PSLE Grammar MCQ Practice 6 (interactive, with explanations)
Choose the correct answer for each question. Tap an option to check it and you'll see the answer and the rule being tested. There is only one correct answer.
Neither the students nor their teacher __________ aware of the change.
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Answer: (A) was
The correct answer is (A) 'was'. With 'neither… nor', the verb agrees with the NEARER subject. Here the nearer subject is 'their teacher' (singular), so we use 'was'. (B) and (C) are plural verbs; (D) is plural and also shifts the meaning.
By the time we arrived, the concert __________ already started.
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Answer: (B) had
The correct answer is (B) 'had'. There are two past actions: the earlier one (the concert starting) takes the PAST PERFECT 'had started'. (A) 'has' is present perfect; (C) and (D) do not form the perfect tense needed here.
The pile of old newspapers __________ to be recycled.
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Answer: (B) needs
The correct answer is (B) 'needs'. The true subject is 'the pile' (singular), not 'newspapers'. Delete the phrase between the subject and verb: a pile 'needs'. (A) and (D) are plural; (C) is not used for this kind of state.
She is very good __________ solving difficult puzzles.
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Answer: (C) at
The correct answer is (C) 'at'. The fixed expression is 'good AT something'. The others are the wrong prepositions for this collocation, one to memorise.
My brother, together with his friends, __________ going to the match.
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Answer: (C) is
The correct answer is (C) 'is'. The real subject is 'my brother' (singular). 'together with his friends' is an add-on set off by commas, and it does not change the verb. (A), (B) and (D) all treat the add-on as part of a plural subject.
__________ you finish your homework, you may not watch television.
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Answer: (A) Unless
The correct answer is (A) 'Unless'. 'Unless you finish… you may not watch' means 'if you do NOT finish'. A condition that must be met points to 'unless'. (B) and (D) show contrast; (C) shows a reason. Neither fits the logic.
The children were told __________ quietly in the library.
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Answer: (B) to speak
The correct answer is (B) 'to speak'. The pattern is 'were told TO + base verb'. 'told to do something' takes the to-infinitive. (A) is the bare base form; (C) and (D) do not follow 'told'.
There __________ a lot of people at the fair yesterday.
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Answer: (B) were
The correct answer is (B) 'were'. 'A lot of people' is plural, and 'yesterday' signals the past, so 'were'. (A) is singular; (C) is present; (D) is present perfect.
He has lived in Singapore __________ 2015.
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Answer: (C) since
The correct answer is (C) 'since'. Use 'since' with a POINT in time (2015). 'For' (A) needs a length of time, e.g. 'for ten years'. 'From' (B) usually pairs with 'to'; 'by' (D) marks a deadline.
If it rains tomorrow, we __________ the picnic.
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Answer: (A) will cancel
The correct answer is (A) 'will cancel'. This is the first conditional: 'if + present tense, … will + base verb'. A real future possibility takes 'will cancel'. (C) 'would cancel' is for unreal/hypothetical situations; (B) and (D) are the wrong tenses.
The habit to take away
Questions 3 and 5 are the classic trap: words between the subject and the verb ("the pile of old newspapers", "my brother, together with his friends"). Find the true subject and mentally delete the middle phrase before choosing the verb. That one habit fixes a large share of agreement errors.
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