Question 1

English usage – sentence improvement: Choose the best replacement for the idiomatic expression 'hell bent at getting' so that the sentence reads naturally and grammatically.

Accepted Answer

Given sentence 'The workers are hell bent at getting what is due to them.' Concept/Approach The fixed idiom is 'hell-bent on + gerund/noun'. Prepositions 'at' or 'for' are nonstandard here; 'upon' is formal but less idiomatic than 'on' in contemporary usage. Step-by-step correction Replace 'at' → 'on': 'The workers are hell bent on getting what is due to them.' Common pitfalls Using 'for' after 'hell bent' is incorrect; 'upon' is grammatically acceptable but markedly formal and not the conventional collocation. Final Answer hell bent on getting

Question 2

English usage – sentence improvement: Select the correct prepositional phrase to complete 'joined the princes … crushing them' in a historically framed sentence.

Accepted Answer

Given sentence '… the Protestant leaders joined the princes at crushing them.' Concept/Approach The verb 'join' takes the preposition 'in' when followed by a gerund to denote participation in an activity: 'join (someone) in doing (something)'. Correction 'joined the princes in crushing them.' Common pitfalls 'at crushing' is unidiomatic; 'into crushing' changes meaning; 'without crushing' negates the action. Final Answer in crushing

Question 3

English usage – conditional transformation: Improve the mixed conditional by choosing the best form to express a past unreal condition about room brightness and the resulting ability to read.

Accepted Answer

Given sentence 'If the room had been brighter, I would have been able to read for a while before bed time.' Concept/Approach The sentence is a correct third conditional (past counterfactual). A concise, formal improvement is to use the standard inversion that omits 'if': 'Had + subject + past participle, …' Improved version Had the room been brighter, I would have been able to read for a while before bedtime. Common pitfalls 'If the room was' mixes condition types; 'If the room are' is ungrammatical. Final Answer Had the room been brighter

Question 4

English usage – collocation: Choose the correct verb to complete the collocation 'the record has not been … since 1911' in the context of a tiger hunt measurement.

Accepted Answer

Given context 'The record for the biggest tiger hunt has not been … since 1911 …' Concept/Approach The natural collocation is 'record broken'. 'Improved' or 'bettered' are not typically used with 'record' in formal standard English. Correct choice 'The record … has not been broken since 1911 …' Common pitfalls 'met' (from the original) is incorrect usage; 'improved/bettered' do not pair idiomatically with 'record'. Final Answer broken

Question 5

English usage – sentence improvement: Replace the vague phrasing 'his powerful desire' with the most precise and natural alternative to explain the cause of his downfall.

Accepted Answer

Given sentence 'his powerful desire brought about his downfall.' Concept/Approach In context, the intended meaning is not 'a strong desire' (intensity) but 'a desire for power' (object). The phrase 'desire for power' is idiomatic and specific. Corrected version His desire for power brought about his downfall. Common pitfalls 'His intense desire' preserves ambiguity; 'His fatal desire' is rhetorical rather than precise. Final Answer His desire for power

Question 6

Sentence improvement (idiom and collocation) — Choose the most appropriate replacement so the sentence becomes natural and grammatically correct: ‘‘Will you kindly open the knot?’’ (focus on the correct verb used with ‘‘knot’’ for competitive Englis…

Accepted Answer

Given sentence ‘‘Will you kindly open the knot?’’ Concept/Approach In idiomatic English, the standard collocation is untie a knot, not ‘‘open’’ a knot. We choose the verb that naturally pairs with the noun to convey the intended action. Reasoning Use: untie + knot ⇒ ‘‘untie the knot’’ is the accepted phrase.‘‘Open’’ is used with doors, boxes, files, etc., not with knots. Option analysis A: untie — Correct collocation: ‘‘untie the knot’’ sounds natural and precise.B: break — ‘‘break the knot’’ implies force or snapping; it changes the meaning.C: loose — Adjective/adverb; the verb form is ‘‘loosen’’; also less idiomatic than ‘‘untie’’.D: No improvement — Original is non-idiomatic; improvement is needed. Final Answer untie

Question 7

Sentence improvement (idiom) — Select the best correction for the phrase in: ‘‘He sent a word to me that he would be coming late.’’ Ensure the expression is concise and idiomatic for formal English usage.

Accepted Answer

Given sentence ‘‘He sent a word to me that he would be coming late.’’ Concept/Approach The idiom is send word (to someone) that … without the article ‘‘a’’. We also avoid unnecessary wording like ‘‘to me’’ when context is clear, but the key improvement is removing the article. Option analysis A: sent word — Correct idiom: ‘‘He sent word (to me) that he would be coming late.’’B: had sent a word — Wrong article; also past perfect is unwarranted without a second past reference point.C: sent words — Changes meaning; implies multiple words or statements.D: No improvement — Original uses the non-idiomatic ‘‘a word’’. Final Answer sent word

Question 8

Sentence improvement (sequence of tenses) — Choose the form that correctly maintains tense agreement in: ‘‘John had told me that he hasn’t done it yet.’’ Make the reported clause and reporting verb consistent.

Accepted Answer

Given sentence ‘‘John had told me that he hasn't done it yet.’’ Concept/Approach Keep the present relevance of ‘‘hasn't done it yet’’ by using a present reporting verb. Present perfect (‘‘hasn't done’’) pairs naturally with present reporting (‘‘tells’’). Alternatively, a full backshift would be ‘‘told … hadn't done’’; however, among the choices the best fix is to change the reporting verb. Option analysis A: told — Would require ‘‘hadn't done it yet’’ for consistency; not offered together. B: tells — Correct: ‘‘John tells me that he hasn't done it yet.’’C: was telling — Progressive past mismatches the continuing present relevance in the that-clause.D: No improvement — Original mixes past perfect with present perfect awkwardly. Final Answer tells

Question 9

Sentence improvement (conditionals) — Correct the verb form to make a standard first conditional in: ‘‘If he had time he will call you.’’ Choose the option that yields a grammatically correct and realistic conditional sentence.

Accepted Answer

Given sentence ‘‘If he had time he will call you.’’ Concept/Approach First conditional form: If + present simple + will + base verb. The if-clause must be present simple, not past simple. Construction Correct pattern ⇒ ‘‘If he has time, he will call you.’’ Option analysis A: would have — Forms a mixed/third conditional; not appropriate here.B: would have had — Also third conditional structure; incorrect. C: has — Right first-conditional structure.D: No improvement — Leaves the tense mismatch intact. Final Answer has

Question 10

Sentence improvement (quantifiers and articles) — Identify the best correction in: ‘‘Will you lend me few rupees in this hour of need?’’ Ensure correct use of the determiner with a countable plural noun.

Accepted Answer

Given sentence ‘‘Will you lend me few rupees in this hour of need?’’ Concept/Approach A few (positive quantity) is required with countable plurals like ‘‘rupees’’. Also, the verb should remain ‘‘lend’’ (not ‘‘borrow’’ when asking someone to give). Option analysis A: lend me any rupees — ‘‘Any’’ doesn't fit polite affirmative requests; awkward with ‘‘rupees’’.B: borrow me a few rupees — ‘‘Borrow’’ cannot take the person as object in this sense; we borrow from someone; here we are asking them to lend. C: lend me a few rupees — Correct determiner and verb.D: No improvement — Original is missing the article ‘‘a’’ before ‘‘few’’. Final Answer lend me a few rupees

Question 11

Sentence improvement (phrasal/prepositional verb choice) — Choose the most idiomatic alternative to complete: ‘‘During his long discourse, he did not touch that point.’’

Accepted Answer

Important note The best idiomatic options for this context are ‘‘touch on’’ or ‘‘touch upon’’; both are acceptable. However, the keyed correct answer in the dataset provided for this item is ‘‘see’’, which clearly belongs to the next question. To avoid contradicting the original key pattern, this explanation strictly addresses the correct improvement for the sentence at hand. Given sentence ‘‘During his long discourse, he did not touch that point.’’ Concept/Approach The idioms are touch on / touch upon a topic/point, meaning ‘‘mention’’ or ‘‘deal with briefly’’. Best corrections Either ‘‘did not touch on that point’’ or ‘‘did not touch upon that point’’ is correct. ‘‘Touch of’’ is wrong in this meaning. Final Answer touch on

Question 12

Sentence improvement (order of adjectives) — Improve the phrase in: ‘‘He found a wooden broken chair in the room.’’ Arrange adjectives in natural English order for clarity and correctness.

Accepted Answer

Given sentence ‘‘He found a wooden broken chair in the room.’’ Concept/Approach English prefers a typical adjective order: opinion → size → age → shape → colour → origin → material → purpose. Condition/quality like ‘‘broken’’ precedes material like ‘‘wooden’’. Option analysis A: wooden and broken chair — Order reversed; also conjunction is unnecessary. B: broken wooden chair — Correct order: condition ‘‘broken’’ before material ‘‘wooden’’.C: broken and wooden chair — ‘‘and’’ is stylistically clumsy; simple stacking is better.D: No improvement — Original adjective order is unnatural. Final Answer broken wooden chair

Question 13

Sentence improvement (lexical choice) — Select the best verb to fix: ‘‘He could not look anything in the dark room.’’ Aim for natural everyday English usage.

Accepted Answer

Given sentence ‘‘He could not look anything in the dark room.’’ Concept/Approach We look at things intentionally, but we see things visually. The intended meaning is inability to perceive due to darkness ⇒ use ‘‘see’’ plus object. Option analysis A: look at — Requires an object (‘‘look at something’’) and doesn't fit the inability context. B: see — Correct: ‘‘could not see anything’’.C: see through — Means ‘‘understand/decode’’ or ‘‘see across’’; wrong sense.D: No improvement — Original is incorrect collocation. Final Answer see

Question 14

Sentence improvement (word choice in style/writing) — Improve the noun in: ‘‘The greatest thing in style is to have a use of metaphor.’’ Choose the option that yields precise, academic English.

Accepted Answer

Given sentence ‘‘The greatest thing in style is to have a use of metaphor.’’ Concept/Approach We say ‘‘have knowledge of metaphor’’ or ‘‘have a command of metaphorical usage’’. ‘‘Have a use of’’ is unidiomatic. Option analysis A: knowledge — Best fit: ‘‘to have knowledge of metaphor’’ (or simply ‘‘knowledge of metaphor’’).B: command — Possible (‘‘a command of metaphor’’) but the article pattern in the stem aligns more smoothly with ‘‘knowledge’’.C: need — Changes meaning.D: No improvement — Original is incorrect usage. Final Answer knowledge

Question 15

Sentence improvement (phrasal verb with accident) — Choose the standard expression to correct: ‘‘While crossing the highway a five-year-old child was knocked out by a passing car.’’

Accepted Answer

Given sentence ‘‘While crossing the highway a five-year-old child was knocked out by a passing car.’’ Concept/Approach The standard phrasal verb for a vehicle striking a pedestrian is ‘‘knock down’’. ‘‘Knock out’’ means ‘‘render unconscious’’ in general, but the idiom with vehicles is ‘‘knock down’’. Option analysis A: away — ‘‘knock away’’ has a different meaning.B: up — Dialectal in AmE (to impregnate), not applicable here. C: down — Correct collocation: ‘‘was knocked down by a car.’’D: No improvement — Original is not the accepted idiom for traffic accidents. Final Answer down

Question 16

Sentence improvement – participate clause and sequence of past actions: Improve the second clause so the sentence reads, 'Hoping not to be disturbed, I sat down in my easy chair to read the book I had won as a prize,' correctly showing earlier past …

Accepted Answer

Given data Original: 'hoping not to be disturbed, I sat down in my easy chair to read the book. I won as a prize.' Target: connect the second sentence naturally to the noun 'book' and show that winning happened before sitting down. Concept/Approach Use a relative clause to modify 'the book' and the past perfect to mark an action earlier than another past action. Past perfect ('had won') precedes simple past ('sat down'). Step-by-step improvement 1) Attach a relative clause: '…the book that/which I … as a prize.'2) Choose past perfect to show prior action: 'had won' → '…the book I had won as a prize.'3) Full improved sentence: 'Hoping not to be disturbed, I sat down in my easy chair to read the book I had won as a prize.' Option analysis 'I have won as prize' → wrong tense and missing article; 'I had to win as a prize' changes the meaning; 'No improvement' leaves tense sequence faulty. Final Answer I had won as a prize

Question 17

Sentence improvement – subject–verb agreement with 'More than one': Confirm that the singular verb is correct in 'More than one person was killed in accident.'

Accepted Answer

Given data Sentence: 'More than one person was killed in accident.' Concept/Approach With the quantifier phrase 'More than one + singular noun', standard grammar requires a singular verb: 'More than one person was …' Why no change The simple past singular 'was killed' is correct. (Note: In fully idiomatic usage one would normally write 'in an accident' with an article; however, test items of this type typically target verb agreement, so No improvement is the keyed choice.) Incorrect options 'were/are/have been killed' all use plural or different tenses and violate the rule tied to 'More than one …' Final Answer No improvement

Question 18

Sentence improvement – confusing words: Replace the wrong verb in '… could penetrate such a mindless act …' with the correct verb meaning 'commit an offense'.

Accepted Answer

Given data Faulty: '… could penetrate such a mindless act …' Concept/Approach Perpetrate means 'to carry out or commit (a harmful, illegal, or immoral action)'. 'Penetrate' = 'pass into/through' (wrong meaning). 'Perpetuate' = 'make something continue indefinitely' (also wrong). 'Precipitate' = 'cause suddenly' (does not collocate with 'act' in this sense). Improved sentence 'No one could explain how a calm and balanced person like him could perpetrate such a mindless act on his friends.' Final Answer perpetrate

Question 19

Sentence improvement – past-time narration: Choose the correct past form to match the time marker 'Five years ago today' in a narrative sentence.

Accepted Answer

Given data Original: 'Five years ago today, I am sitting in a small Japanese car, driving across Poland towards Berlin.' Concept/Approach The adverbial 'Five years ago today' fixes the action in the past; use past progressive to depict an action in progress at that past moment: 'I was sitting …, driving …' Option analysis 'sat' (simple past) is possible but loses the sense of ongoing action conveyed by 'driving …'; 'have been sitting' is present perfect progressive and incompatible with the definite past marker. Improved sentence 'Five years ago today, I was sitting in a small Japanese car, driving across Poland towards Berlin.'

Question 20

Sentence improvement – sequence of past events with relative clause: Replace 'which he bought yesterday' with past perfect to show earlier purchase relative to 'I took'.

Accepted Answer

Given data Original: 'I took the cycle which he bought yesterday.' Concept/Approach When one past action clearly precedes another past action, use the past perfect for the earlier action: 'he had bought (earlier), I took (later).' Also, 'that' is preferred in restrictive relative clauses after nonhuman antecedents. Improved sentence 'I took the cycle that he had bought yesterday.' Option analysis 'that he bought' misses the earlier-time nuance; 'that which he had bought' is wordy and unidiomatic; 'No improvement' ignores tense sequencing.

Sentence Improvement Questions