Grammar and usage

Written by Sara Ahmed (English)

ECAT · English · 10 questions

Name: ____________________ Date: ____________

Had I known the answer, I ___ told you.
- A would have
- B will have
- C had
- D would
The number of students in the class ___ increasing every year.
- A are
- B were
- C is
- D have been
A number of students ___ absent today.
- A has been
- B was
- C are
- D is
He is senior ___ me by two years.
- A to
- B from
- C than
- D of
She prefers tea ___ coffee.
- A over than
- B from
- C to
- D than
No sooner had the bell rung ___ the students left.
- A than
- B then
- C that
- D when
One of my friends ___ an engineer.
- A have been
- B is
- C are
- D were
Despite ___ tired, she finished the work.
- A was
- B be
- C to be
- D being
I am used to ___ up early.
- A wake
- B woke
- C waking
- D be waking
The engineers submitted ___ report on Monday.
- A theirs
- B their
- C a their
- D them

Answer key

1. A, 2. C, 3. C, 4. A, 5. C, 6. A, 7. B, 8. D, 9. C, 10. B

This is a third conditional sentence. The pattern is had + past participle, then would have + past participle.
The number of takes a singular verb because the subject is number. A number of takes a plural verb.
A number of means several, so it takes a plural verb.
Senior, junior, superior and inferior are followed by to, not than.
Prefer is followed by to when comparing two things.
No sooner is paired with than. Hardly and scarcely are paired with when.
The subject is one, which is singular, so the verb is is.
Despite is a preposition and is followed by a noun or an -ing form.
In be used to, the word to is a preposition and takes an -ing form.
A possessive adjective, their, is needed before the noun report.