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