High School English Grammar » Grammar test 26 of 82: Adjectives

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Question 1 of 10: That's a useless thing _________ for charity. Find something else.

Very Good! Correct.

Sorry, Incorrect.

Correct answer: to donate

Explanation: "Pronoun + BE + adjective + noun + infinitive" is a construction that can be used with adjectives concerning: - character: BRAVE, CARELESS, COWARDLY, CRUEL, GENEROUS, GOOD/NICE (=kind), MEAN, RUDE, SELFISH, WICKED, WRONG (morally), RIGHT, FAIR, JUST; - sense: CLEVER, FOOLISH, IDIOTIC, INTELLIGENT, SENSIBLE, SILLY, STUPID; - a number of others: ASTONISHING, CURIOUS, EXTRAORDINARY, FUNNY (=strange), ODD, QUEER, STRANGE, SURPRISING, POINTLESS, USELESS, USEFUL. "That was a clever thing to do." "It was a useful advice to share, thank you." Such comments can be also expressed as exclamations: "What an extraordinary feat to witness!" "What a strange thing to say!" In expressions of disapproval, the adjective can be sometimes omitted: "What a way to speak to your elders!"

2. english exercises / grammar test / learn english grammar/ english online: The waiter was _______ apologetic when she told us our reservation was accidentally cancelled.

(a) more

(b) the most

(c) much

(d) most

Answer: D

Grammar rules: MOST+adjective, without THE, means VERY, especially with adjectives of two or more syllables: annoying, apologetic, disobedient, encouraging, exciting, helpful, important, misleading, etc.
"The news was most exciting: I was going to London."

3. english exercises / grammar test / learn english grammar/ english online: Which sentence is correct?

(a) It was a fair price paying.

(b) It was a fair price to pay.

(c) It was a fair price to paying.

(d) It was a fair price pay.

Answer: B

Grammar rules: "Pronoun + BE + adjective + noun + infinitive" is a construction that can be used with adjectives concerning:
- character: BRAVE, CARELESS, COWARDLY, CRUEL, GENEROUS, GOOD/NICE (=kind), MEAN, RUDE, SELFISH, WICKED, WRONG (morally), RIGHT, FAIR, JUST;
- sense: CLEVER, FOOLISH, IDIOTIC, INTELLIGENT, SENSIBLE, SILLY, STUPID;
- a number of others: ASTONISHING, CURIOUS, EXTRAORDINARY, FUNNY (=strange), ODD, QUEER, STRANGE, SURPRISING, POINTLESS, USELESS, USEFUL.

"That was a clever thing to do."
"It was a useful advice to share, thank you."

Such comments can be also expressed as exclamations:
"What an extraordinary feat to witness!"
"What a strange thing to say!"

In expressions of disapproval, the adjective can be sometimes omitted: "What a way to speak to your elders!"

4. english exercises / grammar test / learn english grammar/ english online: As they walked through the desert, the day kept getting hotter __________.

(a) and hottest

(b) so hotter

(c) than hottest

(d) and hotter

Answer: D

Grammar rules: We express gradual increase using two comparatives joined by AND:
"The music is getting louder and louder."
"They got more and more agitated."

5. english exercises / grammar test / learn english grammar/ english online: Which sentence is correct?

(a) Is it right for your friends taunt this poor boy?

(b) Is it right of your friends taunted this poor boy?

(c) Is it right with your friends to taunt this poor boy?

(d) Is it right of your friends to taunt this poor boy?

Answer: D

Grammar rules: We mainly use the construction "IT + BE + adjective (+ OF + object) + infinitive" with adjectives concerning:
- character: BRAVE, CARELESS, COWARDLY, CRUEL, GENEROUS, GOOD/NICE (=kind), MEAN, RUDE, SELFISH, WICKED, WRONG (morally), as well as FAIR, RIGHT, and JUST with interrogative or negative verbs;
- sense: CLEVER, FOOLISH, IDIOTIC, INTELLIGENT, SENSIBLE, SILLY, STUPID.

"It was silly (of me) to underestimate them."
"It was rude of them to offend our host."

We can omit (OF + object) in the sense-related adjectives and sometimes in the character-related ones, except for GOOD/NICE.

6. english exercises / grammar test / learn english grammar/ english online: The disabled _______ outraged about the new law.

(a) is

(b) were

(c) -

(d) was

Answer: B

Grammar rules: RICH, POOR, HEALTHY, SICK, LIVING, DEAD, BLIND, DEAF, DISABLED, UNEMPLOYED and a few other adjectives can be used to represent a class of people by adding THE before them and treating them as plural nouns.
"The dead were buried in the clearing."

THE can be used in the same way with national adjectives ending in -ch and -sh: THE WELSH, THE SPANISH, THE DUTCH.

National adjectives ending in -se and -ss can be used similarly, but their meaning can be singular as well: THE CHINESE, THE JAPANESE, THE BURMESE, THE SWISS.

7. english exercises / grammar test / learn english grammar/ english online: See? It's not so ___________ you expected, is it?

(a) hard as

(b) hard so

(c) as hard as

(d) harder

Answer: A

Grammar rules: For comparisons with the positive form of an adjective, we use AS ... AS in the affirmative, and NOT AS/NOT SO ... AS in the negative:
"You are as smart as your sister."
"This is not as/so scary as I imagined."

8. english exercises / grammar test / learn english grammar/ english online: Which order of adjectives is NOT correct?

(a) new swimming gear

(b) cotton red panties

(c) an old silk handkerchief

(d) a big empty room

Answer: B

Grammar rules: The usual order of adjectives of quality:
1. size (except "little")
2. general physical description
3. age, plus "little"
4. shape
5. color
6. material
7. origin
8. purpose (gerunds used to form compound nouns: "walking stick," "swimming gear")

Adjectives describing personality or emotion come after general physical description, but before colors.

9. english exercises / grammar test / learn english grammar/ english online: Which sentence is NOT correct?

(a) The child's little pink mouth was open in surprise.

(b) I found a blue little book here. Is it yours?

(c) The small wooden box smelled of cigars.

(d) The kidnapper kept his victim in a dark little room.

Answer: B

Grammar rules: LITTLE, OLD and YOUNG:
- When "little," "old," and "young" are used as part of an adjective-noun combination and not to give information, they stay attached to the noun: "kind old lady," "happy little boy," "This young man scared my dog."
- You can combine "little+old+noun," but not "little+young+noun": "little old lady."
- When you use "young" or "old" to give information, they occupy the third position in the order of adjectives, after size and physical description, but before shape, color, material, origin, and purpose.
- Adjectives of personality/emotion can come before or after "young" and "old": "a young energetic woman" or "an energetic young woman," BUT if you want to emphasize the age, put it first.
- Similarly, "little" can be used in the third position in the order of adjectives, BUT if you want to emphasize the size, it's better to use "small."

10. english exercises / grammar test / learn english grammar/ english online: Which sentence is grammatically correct?

(a) The company afloat was barely.

(b) The afloat company was barely managing.

(c) The company was barely afloat.

(d) The company was afloat barely.

Answer: C

Grammar rules: Some adjectives of quality have only one possible position in a sentence - that is, can be used only attributively or only predicatively.

Adjectives that have to come before their nouns: chief, main, principal, sheer, utter.

Adjectives that have to follow the verb: afraid, upset, adrift, afloat, alike, alive, alone, ashamed, asleep.

 

 

 

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Common Errors in English

1. Misused forms – Using a Wrong Preposition

2. Misused forms – Misuse of the Infinitive

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4. Misused forms – Miscellaneous Examples

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6. Incorrect Omissions – Omission of Prepositions

7. Incorrect Omissions – Miscellaneous Examples

8. Unnecessary Words – Unnecessary Prepositions

9. Unnecessary Words – Unnecessary Articles

10. Unnecessary Words – The Infinitive without "To"

11. Unnecessary Words – Miscellaneous Examples

12. Misplaced Words – Wrong Position of Adverbs

13. Misplaced Words – Miscellaneous Examples

14. Confused Words – Prepositions often Confused

15. Confused Words – Verbs often Confused

16. Confused Words – Adverbs often Confused

17. Confused Words – Adjectives often Confused

18. Confused Words – Nouns often Confused

19. Confused Words – Confusion of Numbers

20. Confused Words – Confusion of Parts of Speech

 

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The following simple English grammar tips and tricks will help you to learn and memorize English grammar rules and speak correctly. If you are on this site for English grammar practice, these tips will really help you. Let's start.

Invest your time in learning

It surely takes some time to learn English. There is no shortcut way to learn it. Some websites may say that they will teach you English in seven days or one month. These are false offers. Invest some time in learning and practicing. Your English skills will surely improve.

Speak, speak, and speak!

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Slow down your speaking speed

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Use Mobile apps

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Install and use a dictionary app in your mobile

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Learn English idioms and phrasal verbs

Idioms and phrasal verbs are very common in everyday English conversation. If you do not know them, you may fail to understand the correct meaning of what the other person is saying. So, do not ignore them. Try to learn the most common English idioms and phrasal verbs.

Listen to news bulletins

Almost every radio and television channel broadcasts news bulletins. If you have a smartphone, radio or television, you can listen to these English news bulletins. Besides learning the correct pronunciation, you can learn correct English. Listening to these bulletins will also improve your fluency. This is a common technique used by English learners.

Read out loud

How does your English sound? The pronunciation style of some people is very bad. But there is a simple and easy way to fix improve pronunciation. Take a newspaper or any other script written in English and read out loud. This way you can hear and test your own pronunciation. If you are not happy with your own pronunciation, keep practicing and your English pronunciation will surely improve.

Learn new words daily

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Learn sentences

Besides learning common words, try learning common sentences used in everyday English communication. This will give you a huge boost in your learning efforts.

Write every day

When you write, do not be shy of your mistakes. Try to write at least a few paragraphs, ideally at least one page. It is a great practice to use your newly learned words and practice grammar. This will also improve your writing skills.

Watch English movies

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Language swap

There are several websites where you can find people who are native English speakers and want to help your learn English if you teach them your language. This is free and can be a great way to learn from native speakers. Many learners are using this method and you should give a try.

Go to a mentor

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Try to correct your mistakes

It is common to make mistakes. Every time you make a mistake, write it in a separate piece of paper. Make a list of mistakes. Check your mistakes from time to time and try not to make these mistakes again when you practice. These mistakes are clear and good indications of your weakness in English.

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Be an advance learner

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Start with "Tense"

There are mainly three types of tense - past, present and future. Usually, verbs indicate the correct form of each tense. Besides learning tense, you should memorize some verbs too. Do not worry. It is interesting and easy to learn the necessary verbs.

Learn common pronoun usage

Do you know the difference between the common subject pronouns and object pronouns such as I/me, we/us, he/him, she/her, they/them?

We use subject pronouns such as I, we, he she, they when the subject is doing an action. Usually, we use subject pronouns at the beginning of a sentence. Example: I cannot remember the story.

But we do not start a sentence with object pronouns such as me, us, him, her, them. Example: Call him.

Active voice and passive voice

Many English learning students get confused here. In active voice, the subject performs an action. In passive voice, the subject and the object of a sentence swap to form the correct sentence.

Incorrect: The cinema was gone to by me.

Correct: The cinema was enjoyed by me.

Prepositions

A preposition defines the relationship between an object and its surroundings. Without the proper use of prepositions, your English will sound weird. Luckily, there are only a handful of prepositions and these are easy to learn.

Learning new words can be a matter of fun but you need to follow some effective methods to learn new words faster. Read them all in the list below.

Read, read, and read

You will find many new words that you need to learn in novels and literary works. You will be most benefited if you read classic literary books. You should also read magazines and newspapers because these are also good sources of new words that you need to learn. These sources often use high quality English that often contain both common and advance words.

Vocabulary wordbooks

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Learn some new words everyday

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Use flashcards

Using flashcards is a common way to learn new words. You maybe know that you can buy flashcards from bookshops. Some learners find it easier to learn new words with flashcards. You should give a try too.

Set a target

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Look up new words

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Play some word games

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Use your newly learned words

Take a piece of paper and make one or more sentences for every word you just learned. This way every word will be more memorable. It can take some time but it definitely has its benefits.

Engage in conversations

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Take vocabulary tests

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