UK English Basic Skills Test
Which
of the following sentences is punctuated correctly?
a. "Come
here," she said, and let me get a good look at you."
b. Come
here she said, and let me get a good look at you.
c. 'Come
here' she said. 'and let me get a good look at you.'
d. "Come
here", she said, "and let me get a good look at you."
Which
of the following sentences illustrates correct verb and verb tense usage?
a. Did
Annabel knowingly lie on the witness stand?
b. We
think the judge will have noticed something strange in her behaviour.
c. The
lawyers had decided to keep her testimony a secret.
d. Somehow,
all of the newspapers gotten hold of the story.
Which
of the following sentences is NOT punctuated correctly?
a. We
only expect three things from our dog: loyalty, affection and tail wagging.
b. I
need you to pick up several boxes of paperclips, pens and pencils; three pounds
each of potatoes, carrots and peas; and my dry cleaning.
c. Marcy,
my parrot, squawked for an hour, before finally calming down.
d. All
of the above are punctuated correctly.
Which
of the following sentences illustrates the proper use of parallel
construction?
a. Arthur
failed when he tried to open the lock with a key, but succeeded when he tried
to open it with a hammer.
b. We
painted the conference room yellow, hung a poster on the wall and are
rearranging the chairs.
c. No
one in the room knew that the doors had been locked and that policemen will be
running up the stairs.
d. Andrea
is incapable of walking and to talk at the same time.
Choose
the series of articles and conjunctions that best completes the following
sentence.
Neither
we ________ Sal, our neighbour, could understand ________ it had been our dog
Rover or Sal's cat Mittens _________ had destroyed all the flower beds in the
middle of _______ night.
a. nor,
whether, that, the
b. or,
if, who, the
c. and,
whether, than, a
d. nor,
if, that, a
Complete
the following sentence by choosing the phrase with the best word order from the
options given.
The
excited children, who had run toward the loud _____________ .
a. music
and then told the others about the ice cream truck outside
b. music,
are telling to the others about the ice cream truck outside
c. ice
cream truck to tell the others about the music outside
d. music,
told the others about the ice cream truck outside
Choose
the series of adjectives and adverbs that best completes the following
sentence.
The
_______ , _______ odour was ________ coming from the chemistry lab up the
street.
a. pungent,
nastily, clearness
b. pungently,
nastily, clearly
c. pungently,
nasty, clear
d. nasty,
pungent, clearly
Choose
the phrase that best completes the sentence below without creating a run-on
sentence.
It's
never too late to learn how to swim ________________ you may fall off a boat!
a. ,
you never know when
b. you
never know when
c. —you
never know as
d. ;
you never know when
Choose
the series of adjectives and adverbs that best completes the following
sentence.
The
helium-__________ balloon rose __________ into the air; the villagers knew then
that their __________ leader was off on another mission.
a. power,
powerful, powered
b. powered,
powered, powerful
c. powered,
powerfully, powerful
d. powerful,
powered, powerfully
Choose
the series of pronouns that best completes the following sentence.
Victor,
who stole _______ ideas and used them to make _______ a millionaire, never once
offered _______ a word of thanks.
a. our,
himself, we
b. their,
them, himself
c. your,
us, you
d. our,
himself, us
Choose
the series of adjectives and adverbs that best completes the following
sentence.
Of
the two books, Sam's is definitely the __________ ; however, even though
Sandra's didn't turn out as __________ as expected, she still did a __________
job of writing it.
a. better,
well, good
b. best,
good, good
c. better,
good, better
d. best,
well, well
Rearrange
the following words to create the most logical and grammatically correct
sentence.
last
what ! it's did you night , over After
a. After
what night, it's over you did last!
b. After
what you did last night, it's over!
c. over
what you did last night, it's After!
d. After,
it's over what you did last night!
Choose
the series of prepositions that best completes the following sentence.
Jack,
leaning casually ________ the tree, watched as Sally walked slowly ________
him.
a. against,
towards
b. toward,
against
c. upon,
past
d. off,
beside
Choose
the verb that best completes the following sentence.
Do
you know if Harlon ____________Japanese before moving to Japan?
a. has
studied
b. has
been studying
c. will
have been studying
d. will
be studying
Rearrange
the following words to create the most logical and grammatically correct
sentence.
work
. is always to brother willing not My
a. My
brother is not willing to work always.
b. My
brother is not always willing to work.
c. is
not willing to work always My brother.
d. My
work is not willing to always brother.
Choose
the phrase that best completes the sentence below without creating a run-on
sentence.
Mr.
Peach has sent his four children to Ivy League colleges __________ he has
sacrificed his health working day and night in that dusty factory.
a. however
b. ;however,
c. ,however
d. however,
Rearrange
the following words to create the most logical and grammatically correct
sentence.
days
. for last has good weather few The been the not
a. weather
for The last few good has not been the days.
b. The
good days has not been for the last few weather.
c. The
few days has not been good for the last weather.
d. The
weather has not been good for the last few days.
Change
the following sentence from a quotation to indirect speech.
'I
can meet you at noon', said Peter.
a. Peter
says he can meet me at noon.
b. Peter
said he will meet me at noon.
c. Peter
said he could meet me at noon.
d. Peter
can meet me at noon, so he said.
Choose
the series of adjectives and adverbs that best completes the following
sentence.
I
think Pamela deserves to be punished for her __________ stupid and __________ behaviour.
a. irresponsible,
totally
b. totally,
irresponsibility
c. totally,
irresponsible
d. total,
irresponsibly
Change
the following sentence from a quotation to indirect speech.
Carol
has said, 'I am responsible for this project'.
a. Carol
has said that she is responsible for this project.
b. Carol
says she is responsible for this project.
c. Carol
said that she was responsible for this project.
d. Carol
had said that she would be responsible for this project.
Choose
the series of prepositions that best completes the following sentence.
Charlotte
knew ___________ the secret investigation _________ her past, but she closed
her eyes to it and pretended it wasn't happening.
a. of,
about
b. about,
into
c. about,
on
d. of,
after
Change
the following sentence from a quotation to indirect speech.
'Sharon
must go to the bank today', said Albert.
a. Albert
says Sharon will have to go to the bank today.
b. Albert
said Sharon has to go to the bank today.
c. Albert
says Sharon must go to the bank today.
d. Albert
said Sharon had to go to the bank today.
Choose
the series of verbs that best completes the following sentence.
Everyone
__________ too busy cooking and
__________ the campsite __________ the family of bears __________ from the
woods.
a. were,
setting up, to notice, watch
b. was,
set up, noticing, to watch
c. is,
setting, to notice, watching
d. was,
setting up, to notice, watching
Choose
the series of pronouns that best completes the following sentence.
Don't
________ think Larry should call ________ wife if ________ is going to be late
for dinner?
a. you,
his, he
b. we,
your, his
c. he,
his, he
d. you,
his, himself
Read
the following question and choose the response that uses the correct corresponding
verb tense.
Does
Jack wear that furry hat often?
a. No,
he just liked to wear it for fun sometimes.
b. Yes,
but don't said anything about it to him.
c. Yes,
and it can so annoying!
d. No,
he wears it only when his ears are cold.
Which
of the following sentences does NOT illustrate proper use of articles and
conjunctions?
a. I
thought about keeping an orang-utan as a pet; however, my apartment complex
does not allow exotic animals on the premises.
b. Bertha
decided to change a locks of her house after burglars stole a computer or an
oil painting.
c. After
thinking about the problem for half an hour, Glen finally came up with a
perfect solution.
d. Arlene
loves nature and the outdoors in general, yet she spends most of her time
inside because of her job.
Which
of the following sentences illustrates the proper use of parallel
construction?
a. Terry
hoped to find a new job that would let him earn extra cash in the summer and to
work fewer hours.
b. Although
Tommy was failing his biology class at college, he was passing his chemistry
class.
c. Trina
loved to sail, skate, swim and surfing.
d. Tatiana
declared that the people in her office are smarter than the people who work in
Tad's office.
Choose
the series of prepositions that best completes the following sentence.
Whiskey,
my pet squirrel, jumped ________ my head and ________ the windowsill.
a. over,
onto
b. through,
into
c. from,
under
d. into,
onto
Choose
the series of prepositions that best completes the following passage.
Although
Marvin said he had hidden the keys _______ the flower pot, we were unable to
find them _______ the dark. In the end,
we waited for him at the coffee shop ___________ the corner.
a. under,
in, around
b. in,
with, at
c. around,
at, on
d. beside,
from, around
Read
the following question and choose the response that uses the correct
corresponding verb tense.
Did
you see the show last night?
a. No,
because by the time I got there all the tickets had already been sold.
b. Yes,
and it was one of the best shows I had ever seen.
c. Yes,
but my seat was behind a pole so I couldn't barely see anything.
d. No,
but I am hope to see it tonight.
Rearrange
the following words to create the most logical and grammatically correct
sentence.
would
I have it anything if had . I you known said would not bother
a. Would
I have not said anything if you had known it would bother I?
b. I
would not have said anything if I had known it would bother you.
c. Had
I known if it would bother you I would not have said anything.
d. If I
had known it would not bother you I would have said anything.
Complete
the following sentence by choosing the phrase with the best word order from the
options given.
Those
who are not wise ____________ .
a. do
not need be necessarily stupid
b. need
not necessarily be stupid
c. need
not to be necessarily stupid
d. does
not need to be necessarily stupid
Read
the following question and choose the response that uses the correct
corresponding verb tense.
Will
you be going to the company picnic this year?
a. Yes,
I will have always gone every year.
b. No,
unfortunately I didn't have time this year.
c. Yes,
and I plan on swimming, fishing and eating all day!
d. I
might go if I had known about it sooner.
Complete
the following sentence by choosing the phrase with the best word order from the
options given.
Only
after they had completed an exhaustive study __________ how to adapt the
technology to the needs of our company.
a. did
they understand to begin
b. did
they begin to understand
c. they
did begin to understand
d. to
understand did they begin
Choose
the series of adjectives and adverbs that best completes the following
sentence.
We
were surprised when the ________ parade ________ turned into a ________ party!
a. dull,
suddenly, wild
b. duller,
all of a sudden, wilder
c. dullest,
suddenly, wildest
d. dull,
sudden, wild
Which
of the following sentences does NOT illustrate correct verb and verb tense
usage?
a. Frank
and Marjorie have opened a new chocolate shop on the corner.
b. By
the time I get there, all the best candy will have been eaten already.
c. They
was going to sell pastries as well, but then decided against it.
d. Did
you ever wonder how many jelly beans there are in the world?
Choose
the option that correctly changes the original sentence from active voice to
passive voice.
ORIGINAL
SENTENCE:
That
tall man is carrying a lot of lumber.
REWRITTEN
SENTENCES:
a. The
tall man carries a lot of lumber.
b. Is
being carried by the tall man, the lumber.
c. The
lumber is carried by the tall man.
d. A
lot of lumber is being carried by the tall man.
Change
the following sentence from a quotation to indirect speech.
'I'm
not feeling well', Agatha said.
a. Agatha
has said that she doesn't feel well.
b. According
to Agatha, she isn't feeling well.
c. Agatha
said she wasn't feeling well.
d. Agatha
says she isn't feeling well.
Choose
the series of prepositions that best completes the following sentence.
Although
the issue was very serious, the committee disposed ______ it in a few minutes
and moved _______ to other business.
a. onto,
off
b. of,
away
c. on,
out
d. of,
on
Which
of the following sentences illustrates proper sentence structure?
a. Walking
down the street, my eyes were drawn to a diamond in a store window.
b. A
small red car pulled up behind the woman with tinted windows.
c. The
man in the black cape mounted his powerful stallion and galloped away.
d. The
cats chased the birds around the yard with the yellow beaks.
e. None
of the above