Sentence Improvement Quiz

1. Your success for hard work depends on your ability.

A) Your success depends on your ability for hard working.

B) Your success depends on your ability of hard work.

C) Your success depends on your ability for hard work.

D) no improvement

 2. MYSELF rajesh mehta

A) myself is

B) myselves

C) I am

D) no improvement 

3. Have you TAKEN your breakfast?

A) had

B) eaten

C) done

D) no improvement 

4. The more they earn, MORE THEY SPEND on luxury items.

A) More they should spend

B)) The more they spend

C) The more they ought to spend

D) No improvement 

5. the minister agreed WILL ANSWER questions on television.

A) to answer

B) for answering

C) with answering

D) no improvement

6. Poets often use archaic words THAT ARE NO LONGER IN USE greater effect.

A) that are not any longer used

B) that are used no longer

C) that no longer are used

D) no improvement 

7. We must have serious reading for the mind AS WE NEED wholesome and nutritious food for the body.

A) like we need

B) like as we need

C) just as we need

D) no improvement 

8. He LOOKS UP to his father.

A) looks away from

B) stares at

C) respects

D) obeys 

9. When the clock struck six I WAS READING here for an hour.

A) Had waited

B) had been waiting. 

 C) waited

D) No improvement 

10. IF THE ROOM HAD BEEN BRIGHTER, I would have been able to read for a while before bed time.

A) Had the room been brighter

B) Have the room brighter

C) Has the room brighter

D) no improvement

Answer With Explanation:

1. Option ‘B’. You must note that the SUCCESS depends; not the SUCCESS FOR HARD WORK. Ability follows OF; not FOR. Hence option ‘B’ is correct. 

2. I AM (option ‘C). MYSELF is a reflexive pronoun and it must not be the subject of a sentence except when a sentence defines a reflexive pronoun. 

3. Option ‘D’ (No improvement is correct).

4. THE MORE THEY SPEND (option ‘B’). THE MORE……….THE MORE is used to say if one thing happens repeatedly, something else happens or becomes likely. JITNA KOI KAMAATA H UTNA HI JYAADA KHARCH KARTA H, means it becomes likely that a person earning more will also spend more. 

5. TO ANSWER (option ‘A’) AGREE is followed by a full infinitive (TO + Ist form of a verb) if it’s a non-finite verb following it. SO option ‘A’ (to answer) is correct.

6. THAT NO LONGER ARE USED (option ‘C’). NO LONGER precedes the verb and ANY LONGER follows it. The given sentence needs improvement as NO LONGER is following the verb i.e. ARE. Option ‘A’ is not right as ANY LONGER is not used AFTER the verb here USED). Again option ‘B’ is not right as use of NO LONGER is not at right place. Yeah option ‘C’ fits the ruling on that well. 

7. JUST AS WE NEED (Option ‘c’). This is a case of comparison. LIKE is used only with nouns, pronouns or gerunds, means when they are not followed by a finite verb. And AS is used when there is a finite verb. Therefore options ‘a’ and ‘b’ both are incorrect. In the sentence above NEED is a finite verb as it’s limited by the subject WE. So AS is quite correct there. But the word AS should be preceded by the word JUST as it’s a comparison between two clauses because it’s a case of comparison with establishing relation between them. 

NOTE: LIKE can replace AS in conversational/informal English only, but in the exam it must be standard English. 

8. Option ‘3’ (RESPECTS) is right as LOOK UP TO SOMEBODY (an idiom) means to admire or respect somebody. 

9. HAD BEEN WAITING (option ‘B’). For an action that began before a certain action in the past and continued upto that time, we use the past perfect continuous tense. Here 6 o’clock is that past time before that the action of waiting began and it also says that the action was in continuation till that time at least. FOR AN HOUR says how long before 6 o’clock the action of waiting began.

 Ghadi mein jab 6 bje to mujhe yahan wait krte ek ghanta ho gyaa tha. 

10. No improvement as both ‘If the room had been brighter’ and ‘Had the room been brighter’ are equally good. 

NOTE: IF the helping verb in a conditional IF-CLAUSE is SHOULD, BE, or HAD we can leave out IF and put that helping verb at the start of the clause.

EXAMPLES: a) If any of this SHOULD cost you anything, send me the bill. = SHOULD any of this cost you anything, send me the bill. b) It would be embarrassing if she were to find find out the truth. = It would be embarrassing, were she to find out the truth. c) If they hadn’t rushed Mohan to hospital, he would have died. = Had the not rushed Mohan to hospital, he would have died.