The Initial Plus Grammar Test

Multiple-choice test
Make a note of your score at the end!

Choose the best answer.
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  1. In the clause: "She became very angry indeed", the word 'angry' is ...
    1.   ... an adverb
    2.   ... a noun
    3.   ... an adjective
    4.   ... a verb
  2. In the clause: "She became very angry indeed", the word 'very' is ...
    1.   ... an adverb
    2.   ... a noun
    3.   ... a verb
    4.   ... an adjective
  3. In the clause: "She became very angry indeed", the word 'became' is ...
    1.   ... a modal verb
    2.   ... a lexical or main verb
    3.   ... a copular verb
    4.   ... an auxiliary verb
  4. In the clause: "She became very angry indeed", the phrase 'very angry indeed' is ...
    1.   ... an adjective phrase
    2.   ... a verb phrase
    3.   ... an adverb phrase
    4.   ... a noun phrase
  5. We say 'delicious citrus fruit' not 'citrus delicious fruit' because ...
    1.   ... we can't say 'more' or 'most delicious'
    2.   ... the noun is 'citrus fruit'
    3.   ... the word 'citrus' classifies the word 'fruit'
    4.   ... we can't say 'more' or 'most citrus'
  6. Adding '-er' and '-est to make comparative and superlative forms of adjectives is called ...
    1.   ... declination
    2.   ... inflexion
    3.   ... periphrasis
    4.   ... prefixation
  7. In the clause "My mother came to help make the dinner", the word 'came' is ...
    1.   ... a non-finite verb
    2.   ... a finite verb
    3.   ... a copular verb
    4.   ... an infinitive
  8. In the clause "My mother came to help make the dinner", the word 'make' is ...
    1.   ... a non-finite verb
    2.   ... a copular verb
    3.   ... a finite verb
    4.   ... an auxiliary verb
  9. In the clause "She has arrived at last", the word 'has' is ...
    1.   ... a non-finite verb
    2.   ... a copular verb
    3.   ... a primary auxiliary verb
    4.   ... a modal auxiliary verb
  10. We can't say "She arrived the hotel" because ...
    1.   ... the verb never takes an object
    2.   ... the verb is non-finite
    3.   ... the verb always takes an object
    4.   ... 'the hotel' can never act as an object
  11. We can't say "She made" because ...
    1.   ... the verb is used to link the noun to an adjective
    2.   ... the verb always takes an object
    3.   ... the verb never takes an object
    4.   ... the verb is non-finite
  12. In the two clauses, "The bird flew away" and "She flew the plane", the verb ...
    1.   ... always takes an object
    2.   ... is different in each case
    3.   ... changes its meaning depending on whether it has an object
    4.   ... cannot be transitive
  13. In the clause, "He walked off his hangover" the verb phrase is ...
    1.   ... he walked off
    2.   ... he walked
    3.   ... walked off
    4.   ... walked
  14. In the clause, "He walked over the bridge" the verb phrase is ...
    1.   ... walked over
    2.   ... he walked
    3.   ... walked
    4.   ... he walked over
  15. We can't say, "He doesn't must do it" but we can say "He didn't need to do it" because ...
    1.   ... the first clause is in the present tense and the second is in the past
    2.   ... 'must' is a central or pure modal auxiliary verb and 'need to' is a semi-modal auxiliary verb
    3.   ... 'must' is a semi-modal auxiliary verb and 'need to' is a pure modal auxiliary verb
    4.   ... 'need to' is not an auxiliary verb
  16. In the clause, "He could play the piano well as a child", the word 'could' refers to ...
    1.   ... permission
    2.   ... possibility
    3.   ... obligation
    4.   ... ability
  17. In the clause, "I will cook if you like", the word 'will' refers to ...
    1.   ... permission
    2.   ... futurity
    3.   ... willingness
    4.   ... ability
  18. In the clause, "I was smoking a cigarette", the tense of the verb is ...
    1.   ... past progressive
    2.   ... present perfect
    3.   ... past simple
    4.   ... past perfect
  19. In the clause, "I had been waiting for hours", the tense of the verb is ...
    1.   ... past progressive
    2.   ... past perfect progressive
    3.   ... past perfect
    4.   ... present perfect progressive
  20. In the clause, "She'll have been driving all night", the verb tense is ...
    1.   ... future perfect progressive
    2.   ... future simple
    3.   ... future perfect
    4.   ... future progressive
  21. The sentence, "She hasn't read it but it's on her holiday list" can be described as ...
    1.   ... a complex sentence
    2.   ... a complex-compound sentence
    3.   ... a compound sentence
    4.   ... a simple sentence
  22. The sentence, "Will you be quiet, please?" functions as ...
    1.   ... an imperative
    2.   ... a positive
    3.   ... a negative
    4.   ... a question
  23. The tense of the verb in "He had been thinking of her" is ...
    1.   ... past perfect progressive
    2.   ... past perfect simple
    3.   ... past progressive
    4.   ... present perfect progressive
  24. The normal word order for positive sentences in English is ...
    1.   ... Verb - Subject - Object
    2.   ... Object - Verb - Subject
    3.   ... Subject - Object - Verb
    4.   ... Subject - Verb - Object
  25. The placement of the word 'concerned' in "the people concerned" is unusual because ...
    1.   ... adjectives in English normally come before the noun
    2.   ... it should be 'the concerned people'
    3.   ... the word 'concerned' can't be used as an adjective
    4.   ... it should be 'the people are concerned'
  26. In the sentence, "Having opened the door, he went in", the word 'having' is ...
    1.   ... a past participle
    2.   ... a present progressive
    3.   ... a present participle
    4.   ... a gerund
  27. The word 'because' in "She came because I asked" is ...
    1.   ... a correlating conjunction
    2.   ... a defining conjunction
    3.   ... a coordinating conjunction
    4.   ... a subordinating conjunction
  28. In the sentence, "I'll come when I can", the word 'when' is ...
    1.   ... an adverb
    2.   ... an adjective
    3.   ... a pronoun
    4.   ... a conjunction
  29. In the sentence, "When did they arrive?", the word 'when' is ...
    1.   ... an adverb
    2.   ... a pronoun
    3.   ... an adjective
    4.   ... a conjunction
  30. In the sentence, "I have been here since ten o'clock", the word 'since' is ...
    1.   ... an adverb
    2.   ... a noun
    3.   ... a preposition
    4.   ... a conjunction
  31. In the expression, "take those tickets", the word 'those' is ...
    1.   ... a demonstrative determiner
    2.   ... an adverb
    3.   ... an adjective
    4.   ... a pronoun
  32. In the clause, "He is being stupid" the verb is used ...
    1.   ... with an object
    2.   ... dynamically
    3.   ... statively
    4.   ... as an auxiliary
  33. "I am seeing the doctor tomorrow" refers to ...
    1.   ... a future based on present evidence
    2.   ... a present arrangement
    3.   ... a current activity
    4.   ... a future prediction
  34. In the sentence, "He was cycling when he saw the accident", the first verb refers to ...
    1.   ... an action which began before the accident
    2.   ... an action that definitely stopped immediately
    3.   ... an action that definitely continued after the accident
    4.   ... an action which was habitual
  35. In the phrase, "the class in Room 16", the word 'class' is ...
    1.   ... a mass noun
    2.   ... a proper noun
    3.   ... an uncountable noun
    4.   ... a collective noun
  36. "I don't have many furniture" is not possible because ...
    1.   ... we can't use 'many' in negative sentences
    2.   ... 'furniture' is a mass noun
    3.   ... 'furniture' is countable
    4.   ... 'many' cannot be used in the plural
  37. There is no article (a, an or the) in "Alligators are aggressive" because ...
    1.   ... we are referring to a collective noun
    2.   ... we are referring to specific alligators
    3.   ... 'alligator' is a countable noun
    4.   ... we are referring to all alligators everywhere
  38. In the clause, "She waited outside", the word 'outside' is ...
    1.   ... a pronoun
    2.   ... an adverb
    3.   ... a noun
    4.   ... a preposition
  39. The word 'wonderfully' in, "It appeared wonderfully clever" is ...
    1.   ... modifying the word 'clever'
    2.   ... modifying 'it'
    3.   ... an adjective
    4.   ... modifying the verb 'appeared'
  40. "I frequently can see it" is wrong because ...
    1.   ... adverbs always follow verbs
    2.   ... adverbs of indefinite frequency always come before the main verb
    3.   ... adverbs of indefinite frequency cannot come before the auxiliary verb
    4.   ... no adverbs can come before auxiliary verbs
  41. The difference between "If he came, I'd talk to him" and "If he comes, I'll talk to him" is that ...
    1.   ... the first is less likely than the second
    2.   ... the second refers to the present and the first refers to the past
    3.   ... the second is less likely than the first
    4.   ... the first is impossible and the second is possible
  42. "He spoke too quickly" contains ...
    1.   ... an adverb following an adjective
    2.   ... an adjective following an adverb
    3.   ... two adverbs
    4.   ... two adjectives
  43. In the sentence, "I don't like this car as much as that", the word 'that' is ...
    1.   ... a pronoun
    2.   ... a noun
    3.   ... a verb
    4.   ... a demonstrative
  44. In the clause, "Anybody can come", the word 'anybody' is ...
    1.   ... a noun
    2.   ... an adjective
    3.   ... a pronoun
    4.   ... an adverb
  45. The term "tree surgeon" is an example of ...
    1.   ... noun + noun compounding
    2.   ... adjective + verb compounding
    3.   ... verb + noun compounding
    4.   ... adjective + noun compounding
  46. In "I did it myself", the word 'myself' is ...
    1.   ... a possessive pronoun
    2.   ... a reflexive pronoun
    3.   ... an object pronoun
    4.   ... a possessive determiner
  47. In "He sold me them", the word 'me' is ...
    1.   ... a possessive pronoun
    2.   ... the indirect object
    3.   ... the direct object
    4.   ... the subject
  48. In "He sold me them", the word 'them' is ...
    1.   ... the direct object
    2.   ... the indirect object
    3.   ... a possessive pronoun
    4.   ... a subject pronoun
  49. In the clause "It's expensive enough", the word 'enough' is ...
    1.   ... an adjective
    2.   ... a determiner
    3.   ... a preposition
    4.   ... an adverb
  50. This is the last question. Make a note of your score NOW.
    In "Why not tell him?", the word 'tell' is ...
    1.   ... a to-infinitive
    2.   ... the object of 'Why'
    3.   ... an infinitive
    4.   ... a finite verb