English Comprehension PYQs

In the given sentence, the word 'preferable' already has the force of a comparative degree and hence does not require 'more' or 'much' in front of it.

'The most preferable' is an incorrect option as it is a superlative degree that cannot be used for comparing two entities.

So we must use 'preferable' alone. 

So, option 1 is correct. 

The complete sentence will be: Before long, we will all be old and realize that health is preferable to wealth.

Here we need not write 'roses' because 'rose' a singular noun represents the whole class of flowers.

Since the article 'the' is used, we must go for a singular noun.

So, the correct option is option 3. 

The complete sentence will be: I think that the rose is the sweetest of all flowers.

Since the last part of the sentence uses 'lost' which is a verb in its past form, the verb that will fill the blank will also be in its past form.

Given' and 'taken' are rejected as they are verbs in their past perfect form and are also contextually incorrect. 'Left' is also rejected as it is contextually incorrect.

Hence we must use 'got' in the blank.

Hence the correct answer is option 3.

The complete sentence is: Reputation was the one thing that she got without merit and lost without fault.

The error lies in part 2.

The sentence uses the form' to be close', which is incorrect.

Since the sentence uses the form 'to be' before 'close', the correct form here must be the verb form 'closed' meaning 'not open'.

Therefore, the correct answer is option 2.

The corrected sentence is: The aforementioned position was to be closed for the candidates possessing a score of 160 or lower.

The error lies in part 1.

The sentence uses the form 'have engulfed', which is incorrect here.

The correct form here should be either 'has' or 'had', since the 'mist' is singular and so the corresponding auxiliary verb form must also be singular.

Therefore, the correct answer is option 1.

Te corrected sentence will be: The cold mist has engulfed the entire town as if reclaimed in its own parallel dimension.

The error lies in part 3.

The sentence uses the form 'could never hoped', which is incorrect. 

The correct form here should be the simple present tense form of the verb, viz, 'hope', as the modal verb 'could' already expresses the tense and ability of the verb.

Therefore, the correct answer is option 3.

The corrected sentence will be: Try hard as he might, Alvira knew her brother could never hope to regain his health.

The error lies in part 1.

The sentence uses the form 'little does' one know, which is incorrect here.

As the sentence uses the past tense verb 'was', the correct form here should be 'little did' the King know.

'Little did/does one know' is a way of expressing the ignorance of a person about something.

Therefore, the correct answer is option 1.

The corrected sentence is: Little did the King know that an evil plan was already being hatched in his palace at that moment.

The error lies in part 4.

The sentence uses the preposition 'to' after the verb form 'to be proven', which, given the context of the sentence is unnecessary. It should be 'to be proven disastrous' and not 'to be proven to disastrous'.

Note here that both past participle forms 'proved' and 'proven' are correct.

Therefore, the correct answer is option 4.

The corrected sentence will be: He was aware that the oath he had taken was soon to be proven disastrous.

The error lies in part 1.

The sentence uses the form 'had they seen us', which is used to show a possibility of something happening, which means this conjunction 'had' is used synonymously with the conditional conjunction 'if'.

Whenever we use the conjunction 'had', there is no need to use the auxiliary verb again in the sentence. i.e. 'had they seen us' (which means if they had seen us) is correct and not 'had they had seen us'. The second 'had' is redundant here. 

Therefore, the correct answer is option 1.

The corrected sentence is*: Had they seen us misappropriate their belongings they would have been enraged.*

The error lies in part 3.

The sentence uses the adjective form 'inevitable', which is incorrect here. As the sentence is referring to the storm following the man, the correct form here should be the adverb 'inevitably'.

Inevitable means something that is sure to happen. For e.g. All men find that death is an inevitable enemy.

Therefore, the correct answer is option 3.

The corrected sentence is: The raging storm followed the man, inevitably swallowing up everything in its path.

The correct answer is 4- the error lies in the 4^th part of the sentence.

Key Points

We must remember it as a rule of thumb that ''seldom if ever'' and ''seldom or never'' are the correct expressions. ''Seldom if never'' is wrong.

So the correct option is 4. 

The corrected sentence is: The actual legal responsibilities may vary between jurisdictions and are seldom if ever clear. 

Additional Information

• Seldom if ever: this expression is used as a more forceful way to say 'seldom' or 'rarely'
• Seldom or never: this expression is used to mean 'very rarely'

The error is in part 2 of the sentence.

Here ''had Rekha'' and ''if Rekha had'' means the same thing. So this formation is correct. What's wrong is the use of 'may' which is in the present tense. We need to use the past tense. So we must use ''might'' instead of ''may.'' 

So, option 2 is correct. 

The corrected sentence is: Had Rekha not discouraged me I might have sung a song or two at your wedding.

The error here is in part 1 of the sentence.

We can see the formation of ''would have+V3'' in the later part of the sentence, which demands that the dependent clause or the first part of the sentence be in the past perfect tense. Now 'we had'' gives us the illusion that the sentence is already in past perfect, but actually, it is not.

Note that, here ''had'' is used as the main verb'' which means ''possess.'' So, to make it past perfect we must use the helping verb ''had''. 

So, option 1 is correct. 

The corrected sentence is: If we had had players like Ronaldo in our team, we would have qualified for the FIFA World Cup long ago.

The first sentence in the paragraph should always introduce a new topic. Out of all the given sentences, only C is independent as it gives the main subject, which is Daisy. Hence C is the first sentence.

The second sentence is B as it talks about what Daisy would like to do, that is, going home. This is followed by A as it talks about why she can't go home.

Next is D as the ‘she’ refers to Daisy's boss who is mentioned in A.

Next comes E which talks about how everyone else had left and how Daisy feels alone.

So, the correct sequence is CBADE.

Hence the correct answer is option 2.

The ordered paragraph is:  *It had been a long tiring week for Daisy.

All she wanted to do was go home and snuggle in her bed with a hot mug of cocoa. But she was brutally snapped out of her daydreams when the boss asked her to work for some more hours after the closing time. She was angry at her for asking her to stay back. It was a Friday so everyone else had gone back home, and she felt so alone and tired and frustrated.*

The first sentence in the paragraph should always introduce a new topic. Out of all the given sentences, only C is independent as it gives the main subject, which is Daisy. Hence C is the first sentence.

The second sentence is B as it talks about what Daisy would like to do, that is, going home. This is followed by A as it talks about why she can't go home.

Next is D as the ‘she’ refers to Daisy's boss who is mentioned in A.

Next comes E which talks about how everyone else had left which is followed by F which supports the previous statement by saying how Daisy feels alone.

So, the correct sequence is CBADE.

Hence the correct answer is option 2.

The ordered paragraph is:  *It had been a long tiring week for Daisy.

All she wanted to do was go home and snuggle in her bed with a hot mug of cocoa. But she was brutally snapped out of her daydreams when the boss asked her to work for some more hours after the closing time. She was angry at her for asking her to stay back. It was a Friday so everyone else had gone back home, and she felt so alone and tired and frustrated.*

The first sentence in the paragraph should always introduce a new topic. Out of all the given sentences, only C is independent as it gives the main subject, which is Daisy. Hence C is the first sentence.

The second sentence is B as it talks about what Daisy would like to do, that is, going home. This is followed by A as it talks about why she can't go home.

Next is D as the ‘she’ refers to Daisy's boss who is mentioned in A.

Next comes E which talks about how everyone else had left which is followed by F which supports the previous statement by saying how Daisy feels alone.

So, the correct sequence is CBADE.

Hence the correct answer is option 1. 

The ordered paragraph is:  *It had been a long tiring week for Daisy.

All she wanted to do was go home and snuggle in her bed with a hot mug of cocoa. But she was brutally snapped out of her daydreams when the boss asked her to work for some more hours after the closing time. She was angry at her for asking her to stay back. It was a Friday so everyone else had gone back home, and she felt so alone and tired and frustrated.*

The first sentence in the paragraph should always introduce a new topic. Out of all the given sentences, only C is independent as it gives the main subject, which is Daisy. Hence C is the first sentence.

The second sentence is B as it talks about what Daisy would like to do, that is, going home. This is followed by A as it talks about why she can't go home.

Next is D as the ‘she’ refers to Daisy's boss who is mentioned in A.

Next comes E which talks about how everyone else had left which is followed by F which supports the previous statement by saying how Daisy feels alone.

So, the correct sequence is CBADE.

Hence the correct answer is option 4.

The ordered paragraph is:  *It had been a long tiring week for Daisy.

All she wanted to do was go home and snuggle in her bed with a hot mug of cocoa. But she was brutally snapped out of her daydreams when the boss asked her to work for some more hours after the closing time. She was angry at her for asking her to stay back. It was a Friday so everyone else had gone back home, and she felt so alone and tired and frustrated.*

The first sentence in the paragraph should always introduce a new topic. Out of all the given sentences, only C is independent as it gives the main subject, which is Daisy. Hence C is the first sentence.

The second sentence is B as it talks about what Daisy would like to do, that is going home. This is followed by A as it talks about why she can't go home.

Next is D as the ‘she’ refers to Daisy's boss who is mentioned in A.

Next comes E which talks about how everyone else had left which is followed by F which supports the previous statement by saying how Daisy feels alone.

So, the correct sequence is CBADE.

Hence the correct answer is option 3.

The ordered paragraph is:  *It had been a long tiring week for Daisy.

All she wanted to do was go home and snuggle in her bed with a hot mug of cocoa. But she was brutally snapped out of her daydreams when the boss asked her to work for some more hours after the closing time. She was angry at her for asking her to stay back. It was a Friday so everyone else had gone back home, and she felt so alone and tired and frustrated.*

All the words in the given statement are spelled correctly. 

The correct answer is option 5. No error.

The correct answer is Option 2 i.e. 'Campany'

Key Points

• The word 'campany' has been incorrectly spelled in the sentence.
• The correct spelling of the word is 'company'.
• Company is a business organization selling goods or services.
• All the other words have been correctly spelled.