the locative verb (it is located).
38. Look at this negative sentence: "Hawajasoma habari hiyo." What does the prefix 'ha-' with subject 'wa-' show?
'Ha-' is the negative prefix combined with 'wa-' (they) plus past marker '-ja-' indicating 'they have not read that news'.
39. In: "Kitabu hiki ni cha shule," what does the possessive form 'cha' agree with?
Possessive concords (cha) agree with the noun class of the possessed noun 'kitabu' (ki- class), so 'cha shule' means 'of the school'.
40. Which form is a polite command or request in: "Tafadhali jisomee hii sentensi kwa sauti"?
'Jisomee' is an imperative requesting the person to read for themselves; 'tafadhali' means 'please' and makes the command polite.
41. In: "Wanafunzi walikamilisha kazi yao kwa pamoja," which word shows possession?
'Yao' is the possessive pronoun meaning 'their', showing that the work (kazi) belongs to the students (wanafunzi).
42. What does the clitic '-ni' in the question "Unapanga kwenda wapi?" (or the alternative "Unapanga kwenda wapi?") do grammatically?
The question word 'wapi' asks 'where'. The suffix '-ni' when added to a noun denotes 'in/at' a place; it is not a tense or negation marker.
43. In the passive sentence: "Nyumba ilijengewa na wazazi," what grammatical change marks the passive?
In passive voice the original object ('nyumba') is promoted to subject position and the verb changes to passive morphology 'ilijengewa' (was built).
44. Which is the correct translation for the relative pronoun usage in: "Mtu ambaye anacheza ni rafiki yangu"?
'Ambaye' (or ' ambaye') is the relative pronoun meaning 'who' or 'that', linking 'mtu' and the clause 'anacheza'.
45. In: "Nataka kunywa maji yaliyopo kwenye chupa hiyo," what does 'yaliyopo' agree with?
'Yaliyopo' is a relative form agreeing with 'maji' (water), which takes 'ya-' concord for the plural/paired class; it means 'which are located in'.
46. Which suffix makes a verb reciprocal as in: "Wanaozana" (they help each other)?
The suffix '-ana' creates a reciprocal meaning ('each other'), so 'wanaozana' describes mutual action among the subject.
47. In the sentence: "Alikimbia kwa haraka ili aweze kufika wakati," what is the purpose of 'ili'?
'Ili' introduces a purposive clause showing why he ran: 'in order that he could arrive on time.'
48. What does the prefix 'ma-' typically indicate in nouns like 'mama' vs 'maneno' vs 'maji' when reading and matching grammar?
'Ma-' appears in several noun classes: it can be part of the singular (mama), a plural/collective prefix (maneno), or a class for uncountable nouns (maji); grammatical agreement depends on the noun class.
49. In: "Nilimsikia anapiga simu," what role does the infix '-ji-' play in reflexive verbs if present (e.g., 'ajijiandaa')?
The infix '-ji-' in Swahili verbs signals reflexive meaning (doing something to oneself), as in 'ajijiandaa' (he/she prepares himself/herself).
50. Which is the correct interpretation of aspect in: "Tayari amesoma barua hiyo"?
'Ame-' (a- + -me-) marks present perfect, indicating the action is complete and relevant now: 'has read'.