English Grammar MCQS

Correct answer: laughing all the way to the bank. “Laughing all the way to the bank” means making a lot of money easily.

Background: The idiom is used when someone profits even though others doubted him.

• destroy the money: “Destroy the money” is not an idiom.
• will own shares: “Will own shares” is not an idiom.
• to keep business on head: “To keep business on head” is not an idiom.

Did you know? It is often used with a sense of pride in success.

Memory trick: Bank + laugh = profit.

Correct answer: To support verbally but not in action. To pay lip service is to say you support something without actually doing anything for it.

Background: The idiom suggests insincere support.

• To face a risk: Facing a risk is not the meaning.
• To allow in written form: Allowing in written form is not the meaning.
• To allow in action, not verbally: This is the reverse of the idiom’s meaning.

Did you know? It comes from the idea of the support coming only from the lips.

Memory trick: Lip service = words, no action.

Correct answer: Extempore. An extempore speech is delivered without preparation.

Background: The word comes from the Latin ex tempore, “out of the moment”.

• Maiden: A maiden speech is a person’s first speech.
• Conspiracy: A conspiracy is a secret plan.
• None of these: “None of these” is incorrect because extempore is correct.

Did you know? Many speech contests have an “extempore” round.

Memory trick: Extempore = on the spot.

Correct answer: Charming. 'Charming' (or charismatic) precise describes a person with an attractive, engaging, and pleasant personality.

Background: 'Adorable' implies inspiring warmth/affection (often for children or pets), whereas 'Charming' specifically refers to personal attraction and poise.

• Hedonist: Someone devoted to the pursuit of pleasure.
• Puritan: Someone practicing strict moral or religious discipline.
• Ascetic: Someone who practices severe self-discipline and abstains from physical pleasures.

Did you know? 'Charismatic' is another common synonym used in competitive tests.

Memory trick: Charming personality = Attractive & captivating.

Correct answer: Ahsan warned not to forget to water the plants. A negative command changes to “warned/advised … not to + verb” in indirect speech.

Background: Commands and requests use a reporting verb such as ordered, advised, or warned, followed by “to”.

• Ahsan said that not forget to water the plants.: “Said that not forget” is ungrammatical.
• Ahsan asked not to forget water to plants.: “Forget water to plants” is ungrammatical and changes the meaning.
• None of these: “None of these” is incorrect because the second option is correct.

Did you know? A negative command becomes “not to + verb”.

Memory trick: Don’t … → warned not to …

Correct answer: Where are the books we had bought together?. “Books” is plural, so “are” is needed, and the sentence is a question that ends with a question mark.

Background: The subject and verb must agree in number.

• Where were the book we bought together: “Were … book” does not agree in number and tense.
• Where are books we had bought together: Missing “the” makes it incorrect.
• Where was the books we had bought together: “Was … books” does not agree in number.

Did you know? The past perfect “had bought” shows that the buying happened earlier.

Memory trick: Plural books → are.

Correct answer: Reserved. Taciturn means quiet and not inclined to talk, so “reserved” is the closest.

Background: The word comes from the Latin tacitus, meaning “silent”.

• Talky: “Talky” means talkative, the opposite of taciturn.
• Chatty: “Chatty” means talkative, the opposite of taciturn.
• None of these: “None of these” is incorrect because “reserved” is correct.

Did you know? A related word is “tacit”, meaning understood without being said.

Memory trick: Taciturn = tacit = silent.

Correct answer: Confusion. Bafflement is the state of being puzzled, so “confusion” is the closest meaning.

Background: To baffle someone is to leave them completely puzzled.

• Clarity: “Clarity” means clearness, the opposite of bafflement.
• Pleasure: “Pleasure” means enjoyment.
• Cleanliness: “Cleanliness” means being clean.

Did you know? Other synonyms are perplexity and bewilderment.

Memory trick: Baffled = confused.

Correct answer: Modern. 'Quaint' means attractively unusual, old-fashioned, or picturesque. Its direct antonym is 'Modern' (or 'Conventional / Contemporary').

Background: 'Familiar' is a weak antonym; 'Modern' directly opposes the old-fashioned character implied by 'quaint'.

• Brisk: Quick, active, or energetic.
• Distinct: Clearly noticeable or separate.
• Ridiculous: Absurd or deserving mockery.

Did you know? 'Conventional' and 'ordinary' are also strong antonyms of quaint.

Memory trick: Quaint (old-fashioned/unusual) ↔ Modern (contemporary).

Correct answer: Contemporary. Obsolete means no longer used because it is out of date, so “contemporary” (modern) is the opposite.

Background: Floppy disks are an example of obsolete technology.

• Old: “Old” is similar in meaning to obsolete.
• Extinct: “Extinct” means no longer existing, similar to obsolete.
• Outdated: “Outdated” is a synonym of obsolete.

Did you know? “Contemporary” means belonging to the present time.

Memory trick: Obsolete ↔ contemporary.

Correct answer: in. A person is a lecturer “in” a subject, so the correct preposition is “in”.

Background: The preposition “in” normally identifies the academic subject or field.

• at: “At” is used for a place or institution, not a subject.
• of: “Of” is much less common here; “lecturer in English” is the standard form.
• off: “Off” does not fit the meaning.

Did you know? We say “professor of English” but “lecturer in English”.

Memory trick: Lecturer IN a subject.

Correct answer: have. When two subjects are connected by 'as well as', the verb agrees strictly with the first subject ('You'). So the verb should agree with ‘You’: ‘have agreed’ is the best choice.

Background: Phrases like 'as well as', 'along with', and 'together with' do not make the subject compound.

• has: 'Has' is singular third-person and does not agree with 'You'.
• is / was: 'Is' and 'was' are incorrect verb forms for 'You'.

Did you know? Removing the parenthetical phrase gives: 'You have agreed to the proposal.'

Memory trick: 'As well as' rule → Focus on the first subject ('You' → 'have').

Correct answer: takes. The proverb is “It takes two to make a quarrel”, meaning both sides share the blame.

Background: The proverb is written in the simple present tense.

• took: “Took” changes the tense of the proverb.
• take: “Take” does not agree with the singular subject “it”.
• None of these: “None of these” is incorrect because “takes” is correct.

Did you know? A similar proverb is “It takes two to tango”.

Memory trick: It TAKES two.

Correct answer: Spanish. “Trampoline” comes from the Spanish trampolín.

Background: The Spanish word itself comes from an Italian word for stilts.

• Egyptian: The word is not Egyptian.
• Latin: The word is not Latin.
• Persian: The word is not Persian.

Did you know? George Nissen helped popularise the modern trampoline in the 1930s.

Memory trick: Trampoline → trampolín (Spanish).

Correct answer: Cubism. Salvador Dalí is a famous surrealist painter, and Georges Braque co-founded Cubism with Pablo Picasso.

Background: In an analogy, the second pair has the same relationship as the first: artist and movement.

• Realism: Braque did not belong to the realist movement.
• Pop: Pop art came later, with artists such as Andy Warhol.
• Portraits: Portraits are a type of painting, not an art movement.

Did you know? Braque and Picasso developed Cubism around 1907–08.

Memory trick: Dalí → Surrealism; Braque → Cubism.

Correct answer: Sack. The proverb is “An empty sack cannot stand upright”, meaning a hungry or poor person cannot work properly.

Background: It shows that people need their basic needs met before they can function well.

• Container: “Container” is not used in this proverb.
• Vessel: “Empty vessels make the most noise” is a different proverb.
• Bag: “Bag” is not used in this proverb.

Did you know? Proverbs have fixed wording and cannot be changed.

Memory trick: Sack stands only when full.

Correct answer: Cripple. To hamstring is to cripple, just as a stake is a bet. Both pairs are synonyms.

Background: Hamstring literally means to cut the tendon behind the knee.

• Ride: “Ride” is not a synonym of hamstring.
• Scratch: “Scratch” is not a synonym of hamstring.
• Wager: “Wager” is a synonym of stake, not of hamstring.

Did you know? Figuratively it means to cause something to be crippled or ineffective.

Memory trick: Same relationship: synonym pairs.

Correct answer: My friend said that if he had known, he would certainly have helped me.. The pronouns change (I → he, you → me) and the past perfect conditional stays the same.

Background: In indirect speech, the pronouns change to match the new speaker.

• My friend said that if I had known, I would have certainly helped him.: The pronoun “I” should change to “he”, not stay as “I”.
• My friend said that if he knew, he would certainly help me.: “Knew” and “help” change the tense of the original.
• My friend said if he has known, he would have helped me.: “Has known” is the wrong tense.

Did you know? Third conditional sentences do not backshift further.

Memory trick: Third conditional stays the same; only the pronouns change.

Correct answer: Uncertain. “Up in the air” means undecided or uncertain.

Background: The idiom describes plans that are not settled.

• Fly in the sky: It is not about flying in the sky.
• Sailing in air: It is not about sailing in the air.
• Climbing the mountain: It is not about climbing a mountain.

Did you know? Its opposite is “settled” or “set in stone”.

Memory trick: Up in the air = not decided.

Correct answer: Cool one’s heels. “Cool one’s heels” means to wait, especially for a long time.

Background: It is often used when someone is kept waiting by another person.

• Cool one’s toes: “Cool one’s toes” is not an idiom.
• Cool one’s feet: “Cool one’s feet” is not an idiom.
• Cool one’s ankles: “Cool one’s ankles” is not an idiom.

Did you know? Example: “They left me to cool my heels outside his office.”

Memory trick: Heels = waiting.

Correct answer: Work. “Unless” already means “if not”, so the verb after it is positive: “Unless you work hard…”.

Background: In a conditional sentence, the verb after “unless” is positive.

• Worked: “Worked” does not match the present-tense clause.
• Do not work: “Do not work” makes a double negative with “unless”.
• Did not work: “Did not work” makes a double negative with “unless”.

Did you know? “Unless you work hard” = “If you do not work hard”.

Memory trick: Unless = if not.

Correct answer: Mint. A mint is a place where coins are made.

Background: Government mints make the coins that circulate in a country.

• Office: An office is a place of work or administration.
• Mine: A mine is a place where minerals are dug.
• Barn: A barn is a farm building.

Did you know? “Mint” also means in perfect condition.

Memory trick: Mint = money maker.

Correct answer: Obedient. Impudent means rude and disrespectful, so “obedient” (respectful and submissive) is the best opposite given.

Background: The word comes from the Latin impudens, “shameless”.

• Rash: “Rash” means hasty or reckless.
• Rude: “Rude” is similar in meaning to impudent.
• Unsuitable: “Unsuitable” means not appropriate.

Did you know? A synonym is “insolent”.

Memory trick: Impudent = rude; opposite = respectful.