The Initial Plus Grammar Test

Multiple-choice test
eltconcourse.com

Choose the best answer.
Make a note of your score at the end!

  1. In the clause: "She became very angry indeed", the word 'angry' is ...
    1.   ... an adverb
    2.   ... a verb
    3.   ... a noun
    4.   ... an adjective
  2. In the clause: "She became very angry indeed", the word 'very' is ...
    1.   ... a noun
    2.   ... a verb
    3.   ... an adverb
    4.   ... an adjective
  3. In the clause: "She became very angry indeed", the word 'became' is ...
    1.   ... a modal auxiliary verb
    2.   ... a lexical 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.   ... an adverb phrase
    4.   ... a verb phrase
  5. We say 'delicious citrus fruit' not 'citrus delicious fruit' because ...
    1.   ... the word 'citrus' classifies the word 'fruit'
    2.   ... we can't say 'more' or 'most delicious'
    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.   ... periphrasis
    2.   ... declination
    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 non-finite verb
    3.   ... a copular verb
    4.   ... a finite 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 modal auxiliary verb
    2.   ... a non-finite verb
    3.   ... a copular verb
    4.   ... a primary auxiliary verb
  10. We can't say "She arrived the hotel" because ...
    1.   ... 'the hotel' can never act as an object
    2.   ... the verb always takes an object
    3.   ... the verb is non-finite
    4.   ... the verb never takes an object
  11. We can't say "She made" because ...
    1.   ... the verb is non-finite
    2.   ... the verb always takes an object
    3.   ... the verb is used to link the noun to an adjective
    4.   ... the verb never takes an object
  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.   ... is different in each case
    3.   ... cannot be transitive
    4.   ... always takes an object
  13. In the clause, "He walked off his hangover" the verb phrase is ...
    1.   ... he walked
    2.   ... walked
    3.   ... walked off
    4.   ... he walked off
  14. In the clause, "He walked over the bridge" the verb phrase is ...
    1.   ... he walked over
    2.   ... walked over
    3.   ... walked
    4.   ... he walked
  15. We can't say, "He doesn't must do it" but we can say "He didn't need to do it" because ...
    1.   ... 'must' is a central or pure modal auxiliary and 'need to' is a semi-modal auxiliary
    2.   ... 'must' is a semi-modal auxiliary and 'need to' is a pure modal auxiliary
    3.   ... the first clause is in the present tense and the second is in the past
    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.   ... possibility
    2.   ... permission
    3.   ... ability
    4.   ... obligation
  17. In the clause, "I will cook if you like", the word 'will' refers to ...
    1.   ... permission
    2.   ... ability
    3.   ... willingness
    4.   ... futurity
  18. In the clause, "I was smoking a cigarette", the tense of the verb is ...
    1.   ... past perfect
    2.   ... past progressive
    3.   ... present perfect
    4.   ... past simple
  19. In the clause, "I had been waiting for hours", the tense of the verb is ...
    1.   ... past perfect
    2.   ... present perfect progressive
    3.   ... past progressive
    4.   ... past perfect progressive
  20. The the clause, "She'll have been driving all night", the verb tense is ...
    1.   ... future perfect
    2.   ... future simple
    3.   ... future perfect progressive
    4.   ... future progressive
  21. The sentence, "She hasn't read it but it's on her holiday list" can be described as ...
    1.   ... a simple sentence
    2.   ... a complex sentence
    3.   ... a complex-compound sentence
    4.   ... a compound sentence
  22. The sentence, "Will you be quiet, please?" functions as ...
    1.   ... a positive
    2.   ... a negative
    3.   ... an imperative
    4.   ... a question
  23. The tense of the verb in "He had been thinking of her" is ...
    1.   ... present perfect progressive
    2.   ... past progressive
    3.   ... past perfect simple
    4.   ... past perfect progressive
  24. The normal word order for positive sentences in English is ...
    1.   ... Object - Verb - Subject
    2.   ... Subject - Object - Verb
    3.   ... Subject - Verb - Object
    4.   ... Verb - Subject - Object
  25. The placement of the word 'concerned' in "the people concerned" is unusual because ...
    1.   ... the word 'concerned' can't be used as an adjective
    2.   ... it should be 'the concerned people'
    3.   ... adjectives in English normally come before the noun
    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 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 coordinating conjunction
    2.   ... a subordinating conjunction
    3.   ... a correlating conjunction
    4.   ... a defining conjunction
  28. In the sentence, "I'll come when I can", the word 'when' is ...
    1.   ... an adjective
    2.   ... a pronoun
    3.   ... an adverb
    4.   ... a conjunction
  29. In the sentence, "When did they arrive?", the word 'when' is ...
    1.   ... an adjective
    2.   ... a conjunction
    3.   ... an adverb
    4.   ... a pronoun
  30. In the sentence, "I have been here since ten o'clock", the word 'since' is ...
    1.   ... a noun
    2.   ... an adverb
    3.   ... a conjunction
    4.   ... a preposition
  31. In the expression, "take those tickets", the word 'those' is ...
    1.   ... a pronoun
    2.   ... a demonstrative
    3.   ... an adverb
    4.   ... an adjective
  32. In the clause, "he is being stupid" the verb is used ...
    1.   ... with an object
    2.   ... statively
    3.   ... dynamically
    4.   ... as an auxiliary
  33. "I am seeing the doctor tomorrow" refers to ...
    1.   ... a present arrangement
    2.   ... a current activity
    3.   ... a future prediction
    4.   ... a future based on present evidence
  34. In the sentence, "He was cycling when he saw the accident", the first verb refers to ...
    1.   ... an action that definitely stopped immediately
    2.   ... an action which began before the accident
    3.   ... an action which was habitual
    4.   ... an action that definitely continued after the accident
  35. In the phrase, "the class in Room 16", the word 'class' is ...
    1.   ... an uncountable noun
    2.   ... a mass noun
    3.   ... a collective noun
    4.   ... a proper 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.   ... 'many' cannot be used in the plural
    4.   ... 'furniture' is countable
  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.   ... we are referring to all alligators everywhere
    4.   ... 'alligator' is a countable noun
  38. In the clause, "she waited outside", the word 'outside' is ...
    1.   ... an adverb
    2.   ... a preposition
    3.   ... a noun
    4.   ... a pronoun
  39. The word 'wonderfully' in, "it appeared wonderfully clever" is ...
    1.   ... modifying the verb 'appeared'
    2.   ... modifying 'it'
    3.   ... modifying the word 'clever'
    4.   ... an adjective
  40. "I frequently can see it" is wrong because ...
    1.   ... no adverbs can come before auxiliary verbs
    2.   ... adverbs of indefinite frequency always come before the main verb
    3.   ... adverbs always follow verbs
    4.   ... adverbs of indefinite frequency cannot come before the auxiliary verb
  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 second refers to the present and the first refers to the past
    2.   ... the second is less likely than the first
    3.   ... the first is impossible and the second is possible
    4.   ... the first is less likely than the second
  42. "He spoke too quickly" contains ...
    1.   ... an adverb following an adjective
    2.   ... two adverbs
    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 verb
    2.   ... a demonstrative
    3.   ... a noun
    4.   ... a pronoun
  44. In the clause, "Anybody can come", the word 'anybody' is ...
    1.   ... an adverb
    2.   ... a pronoun
    3.   ... a noun
    4.   ... an adjective
  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 reflexive pronoun
    2.   ... a possessive determiner
    3.   ... a possessive pronoun
    4.   ... an object pronoun
  47. In "He sold me them", the word 'me' is ...
    1.   ... the subject
    2.   ... a possessive pronoun
    3.   ... the indirect object
    4.   ... the direct object
  48. In "He sold me them", the word 'them' is ...
    1.   ... the indirect object
    2.   ... a possessive pronoun
    3.   ... a subject pronoun
    4.   ... the direct object
  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.   ... the object of 'Why'
    2.   ... a to-infinitive
    3.   ... a finite verb
    4.   ... an infinitive