UK English Basics Quiz # 1

What is [...] called?

Ellipsis

Triple full stop

Et cetera

Triple period

Choose the sentence with correct capitalisation:

The British mbassador 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 ambassador to Paris is a fine dancer.

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

might

may

Chocolate cake was her favorite _____.

dessert

desert

"The battle was won" is an example of:

Split infinitive

Dangling participle

Comma aplice

Passive voice

Which is the correct abbreviation for three million pounds?

3£m

£3m

£m3

m£3

They ____ want to eat ______ vegetables.

don't; there

don't; their

doesn't; their

doesn't; there

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

by

and

with

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

well; good

good; good

well; well

good; well

"The bird is __ the branch."

in

between

from

on

"The family went __ France last summer"

in

from

to

among

"Is it ___ early for a pause?"

two

too

to

The situation is complex: it has many _________.

aliments

elements

ailments

Which is the past participle?

the

leapt

He

over

Which is an example of the passive voice?

The chicken was cooked.

He cooks the chicken.

He will cook the chicken.

He cooked the chicken.

Which shows correct use of parentheses?

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.

_____ going to see ______ boyfriend tonight.

You're; your

Your; you're

You're; you're

Your; your

They ________ students.

are good

is goods

is good

are goods

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

cheap

low

His actions will ______ the result.

affect

effect

All of the following are prepositions EXCEPT:

about

among

around

too

____ time for the government to flex ____ muscle.

It's; its

Its; it's

Its; its

It's; it's

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

apostrophe

full stop

ellipsis

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

An adjective is:

an action.

a person, place, or thing.

used to describe a noun.

used to describe a verb.

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

The passive voice is less formal.

The active voice is simpler and more direct.

The passive voice is grammatically incorrect.

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

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

True

False

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

diffuse

defuse

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

the B.B.C.

The BBC.

The B.B.C.

the BBC.

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

for

to

that

by

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

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

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

Correct punctuation.