English Comprehension PYQs

The correct answer is Option 1.

 

Key Points

• The error lies in the usage of the present participle 'discovering' in the phrase 'using the recently discovering technology.'
• In this context, the technology is the object that has been discovered; it is not performing the action of discovering.
• Therefore, the past participle form 'discovered' should be used as an adjective to modify the noun 'technology.'
• The correct phrase should be 'using the recently discovered technology.'

Therefore, the correct answer is Option 1.

 

Correct Sentence: 'Imagine taking a trip to Northern India a century or so before the Common Era using the recently discovered technology of time travel.'

 

Additional Information

• Option 2: 'of time travel' – This is a prepositional phrase correctly modifying 'technology' and contains no error.
• Option 3: 'Imagine taking a trip to Northern India' – This is the main clause of the sentence and is grammatically sound.
• Option 4: 'a century or so before the Common Era' – This is a temporal phrase correctly indicating the time period and contains no error.
• Participle usage: Use Present Participle (V-ing) when the noun is the doer of the action (e.g., a crying baby). Use Past Participle (V3) when the noun receives the action or is in a particular state (e.g., a broken window).

The correct answer is will be distributed.

Key Points

• The sentence is written in the Passive Voice because the subject, A questionnaire, is the receiver of the action rather than the performer. Hence, the original underlined part 'will distributing' is incorrect.
• In the Future Indefinite Tense (Passive Voice), the standard grammatical structure is Subject + will/shall + be + Past Participle (V3). Hence, statement 'will be distributed' is correct.
• The term distributed is the Past Participle form of the verb distribute, which is required after will be to indicate an action that will happen to the subject in the future. Hence, the usage of 'will be distributed' aligns with formal English syntax.
• The phrase will distributing is grammatically invalid as will must be followed by a base verb or be + V-ing for continuous tense, but since a questionnaire cannot perform the act of distributing itself, the Passive construction is mandatory. Hence, the improvement is required.

 Additional Information

• Verb Tense Variations:
• Future Simple (Active): Uses will + V1 (e.g., The coordinator will distribute the forms). This is used when the subject is the doer.
• Future Continuous (Active): Uses will + be + V-ing (e.g., He will be distributing the forms). This indicates an ongoing action in the future.
• Future Simple (Passive): Uses will + be + V3. This is the correct choice here as it emphasizes the object being acted upon.
• Contextual Usage: In academic or professional settings, instructions involving documents like a questionnaire, survey, or feedback form typically utilize the Passive Voice to maintain a formal tone and focus on the procedure.

The correct answer is Option 1.

 

Key Points

• The error lies in the incorrect use of the preposition to in the first part of the sentence.
• The preposition to is used to indicate a direction or destination (e.g., I am going to the café).
• In this context, the sentence refers to a specific location where an action (drinking coffee) took place. Therefore, the preposition at or in should be used.
• The correct phrase should be at the university café or in the university café.
• Thus, the error is located in part 1 of the sentence.

Therefore, the correct answer is 1.

 

Correct Sentence: "We had coffee at the university café last evening."

 

Additional Information

• We had coffee: This part is grammatically correct. Had is the past tense of have, used here to mean consumed.
• Last evening: This is a correct adverbial phrase of time indicating when the action occurred in the past.
• At vs. To: Use at for a point or specific station/place and to for movement toward a destination. Since they were already there consuming coffee, at is required.

The correct answer is 'through; along'.

 

Key Points

• The preposition 'through' is used when moving from one side of an enclosed space or an area with boundaries (like a park or a forest) to the other.
• The preposition 'along' is used to indicate movement in a line next to something long and thin, such as a riverbank, a road, or a path.
• In the first blank, 'through' correctly describes walking across the area of the park. In the second blank, 'along' correctly describes moving parallel to the length of the riverbank.

Therefore, the correct answer is Option 4.

 

Complete Sentence: "He walked through the park and later strolled along the riverbank."

 

Additional Information

• Option 1: 'besides' means 'in addition to', which does not fit the context of movement; 'about' indicates around but is less precise than along.
• Option 2: 'over' usually implies crossing from one side to another above a surface; 'through' is not typically used for a riverbank.
• Option 3: 'against' implies opposition or physical contact with a vertical surface; 'across' would mean moving from one side of the river to the other, not strolling beside it.

The correct answer is Option 1.

 

Key Points

• Reported Speech: The given sentence is an interrogative sentence starting with an auxiliary verb (Did).
• Key Conversions:
• Reporting Verb: 'said to' changes to 'asked' because the sentence is a question.
• Connector: For Yes/No questions, the comma and inverted commas are replaced by 'if' or 'whether'.
• Tense Change: The Simple Past tense ('Did finish') changes to the Past Perfect tense ('had finished').
• Pronoun Change: The second-person pronoun 'you' changes to 'she' (referring to Amayra), and the possessive adjective 'your' changes to 'her'.
• Structure: The interrogative form is converted into an assertive form in reported speech, meaning the subject comes before the verb and the question mark is replaced by a full stop.

Therefore, the correct answer is Option 1.

 

Correct Sentence: 'Mother asked Amayra if she had finished her homework.'

 

Additional Information

• Option 2: Uses 'has finished' (Present Perfect), which is incorrect as the past tense must shift further into the past.
• Option 3: Fails to use the connector 'if/whether' and does not change the tense or sentence structure to assertive.
• Option 4: Maintains the Simple Past tense and incorrect question structure within the reported clause.

The correct answer is Option 1.

 

Key Points

• The first blank requires the indefinite article 'A' because it refers to a singular countable noun (team) that is being introduced for the first time in the context.
• The phrase 'A team of' is a standard way to introduce a specific group without prior mention.
• The second blank requires the definite article 'the' because it refers to a specific point or location (top) of a particular entity (K2).
• Nouns that are unique or refer to a specific part of a whole (like the top, the bottom, the middle) generally take the definite article 'the'.
• Thus, the correct sequence of articles is 'A' and 'the'.

Therefore, the correct answer is A; the.

 

Correct Sentence: 'A team of two girls succeeded in reaching the top of K2, the second highest mountain in the world.'

 

Additional Information

• Article 'A': Used before words beginning with a consonant sound to denote something non-specific or mentioned for the first time.
• Article 'The': Used before superlative degrees (e.g., the second highest) and before unique geographical points (e.g., the top).
• Note that while mountain ranges (like the Himalayas) take the article 'the', individual mountain peaks (like K2 or Everest) typically do not take an article before their names.

The correct answer is 'her; she'.

 

Key Points

• The first blank requires an object pronoun because it follows the verb gave. The pronoun acts as the receiver of the action.
• Between the given options, her is an objective case pronoun, whereas I and she are subjective case pronouns.
• The second blank requires a subject pronoun because it acts as the subject of the verb left in the subordinate clause.
• She is a subjective case pronoun, while her is an objective or possessive case pronoun.
• Therefore, the combination her; she is grammatically correct.

Therefore, the correct answer is Option 2.

 

Complete Sentence: "He gave her the gift before she left for the airport."

 

Additional Information

• Subject Pronouns: I, you, he, she, it, we, they. (Used as the doer of the action).
• Object Pronouns: me, you, him, her, it, us, them. (Used as the receiver of the action).
• In Option 1, I is a subject pronoun and cannot be the object of gave.
• In Option 3, the second her is an object pronoun and cannot be the subject of left.
• In Option 4, she is a subject pronoun (cannot follow gave) and her is an object pronoun (cannot precede left).

The correct answer is A delicious meal was prepared for the guests by the chef.

Key Points

• The original sentence The chef prepared a delicious meal for the guests is in the Active Voice and uses the Simple Past Tense. Hence, the sentence structure follows Subject + Verb (V2) + Object.
• To convert a Simple Past Tense sentence from active to passive voice, the rule is: Object + was/were + Past Participle (V3) + by + Subject. Hence, the conversion requires the auxiliary verb 'was' followed by 'prepared'.
• In this sentence, The chef is the Subject, prepared is the Verb, and a delicious meal is the Direct Object. Hence, 'a delicious meal' becomes the new subject in the passive construction.
• The phrase for the guests is an adjunct or prepositional phrase that remains attached to the action. Hence, the passive form correctly positions the agent 'by the chef' at the end or after the main action.

 Additional Information

• Passive Voice Transformations based on Tense:
• Simple Present: Uses is/am/are + V3. This does not match the past tense of the original sentence.
• Past Continuous: Uses was/were + being + V3. This is used when the active voice contains 'was/were + V-ing'.
• Past Perfect: Uses had + been + V3. This is used when the active voice contains 'had + V3'.
• Agent: The preposition 'by' is used to introduce the doer of the action in a passive sentence.
• Subject-Verb Agreement: Since a delicious meal is a singular noun, the auxiliary verb was must be used instead of were.

The correct answer is Option 3.

 

Key Points

• Indirect Speech: Mother asked Rubani if she was sorry for what she had done.
• Key Conversions:
• 'asked' becomes 'said to'
• The reporting verb asked is changed back to said to in direct speech when addressing a person.
• 'if she was sorry' becomes 'Are you sorry'
• The conjunction if is removed, and the sentence is converted into an interrogative form.
• The pronoun she (referring to Rubani) changes to you.
• The past tense was changes to the present tense are to reflect direct speech.
• 'what she had done' becomes 'what you have done'
• The past perfect had done is converted back to the present perfect have done.
• The pronoun she changes to you to maintain consistency with the listener.
• Punctuation and Format:
• The reported speech is enclosed within quotation marks.
• A comma is used after the reporting clause.
• The sentence inside the quotes starts with a capital letter and ends with a question mark (?).

Therefore, the correct answer is Option 3.

 

Correct Sentence: 'Mother said to Rubani, "Are you sorry for what you have done?"'

 

Additional Information

• Option 1: Uses she did which is grammatically inconsistent with the address to Rubani and changes the original tense sequence.
• Option 2: Uses Were you sorry, which is the simple past tense. The indirect speech was sorry indicates a state in the present tense relative to the time of speaking.
• Option 4: Uses what you are doing, changing the meaning from a completed action (past perfect) to an ongoing action (present continuous).

The correct answer is Option 4.

 

Key Points

• Direct Speech: "I love the way you have decorated the room," she said, smiling warmly.
• Key Conversions:
• Reporting Verb and Participle: The phrase smiling warmly is a present participle phrase that describes the manner of speaking; it remains consistent in indirect speech. The reporting verb said remains said.
• Pronoun Change:
• The first-person pronoun I changes to she to match the subject of the reporting verb.
• The second-person pronoun you (referring to the listener) changes to I (assuming the speaker is addressing the narrator).
• Tense Change:
• The Present Simple verb love changes to the Past Simple loved.
• The Present Perfect have decorated changes to the Past Perfect had decorated.
• Conjunction: The word that is used to introduce the reported clause.

Therefore, the correct answer is Option 4.

 

Correct Sentence: Smiling warmly she said that she loved the way I had decorated the room.

 

Additional Information

• Option 1: "Smiling warmly, she said that she had loved the way I had decorated the room." - This is incorrect because had loved (Past Perfect) is not the correct conversion for the Present Simple "love".
• Option 2: "Smiling warmly, she said that I love the way you decorated the room." - This fails to change the pronouns and the tenses to the past.
• Option 3: "Smiling warmly, she said that she loves the way I decorated the room." - This maintains the Present Tense "loves", which is grammatically incorrect when the reporting verb is in the past.

The correct answer is Option 2.

 

Key Points

• Direct Speech: "Don't forget to bring your umbrella," he said to her.
• Key Conversions:
• Reporting Verb: The phrase "Don't forget" functions as a reminder. Therefore, the reporting verb 'said to' is appropriately changed to 'reminded' in indirect speech to convey the correct intent.
• Verb Tense and Mood: Negative imperatives (Don't + verb) are typically changed to 'not to + verb'. However, when using the verb 'reminded', we can simplify 'reminded her not to forget to bring' to 'reminded her to bring' as they carry the same meaning.
• Pronoun Change: The second-person possessive pronoun 'your' changes to the third-person possessive pronoun 'her' to match the object of the reporting verb (her).
• Structure: The sentence follows the pattern: Subject + reminded + object + to-infinitive.

Therefore, the correct answer is Option 2.

 

Correct Sentence: He reminded her to bring her umbrella.

 

Additional Information

• Option 1: "He told her don't forget to bring her umbrella." - This is grammatically incorrect because it lacks the necessary conjunction or infinitive structure (to/not to) required for indirect imperatives.
• Option 3: "He reminded her not to forget to bring your umbrella." - While 'reminded her not to forget' is technically possible, this option fails because it keeps the pronoun 'your' instead of changing it to 'her'.
• Option 4: "He told her to bring your umbrella." - This option also fails due to the incorrect pronoun 'your' and loses the nuance of the original reminder.

The correct answer is Option 4.

 

Key Points

• The error lies in the phrase propagate in, specifically in the usage of the preposition in.
• The verb propagate means to reproduce or spread. In this context, the sentence describes the method or mechanism by which the trees reproduce.
• The correct preposition to use here is by or through to indicate the means of reproduction.
• Therefore, the phrase should be propagate by the release of seeds or propagate through the release of seeds.

Therefore, the correct answer is 4.

 

Correct Sentence: The ancient trees of this forest did not propagate by the release of seeds.

 

Additional Information

• The ancient trees of: This part is correct as it identifies the subject of the sentence.
• this forest did not: This part correctly sets the location and the negative past tense.
• the release of seeds: This part is grammatically sound, acting as the object indicating the biological process.
• Prepositional errors occur when the wrong connecting word is used to show the relationship between a verb/noun and the rest of the sentence.

The correct answer is Option 4.

 

Key Points

• The error lies in the phrase She use to eat.
• To describe past habits or states that no longer exist, the semi-modal verb used to must be used in its past tense form.
• The base form use to is grammatically incorrect in an affirmative sentence referring to the past; it should be used to.
• Therefore, the error is located in part 4 of the sentence.

Therefore, the correct answer is 4.

 

Correct Sentence: 'She used to eat a lot of chocolates when she was a child.'

 

Additional Information

• Used to + Verb (base form): This structure is used for habitual actions in the past (e.g., I used to play football).
• Negative and Interrogative: In negative sentences or questions involving did, the 'd' is dropped: 'She did not use to eat' or 'Did she use to eat?'.
• A lot of chocolates: This is a correct phrase where a lot of acts as a quantifier for the plural countable noun chocolates.
• When she was a child: This is a correctly structured adverbial clause of time set in the past tense.

The correct answer is 'to undertake'.

 

Key Points

• Certain verbs in English, such as decide, hope, plan, agree, and want, are typically followed by a to-infinitive (to + base form of the verb).
• In the given sentence, the verb "decided" requires a to-infinitive to express the action that was chosen.
• The phrase "to undertake" correctly completes the grammatical structure of the sentence.

Therefore, the correct answer is Option 2.

 

Complete Sentence: "She decided to undertake the challenging task of learning a new language during her summer break."

 

Additional Information

• Option 1: "undertook" is the simple past tense; two main finite verbs ("decided" and "undertook") cannot follow each other without a conjunction or relative pronoun.
• Option 3: "undertake" is the bare infinitive, which is not used after the verb "decide."
• Option 4: "to undertaking" is grammatically incorrect as "to" is followed by the base form, not the -ing form, in this context.

The correct answer is Option 1.

 

Key Points

• Indirect Speech: Rahul asked his mother if she had prepared the carrot halwa for him.
• Key Conversions:
• "if she had prepared" becomes "Have you prepared"
• The conjunction 'if' indicates that the direct speech was a Yes/No question.
• The Past Perfect tense ('had prepared') in indirect speech changes back to the Present Perfect tense ('Have prepared') in direct speech.
• The pronoun 'she' (referring to the mother) changes to 'you' in direct speech.
• "for him" becomes "for me"
• The pronoun 'him' (referring to Rahul) changes to 'me' to reflect the first-person perspective of the speaker in direct speech.
• Reporting verb:
• The reporting verb 'asked' is changed to 'said to' in the direct speech format.
• Punctuation and Format:
• The direct speech must be enclosed in quotation marks.
• It must begin with a capital letter and end with a question mark as it is an interrogative sentence.

Therefore, the correct answer is Option 1.

 

Correct Sentence: 'Rahul said to his mother, "Have you prepared the carrot halwa for me?"'

 

Additional Information

• Option 2: Uses 'Had she' and 'him', which fails to revert the tense and pronouns back to the direct speech perspective.
• Option 3: Changes the tense to Present Continuous ('Are you preparing'), which does not match the original 'had prepared'.
• Option 4: Uses 'told to' (grammatically incorrect usage) and keeps the third-person pronoun 'she' inside the quotes.

The correct answer is Option 1.

 

Key Points

• The original phrase 'No sooner as I saw' is grammatically incorrect because the correlative conjunction 'No sooner' must always be followed by 'than'.
• Additionally, 'No sooner' requires inversion (e.g., No sooner did I see...), which is not present in the given sentence.
• The phrase 'As soon as' is used to show that one action happens immediately after another. It does not require a specific correlative partner like 'than' and follows standard sentence structure.
• The sentence implies that the moment the speaker saw the boy, they applied the brakes. Therefore, 'As soon as I saw' is the most appropriate and grammatically sound improvement.

Therefore, the correct answer is Option 1.

 

Correct Sentence: 'As soon as I saw the boy running across the road, I applied the brakes.'

 

Additional Information

• No sooner... than: If we used this structure, the sentence would be: 'No sooner did I see the boy... than I applied the brakes.'
• No soon as I saw: This is an incorrect idiom; 'soon' is an adverb and does not function this way in comparative structures.
• No sooner I see: This is incorrect because it lacks the necessary inversion and the tense (present) does not match the second part of the sentence (past tense 'applied').
• Hardly/Scarcely... when: These are other alternatives used to show immediate succession, e.g., 'Hardly had I seen the boy... when I applied the brakes.'

The correct answer is Option 1.

 

Key Points

• The sentence uses the correlative conjunction pair not only... but also.
• The principle of parallelism requires that the grammatical structures following both parts of the conjunction must be identical.
• In the first part, not only is followed by the adjective interesting. Therefore, but also should be followed directly by the adjective very suspenseful without repeating the subject and verb (it was).
• Removing it was makes the sentence more concise and grammatically balanced.

Therefore, the correct answer is but also very suspenseful.

 

Correct Sentence: 'The movie was not only interesting but also very suspenseful.'

 

Additional Information

• Option 2: This option changes the tense to the present (is), which is inconsistent with the past tense used in the first part of the sentence (was).
• Option 3: This introduces a comparative degree (more) which is unnecessary and changes the intended meaning of the original sentence.
• Option 4: This is incorrect because the original sentence contains redundant words that break the parallel structure.

The correct answer is Option 4.

 

Key Points

• The sentence 'Kavya finishes her homework before having dinner' is grammatically sound.
• The subject 'Kavya' is a third-person singular noun, and it correctly takes the singular verb 'finishes' in the Simple Present Tense.
• The phrase 'her homework' correctly uses the possessive adjective 'her' to refer to Kavya.
• The prepositional phrase 'before having dinner' uses the gerund 'having' correctly to indicate an action that occurs after the completion of the homework.
• Since there are no grammatical, structural, or contextual mistakes, the sentence is error-free.

Therefore, the correct answer is No error.

 

Correct Sentence: 'Kavya finishes her homework before having dinner.'

 

Additional Information

• Simple Present Tense: Used for habitual actions or daily routines. Structure: Subject + V1(s/es) + Object.
• Gerunds after Prepositions: It is a standard rule in English to use the -ing form (gerund) of a verb after prepositions like 'before' or 'after' when they function as prepositions.
• Possessive Adjectives: Since the subject is female (Kavya), the use of 'her' is perfectly appropriate.

The correct answer is 'to speak'.

 

Key Points

• The verb hope is typically followed by a to-infinitive (to + base form of the verb) when expressing an intention or a desire for a future action.
• In this context, Anna has the goal of achieving fluency in the future; therefore, the structure hoping to speak is grammatically correct.
• Option 2 correctly uses the to-infinitive form to complete the purpose of her journey.

Therefore, the correct answer is Option 2.

 

Complete Sentence: "Anna decided to embark on a challenging journey to learn Mandarin, hoping to speak the language fluently within a year."

 

Additional Information

• Option 1: "for speaking" is incorrect because the verb hope does not take the preposition for followed by a gerund in this structure.
• Option 3: "to speaking" is incorrect because to here is part of the infinitive, not a preposition, so it must be followed by the base verb speak.
• Option 4: "to have spoken" is the perfect infinitive; it suggests an action completed in the past relative to the time of hoping, which does not fit the future-oriented goal of the sentence.

The correct answer is Option 3.

 

Key Points

• The error lies in the use of the preposition in in the phrase in the Jammu-Srinagar Highway.
• When referring to locations or events occurring along a road, path, or highway, the correct preposition to use is on.
• A highway is considered a surface or a line of travel; therefore, objects or events (like landslides) occur on the highway, not in it.
• Thus, the error is located in part 3 of the sentence.

Therefore, the correct answer is in the Jammu-Srinagar Highway.

 

Correct Sentence: 'There were frequent landslides on the Jammu-Srinagar Highway during the monsoons.'

 

Additional Information

• Option 1: 'There were frequent landslides' – This part is grammatically correct as landslides is a plural noun and matches the plural verb were.
• Option 2: 'during the monsoons' – This part correctly uses the preposition during to indicate a period of time.
• Prepositional usage: Use in for enclosed spaces (e.g., in a room) and on for surfaces or specific lines of transport (e.g., on a road, on a street).