UK English Basic Test 2015

1. Which is an example of the passive voice?

Answers:

• He cooked the chicken.

• The chicken was cooked.

• He cooks the chicken.

• He will cook the chicken.

2. Which is correct?

Answers:

• He drove the car.

• He drive the car.

• He droves the car.

• He had drove the car.

3. Choose the correct sentence:

Answers:

• My friend and I love to dance.

• My friend and I loves to dance.

• My friend and me loves to dance.

• My friend and me love to dance.

4. Which shows correct use of parentheses?

Answers:

• Her cousin (the one who works) as a mechanic is older than Jeff.

• (Her cousin) the one who works as a mechanic is older than Jeff.

• Her cousin (the one who works as a mechanic) is older than Jeff.

• Her cousin (the one who works) as a mechanic is older than Jeff.

5. Which is the past participle?

Answers:

• over

• He

• leapt

• the

6. Which is correct?

Answers:

• Six hundred people

• Six hundreds people

• Six hundred peoples

• Six hundreds peoples

7. Which is the correct abbreviation for three million pounds?

Answers:

• £m3

• m£3

• 3£m

• £3m

8. "The project at work is going ____, and that makes me feel ____.

Answers:

• good; good

• good; well

• well; well

• well; good

9. "The bird is __ the branch."

Answers:

• between

• in

• on

• from

10. Which is correct?

Answers:

• Don't drink the, potion, Tristan!

• Don't drink, the potion Tristan!

• Don't drink the potion, Tristan!

• Don't drink the, potion, Tristan!

11. Which of these is correct?

Answers:

• They're going to see there friends their.

• They're going to see their friends there.

• Their going to see they're friends there.

• There going to see their friends they're.

12. "The family went __ France last summer"

Answers:

• to

• in

• from

• among

13. "Is it ___ early for a pause?"

Answers:

• two

• too

• to

14. "It's preferable not to compare one employee's performance ____ another's.

Answers:

• and

• by

• with

15. "The battle was won" is an example of:

Answers:

• Passive voice

• Comma aplice

• Split infinitive

• Dangling participle

16. Choose the sentence with correct capitalisation:

Answers:

• My boss asked for the Report.

• My Boss asked for the report.

• My Boss asked for the Report.

• My boss asked for the report.

17. My brother was in an accident a few years ago; he _____ have been badly injured, but came away without a scratch.

Answers:

• may

• might

18. Chocolate cake was her favorite _____.

Answers:

• desert

• dessert

19. His actions will ______ the result.

Answers:

• effect

• affect

20. Complete the following sentence correctly: "It's a very affordable shop, thanks to the ____ prices."

Answers:

• low

• cheap

21. An adjective is:

Answers:

• used to describe a noun.

• an action.

• a person, place, or thing.

• used to describe a verb.

22. Why is the active voice generally preferred to the passive voice in writing?

Answers:

• The passive voice is grammatically incorrect.

• The passive voice is less formal.

• The passive voice comes from older English; the active voice is newer.

• The active voice is simpler and more direct.

23. All of the following are prepositions EXCEPT:

Answers:

• about

• around

• too

• among

24. Choose the correct sentence:

Answers:

• George, a quiet man disagreed: "I suggest a difference course of action," he said.

• George, a quiet man, disagreed: "I suggest a different course of action he said."

• George a quiet man disagreed: "I suggest a different course of action," he said.

• George, a quiet man, disagreed: "I suggest a different course of action," he said.

25. Which is correct?

Answers:

• Whom did you send the letter to?

• Whom did you send the letter too?

• Who did you send the letter too?

• Who did you send the letter to?

26. Choose the sentence with correct capitalisation:

Answers:

• The british Ambassador to Paris is a fine dancer.

• The British ambassador to Paris is a fine dancer.

• The british ambassador to Paris is a fine dancer.

• The British Ambassador to Paris is a fine Dancer.

• The British mbassador to Paris is a fine dancer.

27. The apostrophe is used for all of the following reasons EXCEPT:

Answers:

• to indicate a missing letter in a contraction

• to separate items on a list

• to indicate ownership or possession

28. "I was just listening to a wonderful program on ____"

Answers:

• The BBC.

• the B.B.C.

• The B.B.C.

• the BBC.

29. A team specializing in explosives was called in to _____ the bomb.

Answers:

• diffuse

• defuse

30. An example of a pronoun is:

Answers:

• Its

• Hers

• Theirs

• It

31. Excellent point, he responded, thank you for speaking up.

Answers:

• Correct punctuation.

• Incorrect punctuation: the entire example should be in quotation marks.

• Incorrect punctuation: quotation marks should appear around a portion or portions of the example.

32. The ______ soldiers we have, the _____ I like our chances.

Answers:

• fewer; less

• fewer; fewer

• less; less

• less; fewer

33. Which shows correct use of parentheses?

Answers:

• She got the job though (she wasn't sure she wanted it).

• She got the job though (she wasn't sure she wanted it.)

• She got the job (though she wasn't sure she wanted it.)

• She got the job (though she wasn't sure she wanted it).

34. The building is twelve _____ tall.

Answers:

• storeys

• stories

• storys

35. If the archers don't _____ their volley soon, the army will surely _____ the battle.

Answers:

• loose; loose

• lose; lose

• loose; lose

• lose; loose

36. The ____ of the policy was ____ in solving the larger problem.

Answers:

• affect; affective

• effect; affective

• effect; effective

• affect; effective

37. "I don't like to dance, I don't like music" is an example of:

Answers:

• Comma splice

• Passive voice

• Dangling participle

• Split infinitive

38. A true gentleman, James was always ______ about his great wealth.

Answers:

• discrete

• discreet

39. The doctor's ______ is next door to the room where the violinist goes to _______

Answers:

• practice; practise

• practise; practise

• practice; practice

• practise; practice

40. The ______ complex of buildings was ______ to navigate

Answers:

• tortuous; torturous

• torturous; torturous

• tortuous; tortuous

• torturous; tortuous

41. London is the _____ of the UK, and the Pound Sterling is its _____.

Answers:

• capital; capitol

• capitol; capital

• capitol; capitol

• capital; capital

42. Where should a full stop be inserted in: "If only Ms Smith had arrived sooner," Dr Jones said

Answers:

• After 'Ms', 'Dr', and 'said'

• After 'Ms' and 'Dr'

• After 'said'

• After 'Ms'

43. The demonstration was contemporary ___ the graduation ceremony.

Answers:

• with

• between

• to

• of

44. "The citizen became vexed ___ the electoral process."

Answers:

• by

• at

• around

• because

45. The ______ colours _____ your eyes.

Answers:

• complementary; complement

• complimentary; compliment

• complementary; compliment

• complimentary; complement

46. All of the following can be used to correct a run-on sentence EXCEPT:

Answers:

• a hyphen

• a period

• a dash

• a comma and a co-ordinating conjunction

47. "Winged and feathered, I saw the raven" is an example of:

Answers:

• Split infinitive

• Dangling participle

• Run-on sentence

• Comma splice

48. How many spaces can correctly follow a full stop?

Answers:

• One or two

• One

• Two or three

• Two

49. Which is the proper use of "hopefully"

Answers:

• The sentry looked hopefully to the East.

• Hopefully we will work together soon.

50. Choose the sentence with correct capitalisation:

Answers:

• Did Doctor Jones also vote for the Prime Minister?

• Did doctor Jones also vote for the Prime Minister?

• Did Doctor Jones also vote for the prime minister?

• Did doctor Jones also vote for the prime minister?

51. Choose the correct spelling:

Answers:

• Piece

• Peice

52. What is [...] called?

Answers:

• Triple period

• Et cetera

• Ellipsis

• Triple full stop

53. What kind of punctuation is missing in the following sentence: "He prepared for his wifes return."

Answers:

• apostrophe

• no punctuation is missing: 'wifes' should be replaced with 'wives.'

• full stop

• ellipsis

54. Choose the correct spelling:

Answers:

• Independant

• Independent

55. _____ going to see ______ boyfriend tonight.

Answers:

• Your; you're

• Your; your

• You're; you're

• You're; your

56. The situation is complex: it has many _________.

Answers:

• elements

• aliments

• ailments

57. "After the weekend retreat, cohesion improved ____ group members."

Answers:

• around

• with

• among

• through

58. ____ time for the government to flex ____ muscle.

Answers:

• It's; it's

• Its; it's

• It's; its

• Its; its

59. Choose the correct spelling:

Answers:

• Neccessary

• Necessary

60. True or false? It is never necessary to write "the reason why is," as opposed to "the reason is."

Answers:

• True

• False

61. True or false: both the semicolon and the comma can be correctly used to separate items on a list.

Answers:

• False

• True

62. Choose the correct spelling:

Answers:

• Fluorescent

• Flourescent

• Florescent

63. Choose the correct spelling:

Answers:

• Foreseeable

• Forseeable

64. "He refused to admit ____ any wrongdoing." Which is the best answer?

Answers:

• for

• that

• to

• by

65. Choose the correct spelling:

Answers:

• Occurred

• Occured

66. Choose the correct spelling:

Answers:

• Humorous

• Humourous

67. "I decided to never see her again" is an example of:

Answers:

• Comma splice

• Dangling participle

• Passive voice

• Split infinitive

68. There was blood everywhere: it was a _____ scene.

Answers:

• grisly

• grizzly

69. "He wasn't sure whether or not she would arrive on time."   Which part of this sentence is incorrect?

Answers:

• or not

• whether

• No part of this sentence is incorrect

• wasn't

• Word order

70. What is the rule for adding -s to a number (such as dozen, hundred, thousand, million, etc) when describing quantities?

Answers:

• Add an -s for approximate quantities, not for exact quantities.

• Add an -s for exact quantities, no for approximate quantities.

• Never add an -s to such a number.

• Always add an -s to such a number, so long as it is more than one.

71. Choose the correct spelling:

Answers:

• Harassment

• Harrassment

72. What is the general rule for writing numbers?

Answers:

• Numbers ten and smaller are written out, while numbers 11 and larger are not.

• Numbers below 100 are written out, while numbers above 100 are not.

• All numbers are written out in formal English.

• Numbers twenty and smaller are written out, while numers 21 and larger are not.

73. When referring to divine figures in ancient Greece or Rome, which capitalisation is correct?

Answers:

• gods

• Gods

74. Choose the sentence with correct capitalisation:

Answers:

• My mother is a professor of French at The Queen's College, Oxford University.

• My mother is a Professor of French at The Queen's College, Oxford University.

• My mother is a professor of French at the Queen's College, Oxford University.

• My mother is a professor of french at The Queen's College, Oxford University.

75. Choose the correct spelling:

Answers:

• Supersede

• Supercede

76. What is incorrect about the following sentence? "The place was a mess; we decided to seek other accomodations."

Answers:

• Misspelling

• Run-on sentence

• There is no error in this sentence

• Incorrect punctuation