The Compulsory English paper has no multiple-choice group, but it does carry 15 marks of short objective items: Question 7 is ten grammar items of one mark each, and Question 8 is five vocabulary items of one mark each. These are the cheapest marks in the paper, because each item tests one rule and the rules repeat. This chapter gives ten items for each grammar unit of the Grade 12 book (units 21 to 30) and a vocabulary bank for unit 35, every item with its key. Cover the answer column, write your answer, then check.
How the marks are built
Q7 Grammar: 10 items x 1 = 10 marks. Q8 Vocabulary: 5 items x 1 = 5 marks. A wrong item costs one mark and nothing more, so never leave one blank. The items below are original practice items written to the same type as the board papers; they are not copied from any paper.
17.1 Question tags and questions
Fill each blank with the correct question tag.
| No. |
Item |
Answer |
| 1 |
She can swim, ____? |
can't she |
| 2 |
Let's go out, ____? |
shall we |
| 3 |
Nobody called, ____? |
did they |
| 4 |
I am late, ____? |
aren't I |
| 5 |
You have never been to Pokhara, ____? |
have you |
| 6 |
Open the door, ____? |
will you |
| 7 |
He hardly eats anything, ____? |
does he |
| 8 |
There is some milk left, ____? |
isn't there |
| 9 |
They had better leave now, ____? |
hadn't they |
| 10 |
She used to live here, ____? |
didn't she |
Rule to remember: a positive statement takes a negative tag and a negative statement takes a positive tag. Words such as nobody, never, hardly, seldom make the statement negative, so the tag is positive.
17.2 Modal verbs
| No. |
Item |
Answer |
| 1 |
You ____ smoke here. It is prohibited. |
mustn't |
| 2 |
The lights are on. She ____ be at home. |
must |
| 3 |
____ I borrow your pen? (polite request) |
May / Could |
| 4 |
The road is wet. It ____ have rained last night. |
must |
| 5 |
You ____ have told me earlier. (regret) |
should |
| 6 |
When I was young I ____ run ten kilometres. |
could |
| 7 |
____ you like some tea? (offer) |
Would |
| 8 |
You ____ worry. It is not necessary. |
needn't |
| 9 |
She ____ be forty. She looks so young. (impossible) |
can't |
| 10 |
Students ____ wear school uniform. (rule) |
must |
17.3 Determiners and quantifiers
| No. |
Item |
Answer |
| 1 |
There is ____ water in the jug, so let us fill it. |
little |
| 2 |
He has ____ friends, so he feels lonely. |
few |
| 3 |
____ student must sign the register. |
Each |
| 4 |
She gave me ____ useful advice. |
some |
| 5 |
How ____ sugar do you take in tea? |
much |
| 6 |
I do not have ____ time today. |
much / any |
| 7 |
He is ____ honest man. |
an |
| 8 |
She studies at ____ university in Kathmandu. |
a |
| 9 |
____ of the two answers is correct. (not one, not the other) |
Neither |
| 10 |
We have ____ rice left. We cannot cook tonight. |
hardly any |
17.4 Subject-verb agreement
| No. |
Item |
Answer |
| 1 |
Neither of the boys ____ late. (be) |
is |
| 2 |
The news ____ shocking. (be) |
is |
| 3 |
Each of the girls ____ a prize. (have) |
has |
| 4 |
Ram and Shyam ____ friends. (be) |
are |
| 5 |
Either the teacher or the students ____ responsible. (be) |
are |
| 6 |
Mathematics ____ my favourite subject. (be) |
is |
| 7 |
A number of students ____ absent today. (be) |
are |
| 8 |
The number of students ____ increasing. (be) |
is |
| 9 |
One of my friends ____ in Pokhara. (live) |
lives |
| 10 |
Bread and butter ____ my usual breakfast. (be) |
is |
Rule to remember: with either...or and neither...nor the verb agrees with the noun nearer to it. A number of is plural; the number of is singular.
17.5 Connectives and discourse markers
| No. |
Item |
Answer |
| 1 |
He was tired; ____, he finished the work. |
nevertheless / however |
| 2 |
She studied hard ____ she could pass. |
so that |
| 3 |
____ it rained, we played football. |
Although / Though |
| 4 |
He did not come ____ he was ill. |
because |
| 5 |
Work hard, ____ you will fail. |
or else / otherwise |
| 6 |
It was late. ____, we went out. |
Still / However |
| 7 |
He is poor. ____, he is honest. |
Yet / However |
| 8 |
____ hard he tried, he could not win. |
However |
| 9 |
She is not only clever ____ also kind. |
but |
| 10 |
____ , add two spoons of sugar. (first step) |
First / To begin with |
17.6 Adjectives, adverbs and adjective order
| No. |
Item |
Answer |
| 1 |
He runs very ____. (fast / fastly) |
fast |
| 2 |
She is a ____ girl. (Nepali, young, beautiful) |
beautiful young Nepali |
| 3 |
He bought a ____ table. (wooden, small, round) |
small round wooden |
| 4 |
She speaks English ____. (fluent / fluently) |
fluently |
| 5 |
She looks ____ today. (happy / happily) |
happy |
| 6 |
He worked ____ and passed. (hard / hardly) |
hard |
| 7 |
The soup tastes ____. (good / well) |
good |
| 8 |
They own a ____ car. (red, big, old) |
big old red |
| 9 |
She is ____ than her sister. (tall) |
taller |
| 10 |
This is the ____ book I have read. (interesting) |
most interesting |
Order to remember: opinion, size, age, shape, colour, origin, material, purpose, then the noun.
17.7 Reported speech
| No. |
Direct speech |
Reported speech |
| 1 |
He said, "I am tired." |
He said that he was tired. |
| 2 |
"Where do you live?" she asked me. |
She asked me where I lived. |
| 3 |
"Close the door," he said to me. |
He told me to close the door. |
| 4 |
"Did you see him?" she asked. |
She asked if I had seen him. |
| 5 |
"I will come tomorrow," he said. |
He said that he would come the next day. |
| 6 |
"Don't make noise," the teacher said to us. |
The teacher told us not to make noise. |
| 7 |
"I have finished," she said. |
She said that she had finished. |
| 8 |
"Can you swim?" he asked. |
He asked if I could swim. |
| 9 |
"We are playing now," they said. |
They said that they were playing then. |
| 10 |
"What a beautiful view!" she said. |
She exclaimed that it was a very beautiful view. |
17.8 Conditional sentences
| No. |
Item |
Answer |
| 1 |
If it rains, we ____ at home. (stay) |
will stay |
| 2 |
If I were you, I ____ the offer. (accept) |
would accept |
| 3 |
If she had studied, she ____ the exam. (pass) |
would have passed |
| 4 |
If you heat ice, it ____. (melt) |
melts |
| 5 |
Unless you hurry, you ____ the bus. (miss) |
will miss |
| 6 |
I wish I ____ rich. (be) |
were |
| 7 |
If he ____ the truth, he would have told us. (know) |
had known |
| 8 |
Had I known, I ____ you. (help) |
would have helped |
| 9 |
If I ____ wings, I would fly. (have) |
had |
| 10 |
If it ____ tomorrow, we shall cancel the trip. (rain) |
rains |
17.9 Passive voice
| No. |
Active |
Passive |
| 1 |
Sita wrote the letter. |
The letter was written by Sita. |
| 2 |
Someone stole my bag. |
My bag was stolen. |
| 3 |
They are building a bridge. |
A bridge is being built. |
| 4 |
Who wrote this poem? |
By whom was this poem written? |
| 5 |
Open the window. |
Let the window be opened. |
| 6 |
She has finished the work. |
The work has been finished by her. |
| 7 |
People speak English here. |
English is spoken here. |
| 8 |
They will complete the project. |
The project will be completed. |
| 9 |
He gave me a book. |
I was given a book. / A book was given to me. |
| 10 |
The teacher is teaching us. |
We are being taught by the teacher. |
17.10 Prepositions, tenses and relative clauses
| No. |
Item |
Answer |
| 1 |
She is good ____ mathematics. |
at |
| 2 |
He has lived here ____ 2015. |
since |
| 3 |
I have known him ____ ten years. |
for |
| 4 |
The man ____ lives next door is a doctor. |
who |
| 5 |
The book ____ I bought is interesting. |
which / that |
| 6 |
I ____ when he entered. (read) |
was reading |
| 7 |
By next year, she ____ from college. (graduate) |
will have graduated |
| 8 |
She ____ here since morning. (wait) |
has been waiting |
| 9 |
He is afraid ____ dogs. |
of |
| 10 |
The girl ____ bag was stolen reported it. |
whose |
17.11 Vocabulary, sounds, spelling and idioms (Question 8)
| No. |
Type |
Item |
Answer |
| 1 |
synonym |
abundant |
plentiful |
| 2 |
synonym |
ancient |
very old |
| 3 |
antonym |
generous |
stingy / mean |
| 4 |
antonym |
temporary |
permanent |
| 5 |
idiom |
a piece of cake |
something very easy |
| 6 |
idiom |
once in a blue moon |
very rarely |
| 7 |
idiom |
to break the ice |
to start a conversation in an awkward setting |
| 8 |
idiom |
to spill the beans |
to reveal a secret |
| 9 |
spelling |
occurence / occurrence |
occurrence |
| 10 |
spelling |
accomodate / accommodate |
accommodate |
| 11 |
sound |
the silent letter in knight |
k |
| 12 |
homophone |
pair of their |
there |
| 13 |
word form |
(noun of decide) |
decision |
| 14 |
word form |
(adjective of danger) |
dangerous |
| 15 |
collocation |
____ a decision (make / do) |
make |
Chapter summary
- Q7 and Q8 together are 15 marks of one-mark items; attempt every one.
- Tags: opposite polarity; negative words give positive tags; I am gives aren't I; let's gives shall we.
- Modals: must is certainty or rule, can't is impossibility, should have is regret, needn't is no necessity.
- Agreement: nearer noun rule for either...or; a number of plural, the number of singular.
- Reported speech moves the tense one step back and changes now, today, tomorrow to then, that day, the next day.
- Conditionals: type 1 will, type 2 would, type 3 would have; had I known means if I had known.
- Passive: object becomes subject; use be + past participle, with the tense of the active verb kept.
- Vocabulary: learn the idioms in 17.11 and the commonly misspelled words.