Trinity ISE English Usage Practice — All Questions
22 questions
This time next week, I ___ on a beach in Portugal. Which choice is correct?
- a.will lie
- b.will be lying✓
- c.lie
- d.have lain
'This time next week' points to an action in progress at a specific future moment, so the future continuous 'will be lying' is correct. The simple future 'will lie' does not stress the action in progress.
The bridge ___ in the nineteenth century and is still in use today. Which choice is correct?
- a.built
- b.was building
- c.has built
- d.was built✓
The bridge received the action, so the passive is needed, and a finished past time ('the nineteenth century') calls for the past simple: 'was built'. 'Has built' is active and present perfect.
I'd rather you ___ me before making such a big decision. Which choice is correct?
- a.had told✓
- b.told
- c.tell
- d.would tell
'I'd rather you' expressing a wish about the past is followed by the past perfect: 'had told'. This structure uses a past form to talk about something the speaker wishes had happened.
She's the most helpful person ___ I have ever worked with. Which choice is correct?
- a.what
- b.which
- c.that✓
- d.who
After a superlative like 'the most helpful person', the relative pronoun 'that' is the natural choice. 'What' is never a relative pronoun here, and 'which' is used for things.
Not only ___ the deadline, but she also improved the design. Which choice is correct?
- a.she met
- b.did she meet✓
- c.she did meet
- d.met she
When a sentence begins with 'Not only', the subject and auxiliary invert: 'did she meet'. This inversion is required after certain negative or limiting phrases at the start of a clause.
The volunteers made a real ___ to the lives of local families. Which word fits best?
- a.change
- b.effect
- c.difference✓
- d.result
The fixed expression is 'make a difference', meaning to have a positive impact. 'Make a change' has a different meaning, and 'effect' and 'result' do not pair with 'make' in this idiom.
I completely lost ___ of time while reading and missed my bus. Which word fits best?
- a.track✓
- b.sight
- c.way
- d.sense
The idiom is 'lose track of time', meaning to fail to notice how much time has passed. The other nouns do not form this fixed expression with 'lose ... of time'.
The instructions were brief but very ___, so the task was easy to complete. Which word fits best?
- a.vague
- b.wordy
- c.complicated
- d.clear✓
If the task was easy to complete, the instructions must have been 'clear'. 'Vague', 'wordy', and 'complicated' would make a task harder, contradicting the sentence.
After weeks of practice, the routine finally became second ___ to her. Which word fits best?
- a.mind
- b.nature✓
- c.sense
- d.thought
The idiom 'second nature' means something done so easily it feels automatic. The other nouns do not complete this fixed phrase.
The charity relies ___ donations from the public to fund its work. Which word fits best?
- a.on✓
- b.at
- c.for
- d.with
The verb 'rely' is followed by 'on' when naming what someone depends on. 'Rely on donations' is the correct pairing; the other prepositions do not follow 'rely'.
The scientist's ___ changed the way we understand the disease. Which form is correct?
- a.discover
- b.discovered
- c.discovery✓
- d.discovering
After the possessive 'scientist's' a noun is needed, and 'discovery' is the noun. 'Discover' is a verb and 'discovering' is a participle.
The children behaved ___ during the entire school trip. Which form is correct?
- a.responsible
- b.responsibly✓
- c.responsibility
- d.response
The blank describes how the children behaved, so an adverb is needed: 'responsibly'. 'Responsible' is an adjective and 'responsibility' a noun.
It was an ___ decision that no one had planned in advance. Which form is correct?
- a.expect
- b.expectation
- c.expectedly
- d.unexpected✓
Before the noun 'decision' an adjective is needed, and the meaning 'not planned' calls for 'unexpected'. 'Expect' is a verb and 'expectation' a noun.
The council hopes to ___ the old library and reopen it next year. Which form is correct?
- a.strengthen✓
- b.strength
- c.strong
- d.strongly
After 'to' a base verb is needed, and 'strengthen' means to make stronger. 'Strength' is a noun, 'strong' an adjective, and 'strongly' an adverb.
___ he had studied hard, he found the exam surprisingly difficult. Which connector fits best?
- a.Because
- b.Even though✓
- c.So that
- d.Unless
There is a contrast between studying hard and finding the exam difficult, so 'Even though' is correct. 'Because' shows cause, which would not fit this contrast.
We saved money ___ making our own repairs instead of hiring someone. Which phrase fits?
- a.in order to
- b.so that
- c.although
- d.by✓
'By + -ing' explains the method used to achieve something: 'by making our own repairs'. The other options express purpose or contrast rather than method.
She apologised ___ arriving late to the interview. Which preposition fits?
- a.for✓
- b.of
- c.about
- d.to
The verb 'apologise' is followed by 'for' plus the reason. 'Apologise for arriving late' is the correct pattern; the other prepositions do not fit here.
The museum is open every day ___ Mondays, when it is closed for cleaning. Which word fits?
- a.beside
- b.besides
- c.except✓
- d.instead
'Except' introduces the one thing left out of a general statement: open every day 'except' Mondays. 'Besides' means 'in addition to', which gives the opposite meaning.
Which sentence is correct?
- a.Despite of the rain, we enjoyed the walk.
- b.Despite the rain, we enjoyed the walk.✓
- c.Despite the rain, but we enjoyed the walk.
- d.Despite of the rain, so we enjoyed the walk.
'Despite' is followed directly by a noun phrase, with no 'of'. It also should not be paired with 'but' or 'so', so 'Despite the rain, we enjoyed the walk' is correct.
Which sentence is grammatically correct?
- a.He is used to work night shifts.
- b.He is use to working night shifts.
- c.He is used to work night shifts now.
- d.He is used to working night shifts.✓
'Be used to' meaning 'be accustomed to' is followed by the -ing form: 'used to working'. This is different from 'used to + base verb', which describes a past habit.
Which sentence uses the reflexive pronoun correctly?
- a.They organised the whole event by themselves.✓
- b.They organised the whole event by theirselves.
- c.They organised the whole event by themself.
- d.They organised the whole event by theirself.
The standard plural reflexive pronoun is 'themselves'. 'Theirselves', 'themself', and 'theirself' are non-standard forms.
Which question is formed correctly?
- a.How long you have been waiting?
- b.How long have been you waiting?
- c.How long have you been waiting?✓
- d.How long you been waiting?
In a present perfect continuous question, the auxiliary 'have' comes before the subject: 'How long have you been waiting?'. The subject 'you' must sit between 'have' and 'been'.