English Comprehension PYQs

The correct answer is: Option 1 (Forbid).

Key Points

• The word "authorize" means to give official permission or approval for something. (अधिकार देना)
• Example: The manager authorized the use of the company’s credit card for the purchase.
• "Forbid" refers to refusing to allow something or prohibiting an action. (मनाही करना)
• Example: The school forbids students from using mobile phones during class hours.
• Hence, the opposite of "authorize" is "forbid".

Therefore, the correct answer is: Option 1 (Forbid).

Additional Information

Here are the other options explained along with their Hindi meanings and example sentences:

• Allow (अनुमति देना): To let someone do something or to permit an action.
• Example: The teacher allowed the students to take a break after the test.
• Empower (सशक्त करना): To give someone the authority or power to do something.
• Example: The new policy empowers employees to make decisions without prior approval.
• Permit (अनुमति देना): To officially allow something to happen.
• Example: The city council permitted the construction of the new library.

The correct answer is: Bibliophile.

Key Points

• The word "Bibliophile" refers to a person who loves or collects books. (पुस्तकों का प्रेमी या संग्रहकर्ता)
• Example: As a bibliophile, she spent hours exploring second-hand bookstores for rare editions.

Therefore, the correct answer is: Bibliophile.

Additional Information

Here are the other options explained along with their Hindi meanings and example sentences:

• Philatelist (डाक टिकटों का संग्रहकर्ता): A person who collects and studies postage stamps.
• Example: His philatelist hobby introduced him to stamps from over 100 countries.
• Botanist (वनस्पति वैज्ञानिक): A scientist who specializes in the study of plants.
• Example: The botanist was fascinated by the medicinal properties of herbs.
• Anthropologist (मानवविज्ञानी): A scientist studying human societies and cultures.
• Example: The anthropologist’s research focused on ancient civilizations.

The correct answer is Option 3.

 

Key Points

• The word "hardly" is incorrect in the given context. "Hardly" means "barely" or "almost not," which does not fit the intended meaning of the sentence.
• The correct word to use is "hard," which means "with a lot of effort" and accurately conveys the idea.
• Thus, replacing "hardly" with "hard" improves the clarity and correctness of the sentence.

Therefore, the correct answer is Option 3.

 

Correct Sentence: "He worked very hard to pass the exam."

 

Additional Information

• Option 1: "sincerely" – While "sincerely" conveys a sense of genuine effort, it does not accurately describe the intensity of effort required to pass an exam.
• Option 2: "regularly" – This implies consistency but does not convey the idea of working with great effort.
• Option 4: "harder" – This is a comparative term and would not fit in the context without specifying what is being compared.

The correct answer is option 2.

Key Points

The misspelled word is 'Prepostrous'.

• The correct spelling would be 'Preposterous'.
• The word 'Preposterous' is an adjective which means 'contrary to reason or common sense; utterly absurd or ridiculous'. (मूर्खतापूर्ण)
• For Example -
• The idea of flying cars seemed preposterous a century ago, but now it’s becoming a reality.

Therefore, the correct answer would be 'Prepostrous'.

Additional Information

Let's understand the meanings of the other marked words - 

• Legitimate - conforming to the law or to rules (वैध)
• Kneel - be in or assume a position in which the body is supported by a knee or the knees (घुटने टेकना)

The correct answer is Option 2.

 

Key Points

• The error lies in the use of the verb "were." The subject "One of the questions" is singular, and therefore it should be followed by the singular verb "was."
• The phrase "One of" indicates that we are referring to a single entity from a group, which requires a singular verb.
• The correct sentence should use "was" instead of "were."

Therefore, the correct answer is Option 2.

 

Correct Sentence: "One of the questions was very difficult."

The correct answer is: Fragile.

Key Points

• The word "Resilient" means the ability to recover quickly from difficulties or tough situations; being strong and adaptable. (लचीला, सहनशील)
• Example: After the storm, the resilient community came together to rebuild their homes.
• "Fragile" refers to something that is easily broken, damaged, or destroyed; lacking strength or resilience. (नाज़ुक, कमजोर)
• Example: The antique vase was so fragile that it broke with the slightest touch.
• Hence, we can infer that the opposite of 'Resilient' is 'Fragile'.

Therefore, the correct answer is: Fragile.

Additional Information

Here are the other options explained along with their Hindi meanings and example sentences:

• Tough (कठोर): Strong and able to withstand difficult conditions.
• Example: She is tough enough to face any challenge that comes her way.
• Buoyant (उत्साही): Able to stay afloat or cheerful and optimistic.
• Example: His buoyant personality always lifts everyone's spirits.
• Flexible (लचीला): Capable of bending easily without breaking; adaptable.
• Example: The gymnast's flexible movements amazed the audience.

The correct answer is Option 1.

 

Key Points

• The given sentence begins with the idea that festivals play a big role in cultural unity.
• Part P follows as it elaborates on how festivals bring people of different beliefs together:
• "They bring together people of different beliefs."
• Part Q comes next as it introduces the uniqueness of regional celebrations:
• "Each region celebrates with its unique customs."
• Part R is third as it discusses the broader impact of shared celebrations in promoting tolerance:
• "Shared celebrations promote tolerance and joy."
• Part S comes last as it mentions the preservation of traditional art forms:
• "They also preserve traditional art forms."
• The paragraph concludes with the idea that festivals strengthen the social fabric.
• The correct sequence is PQRS.

 

Coherent paragraph after rearrangement:

"Festivals play a big role in cultural unity. They bring together people of different beliefs.

Each region celebrates with its unique customs. Shared celebrations promote tolerance and joy. They also preserve traditional art forms. Hence, festivals strengthen the social fabric."

The correct answer is: Option 1 i.e. "Regret a past loss".

Key Points

• The idiom "Cry over spilt milk" means to waste time feeling upset or sad about something that has already happened and cannot be changed. (जो हो चुका है और बदला नहीं जा सकता, उसके लिए दुखी होना)
• Example: It's no use crying over spilt milk; what's done is done, so let's focus on the future.
• "Regret a past loss" refers to feeling sorry or distressed about something that has been lost or a mistake that was made in the past. (पिछले नुकसान के लिए पछताना)
• Example: He regretted selling his childhood home, but there was no point in crying over spilt milk.
• Hence, the idiom "Cry over spilt milk" aligns with the meaning of "Regret a past loss."

Therefore, the correct answer is: Option 1.

Additional Information

Here are the other options explained along with their Hindi meanings and example sentences:

• Ignore problems (समस्याओं को अनदेखा करना): To intentionally avoid addressing or dealing with issues.
• Example: Ignoring problems won't make them go away; you need to face them head-on.
• Be indifferent (उदासीन होना): To show no interest, concern, or emotion about something.
• Example: She seemed indifferent to the criticism she received.
• Work harder (और मेहनत करना): To put in more effort or energy into completing a task or achieving a goal.
• Example: If you want to succeed, you need to work harder than everyone else.

The correct answer is 'aisle'.

 

Key Points

• The word "aisle" refers to a passage between rows of seats, such as in a church or theatre. (गलियारा)
• In the context of a wedding ceremony, the bride walks down the aisle toward the altar.
• The other options: "oil," "isle," and "ail" are incorrect in this context.

​Therefore, the correct answer is 'Option 2'.

Complete Sentence: She walked gracefully down the aisle during the wedding ceremony.

Additional Information

• Isle (द्वीप): A small island.
• Ail (बीमार करना): To trouble or afflict in mind or body.
• Oil (तेल): A viscous liquid used for cooking or lubrication.

The correct answer is Option 4.

 

Key Points

• The primary issue in the sentence lies in the article usage before the word "honest."
• The article "a" is incorrectly used before the word "honest," which starts with a vowel sound.
• When the following word begins with a vowel sound, the article "an" should be used instead of "a" to ensure grammatical accuracy.
• The correct phrase should be "an honest approach," ensuring proper usage of articles.

Therefore, the correct answer is Option 4.

 

Correct Sentence: "She adopted an honest approach to resolving the issue."

The correct answer is Option 2.

 

Key Points

• The issue in the given sentence arises due to the incorrect use of the word "than."
• When expressing a preference between two things, the correct preposition to use is "to," not "than."
• Therefore, "I prefer tea to coffee" is the grammatically correct construction.
• The other options (1: "instead coffee," 3: "rather coffee," 4: "over coffee") are either grammatically incorrect or do not fit the context appropriately.

Therefore, the correct answer is Option 2.

 

Correct Sentence: "I prefer tea to coffee."

 

Additional Information

• Option 1: "instead coffee" – This is grammatically incorrect. "Instead" requires a preposition like "of" to make sense in this context (e.g., "instead of coffee"), but it still wouldn't fit the sentence structure properly.
• Option 3: "rather coffee" – This is incorrect because "rather" cannot be used directly before a noun in this way. It would require a verb or phrase, such as "rather than coffee," but that changes the meaning of the sentence.
• Option 4: "over coffee" – While "over" can sometimes indicate preference, it is less formal and not as commonly used as "to" in this type of sentence.

The correct answer is Option 3.

 

Key Points

• Indirect Speech: The farmer asked his wife why she was upset when he had just returned from the city.
• Key Conversions:
• "why she was upset" becomes "Why are you upset"
• Indirect question "why she was upset" is converted to direct question "Why are you upset" in present tense.
• Pronoun "she" is changed to "you" to suit the direct speech format.
• "when he had just returned" becomes "when I have just returned"
• Pronoun "he" is changed to "I" for direct speech.
• Past perfect tense "had just returned" is converted to present perfect "have just returned" to match the current timeline of the dialogue.
• Reporting verb:
• Indirect: "The farmer asked"
• Converted to: "The farmer said to his wife" to introduce the direct speech.
• Punctuation and Format:
• Direct speech is enclosed in quotation marks.
• Starts with a capital letter "Why" and ends with a question mark "?".
• Reporting clause follows the quoted speech, starting with a lowercase letter after the comma.

Therefore, the correct answer is Option 3.

 

Correct Sentence: "The farmer said to his wife, ‘Why are you upset when I have just returned from the city?’"

 

Additional Information

• Option 1: "The farmer said to his wife, ‘Why are you so upset when I just returned from the city?’"
• Incorrect as "so" adds unnecessary emphasis not present in the indirect speech.
• Past perfect "had just returned" is incorrectly replaced with past tense "just returned."
• Option 2: "The farmer said to his wife, ‘Why did you upset when I returned from the city?’"
• Grammatical error: "did you upset" is incorrect, should be "are you upset."
• Tense mismatch in "returned" instead of "have just returned."
• Option 4: "The farmer said to his wife, ‘Why are you upset when I was just returned from the city?’"
• Incorrect use of passive voice "was just returned," which changes the meaning of the sentence.

The correct answer is: Proposal.

Key Points

• The word "motion" in the context of the sentence refers to a formal proposal put forward for debate or decision in a meeting. (प्रस्ताव)
• Example: The council voted against the motion to increase taxes.
• "Proposal" means a plan or suggestion put forward for consideration or discussion by others, aligning with the context of the sentence. (प्रस्ताव)
• Example: The opposition's proposal to implement stricter regulations was rejected by the committee.
• Hence, "motion" and "proposal" are synonymous in this context.

Therefore, the correct answer is: Proposal.

Additional Information

Here are the other options explained along with their Hindi meanings and example sentences:

• Commotion (हलचल): A state of confused and noisy disturbance.
• Example: The sudden commotion in the marketplace drew everyone's attention.
• Emotion (भावना): A natural instinctive state of mind deriving from one's circumstances, mood, or relationships.
• Example: Her voice was filled with emotion as she thanked everyone for their support.
• Movement (आंदोलन): An act of changing physical location or position or of having this changed.
• Example: The movement of the pendulum is steady and rhythmic.

The correct answer is Option (1) i.e. BCAD.

 

Key Points

• The logical order of the sentence starts with the subject "the bus" – indicated by (B).
• Next comes the verb "arrived" – indicated by (C), showing the action done by the bus.
• The phrase "on time" – indicated by (A), specifies when it happened.
• Finally, indicated by "at the stop" – (D), tells where the bus arrived. completing the sentence meaningfully.

Therefore, the correct answer is BCAD.

 

Additional Information

• Option 2 (BACD): Incorrect because “the bus on time arrived at the stop” is grammatically wrong – the adverbial phrase “on time” should come at the end.
• Option 3 (CBAD): Incorrect as “arrived the bus on time at the stop” does not follow subject–verb order.
• Option 4 (ABCD): Incorrect because “on time the bus arrived at the stop” is awkward and not a natural English structure.

The correct answer is Option 2.

 

Key Points

• The phrase "comprises of" is incorrect because the verb "comprise" already implies inclusion, and the use of "of" is redundant.
• The correct usage is simply "comprises."
• For example, instead of saying "This book comprises of five chapters," the correct sentence would be "This book comprises five chapters."
• Thus, the error lies in Option 2, which uses "comprises of" incorrectly.

Therefore, the correct answer is Option 2.

 

Correct Sentence: "This book comprises five chapters."

The correct answer is Option 4.

 

Key Points

• The word "pattern" is typically used with the preposition "in" to indicate the arrangement or design of objects.
• Option 4, "The chef has arranged the cherries in a pattern," correctly uses the collocation "in a pattern."
• Options 1, 2, and 3 incorrectly use prepositions ("by," "of," or "with") which do not align with the standard collocation for "pattern."

Therefore, the correct answer is Option 4.

 

Correct Sentence: "The chef has arranged the cherries in a pattern."

 

Additional Information

• Option 1: "by a pattern" – The preposition "by" is incorrect in this context as it does not convey arrangement or design.
• Option 2: "of a pattern" – The preposition "of" is incorrect here because it implies possession rather than arrangement.
• Option 3: "with a pattern" – The preposition "with" is incorrect as it does not align with the standard collocation for "pattern."

The correct answer is Option 4.

 

Key Points

• Indirect Speech: They said that they enjoyed watching cricket.
• Key Conversions:
• "We enjoy" becomes "they enjoyed"
• Pronoun "We" is changed to "they" to match the subject of the reporting clause.
• Verb "enjoy" is changed to "enjoyed" to reflect past tense as per the rules of reported speech.
• Reporting verb:
• The reporting verb "said" is retained as no change in tone or context is implied.
• Punctuation and Format:
• Direct speech is converted to indirect speech without using quotation marks.
• The conjunction "that" is used to introduce the reported clause.
• The sentence is in past tense to align with the rules of sequence of tenses.

Therefore, the correct answer is Option 4.

 

Correct Sentence: They said that they enjoyed watching cricket.

 

Additional Information

• Option 1: "They said that they had enjoyed watching cricket."
• Incorrect as it changes the meaning to past perfect tense, which is not implied in the original sentence.
• Option 2: "They said that they have enjoyed watching cricket."
• Incorrect as the present perfect tense "have enjoyed" does not match the reporting verb "said" in the past tense.
• Option 3: "They said that they enjoy watching cricket."
• Incorrect as it retains the present tense "enjoy" instead of converting it to past tense "enjoyed".

The correct answer is: Refuse.

Key Points

• The word "affirm" means to state something as true or to confirm or assert strongly. (पुष्टि करना / दृढ़ता से कहना)
• Example: He affirmed his commitment to the project during the meeting.
• "Refuse" is the antonym of "affirm," meaning to decline, reject, or say no to something. (इंकार करना)
• Example: She refused to participate in the event despite several requests.
• Hence, we can infer that the opposite of 'affirm' is 'refuse'.

Therefore, the correct answer is: Refuse.

Additional Information

Here are the other options explained along with their Hindi meanings and example sentences:

• Accept (स्वीकार करना): To agree to receive or take something willingly.
• Example: He accepted the job offer with great enthusiasm.
• Acknowledge (स्वीकार करना): To recognize the existence, truth, or importance of something.
• Example: She acknowledged her mistake and apologized sincerely.
• Support (समर्थन करना): To back, assist, or provide help to someone or something.
• Example: His family supported him during his challenging times.

The correct answer is Option (1) i.e. BCAD.

 

Key Points

• The logical order of sentence parts is determined by the subject, verb, and other sentence elements.
• Part (B) “the winner” serves as the subject of the sentence.
• Part (C) “was” acts as the helping verb connecting the subject to the action.
• Part (A) “announced” is the main verb describing the action.
• Part (D) “yesterday evening” tells when the action took place and thus comes at the end.
• Hence, the correct sequence is BCAD, forming the sentence: “The winner was announced yesterday evening.”

Therefore, the correct answer is BCAD.

 

Additional Information

• Option 2 (CBAD): Starts with a verb “was,” which makes the sentence incomplete at the beginning.
• Option 3 (ACBD): Begins with “announced,” which cannot start a meaningful sentence without a subject.
• Option 4 (BACD): The structure “the winner announced was yesterday evening” is grammatically incorrect and illogical.

The correct answer is Option 4.

 

Key Points

• Passive voice structure: The object of the active voice sentence becomes the subject of the passive voice sentence.
• In the active voice, the sentence is: "We are cleaning the room."
• To convert to passive voice: Place the object "the room" at the beginning.
• Change the active verb form "are cleaning" to "is being cleaned" (present continuous passive).
• Add the preposition "by" followed by the original subject "us."

Therefore, the correct answer is Option 4.

 

Correct Sentence: "The room is being cleaned by us."

 

Additional Information

• Option 1: "The room is cleaned." – Incorrect tense (simple present passive).
• Option 2: "The room has been cleaning." – Incorrect verb form (has been cleaning is not valid in passive voice).
• Option 3: "The room was cleaned." – Incorrect tense (simple past passive).