Department of Education

National Capital Region

SCHOOLS DIVISION OFFICE
CALOOCAN CITY

DIAGNOSTIC TEST IN ENGLISH

GRADE 8

GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS: Read the questions carefully. On
the answer sheet, SHADE the circle that corresponds to the
letter of your answer.
1. Which of the following statements is TRUE about the active
voice?
A. It denotes the presence of a subject in the sentence that
acts on the verb.
B. In active voice, the subject of the sentence receives the
action.
C. It usually means wordier, less concise sentences.
D. It emphasizes that the doer of the action is unknown.
C. He asked me when my parents were leaving.
D. He said he had a new car.
8. Which of the following is an indirect speech?
A. She said, “I’ll be there at 2PM.”
B. James said, “I arrived before you.”
C. He said that he was living in the Philippines.
D. ” am reading a book,” he explained.
9. Identify the dependent clause in the sentence below.
Because I studied very hard, I learned English perfectly
and received an award in class.

2. Which of the following statements is TRUE about the A. I learned English perfectly.
passive voice? B. because I studied very hard
A. The subject performs the action denoted by the verb. C. received an award in class
B. In passive voice, the subject of the sentence receives D. I learned English perfectly and received an award.
the action.
C. It is more straightforward and comprises fewer, shorter 10. Choose the phrase that will best fit the sentence.
sentences.
D. It emphasizes that the action in the sentence is Covid-19, ___________, has affected the lives of many.
unnecessary.
A. a new type of virus
3. Which of the following sentences is in active voice? B. is rapidly spreading
A. Modules were submitted on time. C. dangerous and fatal
B. The essay was written by Carlos P. Romulo D. after being quarantined
C. My parents often take me to interesting places.
D. The lesson has already been discussed by the teacher. 11. What kind of sentence is given below?
Did you accomplish all your household chores?
4. Which of the following sentences is passive voice?
A. Dogs eat bones. A. Imperative C. Declarative
B. Monkeys adored yellow bananas. B. interrogative D. Exclamatory
C. The rider helps the old lady to cross the street.
D. The Mona Lisa was painted by Leonardo Da Vinci. 12. What is the verb phrase in this sentence?

5. Which among the following statements is TRUE about When I came home, they had already eaten the meal.
direct speech?
A. does not require quotation marks A. had eaten
B. uses the exact words of the speaker B. came home
C. does not require commas before the quoted part C. eaten
D. uses commas before the dialogue part. D. I came home

6. Which of the following statements is TRUE about indirect 13. What reading strategy is used when one reads a text
speech? quickly in order to find specific information.
A. exact words of the speaker A. skimming C. silent reading
B. paraphrasing what someone said or wrote B. scanning D. choral reading
C. usually placed inside the quotation marks
D. requires a question mark after the quoted part of the 14. What reading strategy is used when one reads quickly to
sentence find out the general theme, topic or meaning?
A. skimming C. silent reading
7. Which of the following statements is a direct speech? B. scanning D. choral reading
A. He told me he was going to call Ana.
B. It’s been raining since this afternoon.
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For items 15-16, use the appropriate reading strategy for each C. Wilma was in agony and going through a difficult time.
situation. D. Wilma was at ease as she ascended the mountain's
peak.
15. Your grandfather asked you to find the phone number of 22. Supporting details can be best explained as _________.
the police station in the local pages.
A. skimming C. reading aloud A. sentences that make the main idea stronger and
clearer
B. scanning D. silent reading B. details that provide information to clarify, prove, or
explain the main idea
16. You picked up a book about stars and constellations in the C. the majority of a paragraph in a piece of writing
library and you want to decide whether to borrow it or not. D. details that supports other details
A. skimming C. reading aloud
23. Which is NOT a supporting detail in the paragraph below?
B. scanning D. silent reading Maria offered to help her mother clean the house.
She vacuumed the living room and dusted the furniture. She
For items 17-18, supply the missing word to complete the picked up the toys in the playroom. She ate a ham sandwich
analogy. for lunch. Then, she mopped the kitchen floor.
17. Pleasure is to smile as pain is to __________. www.slideplayer.com
A. aspirin C. grimace
B. tranquility D. joy A. She vacuumed the living room and dusted the
furniture.
18. Teacher is to chalk as painter is to_________. B. She picked up the toys in the playroom.
A. pen C. pencil C. She ate a ham sandwich for lunch.
B. ruler D. paint brush D. She mopped the kitchen floor.
For items 19-21, read the selections then answer the questions
that follow. 24. Which is a supporting detail in the paragraph below?

A corn plant begins as a single golden seed
underground. After a while the seed shoots up a single
green leaf. Before long there are many leaves that are
growing out of the center of the plant. By the middle of a
summer, tiny ears of corn begin to form on the corn plant.
Then the ears of corn become larger in size. In June or
July the dark corn plant begins to turn brown.
- A.
Building Bridges Book
19. How does a corn plant begin according to the selection?
A corn plant begins ___________________.
A. when there is only one green leaf.
B. In a large number of leaves.
C. when it starts to turn brown.
D. as a single golden seed underground.
20. What is the paragraph all about?
A. the various sizes of corn plants
B. the several parts of a corn plant
C. the life span of a corn plant
D. the lovely hues of a corn plant
Wilma experienced climbing the peak of the
mountain the hard way. The rocks and stones wounded
her arms and knees. She couldn’t breathe very well. Her
fingers and toes had been numb. The strong wind
prickled her eyes.
- warmth.
Building Bridges Book
21. Describe Wilma's emotions as she climbs the mountain's
crest.
A. Wilma's fingers and toes were numb.
B. Wilma had a lot of fun climbing the mountain's peak.
Homeless people face a slew of issues. Health
issues and even deaths might occur when the rainy season
arrives. Even if they are able to find a place to stay
temporarily. They'd still have to spend a lot of time on the
streets to feed and support themselves.
Sentence 1 only
B. Sentences 1 and 2
C. Sentences 2,3 and 4
D. Sentence 4 only
25. What is the main idea in this passage?
A. Homeless people face a slew of issues.
B. Health issues and even deaths might occur when the
rainy season arrives.
C. Even if they are able to find a place to stay temporarily.
D. They'd still have to spend a lot of time on the streets to
feed and support themselves.
26. Which sentence DOES NOT support the main idea?
Main Idea: The sun affects life on Earth in
many ways.
A. People can use the sun to keep track of time and
seasons.
B. To get a tan, people like to lay out in the sun.
C. Living creatures benefit from the sun's light and
D. Plants rely on sunlight to help them grow and produce
food.
For items 27-30, choose the correct past or past perfect tense
of the verb to complete the sentence.

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 27. By the time, my mother came home, I ________
already.
A. had left C. left
B. had leave D. leave
28. She had washed her hands before she _____ ate
dinner.
A. eat C. had eaten
B. ate D. had eat
29. She _____ to run after she had seen the big snake.
A. begin C. began
B. had begun D. had begin
30. Joseph went there after he ________ his homework.
A. completed C. completes
B. had complete D. had completed
For items 31-34, read the story below then answer the
questions that follow.
One early morning, Pres. Ramon Magsaysay
and his driver were in a hurry because of a very
important conference. Suddenly, a policeman stopped
them for over speeding and not minding the traffic light.
He came near them and demanded the driver’s license.
The driver protested against the violation saying that
his passenger was to catch up with a very important
conference. The policeman was surprised, felt terribly
embarrassed and asked for an apology from the
President. He explained that he was only doing his job.
The President smiled at the officer and let him issue a
violation ticket to his driver. President Magsaysay
admired the policeman for his strict enforcement of the
law. He said that the law should be enforced on
everyone whether rich or poor, powerful or not,
because no man should be above the law.
-From Profiles of the Filipino: Stories of Timeless Value
31. Identify the violation committed by President Ramon
Magsaysay's driver
A. tipping the cop
B. fighting with a cop
C. disrespecting the officer of the law
D. over speeding and not minding the traffic light
32. What is the story about?
A. The President C. officer of the law
B. traffic light D. driver’s license
33. How did the president address the situation? The
president _____________.
A. praised the cop for upholding the law
B. made a sarcastic comment about the officer's
kindness.
C. yelled at the officer for upholding the law.
D. admired the police officer strictly enforcing the law
34.Identify the conflict presented in the story.
A. The police and the driver were both punished by the
president.
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B. The cop pulled them up for going through a red light
and requested their driver's license.
C. The driver protested against the violation and he said
that his passenger is the president.
D. The police officer was humiliated and requested an
apology from the president.
For items 35-42, read the selections below then answer the
questions that follow.
Two boys had picked hundreds of pili nuts in the
woods and stopped at the cemetery outside town to divide
them. As one of the boys was counting, “One for you and
one for me”, two nuts rolled underneath the fence and out
of the cemetery.
A young boy walking by the cemetery was
frightened to death by what he heard and raced back to
town. An old man met him and asked him what the trouble
was. The young fellow shouted, all out of breath, “The Lord
and the devil are dividing souls in the cemetery, “I don’t
believe it, “said the old man. “All right, said the boy, come
and listen.
As the two tiptoed to the cemetery, they heard a
voice saying, one for you and one for me.” Good! Said the
other voice, “Now we’re finished except for those two nuts
outside the fence. Let’s divide them and we’ll be even.”
When the boy and the old man heard that, the old man and
the boy ran back as fast as they could to town.
-
Reader’s Digest
35. The boy heard the voices of __________.
A. two boys communicating
B. two men talking
C. a conversation between two strangers
D. the Lord and the devil talking
36.The boy and the old man believed that __________.
A. their souls would be next
B. more souls would follow
C. the nuts would be split between the two
D. they will be divided by the two
My dad was a carpenter and he never liked to
get dressed up. But when my mother died, Dad bought a
handsome suit and was dressed to the teeth as he went
heart-broken to her funeral.
A year or so later, I was in a clothing store and
saw a suit similar to the one Dad had worn at Mom’s
funeral. I got into a conversation about Dad and his
dislike for dressing up. Then the elderly salesmen said to
me, “My dear child, I knew your Dad. He often came in
here to admire the fine clothes we stock, but he never
bought any. He always said that you kids needed things
more than he needed clothes. When I heard that, my
eyes filled with tears. But the old man went on to say,
“Your father told me that he always felt dressed up inside
himself”. And I believed him. He smiled so much he just
had to be wearing a really nice suit around his heart.
-From Nina Fischer, Reader’ Digest
37.Her dad was avoiding not to buy luxurious clothing because
____________.
A. they were very poor
B. the father saves money
C. he prefers to dress simply
D. he wants to wear it only on special occasions
38. According to the story, happiness originates
from_______.
A. wearing nicely
B. always looking good
C. living modestly and in the background
D. putting his children's needs before of his own
John lives in Malaria, Caloocan City. He is in
seventh grade now. He is currently studying at Manuel
Luis Quezon High School. He always wakes up at 7
o’clock in the morning, then he washes his face and
brushes his teeth. After that, he does some exercises,
then he puts his clothes on and prepare his school bag.
Next, he has his breakfast and waits for the school bus.
At 8 o’clock he goes to school and start his first class
and then he goes to the second class. After that, he
often takes his lunch break and talks with his friends. At
around 12 noon he goes back home and takes a rest.
Next, he usually watches some TV shows and chats
with his family then he does his homework and helps
his mother in the house. At 9 o’clock he reads a book
and goes to sleep.
39. Predict what would happen if John didn't get up early
every day.
A. He is going to be late for class.
B. He will do better in school.
C. His parents will punish him.
D. His parents will give him a treat.
40.How would you describe John as a student?
A. responsible C. rude
B. honest D. complacent
B. Hedging D. Explicitness
45. Choose a word which DOES NOT correspond in this
sentence.
Academic writing should be __________.
A. specific C. brief
B. organized D. broad
For items 46-47, read the selection below then answer the
questions that follow.
(1)
Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is
an infectious disease caused by SARS-CoV-2. (2) It was
first identified in December 2019 in Wuhan, China, and
resulted in a pandemic on March 11, 2020. (3)Deeply
concerned by the alarming levels of spread and severity
of this pandemic, the World Health Organization (WHO)
recommend basic hygiene such as regularly washing
hands with soap and water, and covering mouth with
elbow when sneezing or coughing.(4)Also, WHO
recommend social distancing- keeping at least 1.8 meters
(six feet) between one another when coughing and
sneezing. (5) They also recommend to stop touching
one’s face, eyes and mouth with unwashed hands.
-World Health Organization (WHO)
46. In order to achieve clarity, what should be done with
the underlined word in Sentence 1?
A. Give an example of it.
B. Explain what it means.
C. Make an acronym for it.
D. Make sure it's spelled correctly.
47. How can Sentence 2 be improved?
A. Remove months.
B. Add number of days.
C. Remove “in” between “resulted” and “a”.
D. Add comma between “December” and “2019”.
For items 48-50, study the graph below then answer the
questions that follow.

41. What is the main idea of the selection? 48.

A. John is helpful. Year
B. John loves to study hard. Level
C. John lives in Malaria, Caloocan City.
D. John is very organized.

42. Which of the following sentences best supports the

idea that John is a helpful child?
A. He washes his face and brushes his teeth Who had the least number
B. He goes to school at 7 o’clock in the morning. Numberofof Newspapers
newspapers collected?
C. He does his homework every day. A. Grade 7 C. Grade 9
D. He helps his mother in the house. B. Grade 8 D. Grade 10
43. What feature of academic writing uses more noun-based 49. What is the difference between Grades 7 and 10 in terms
phrases than verb-based phrases?
of collection?
A. Precision C. Objectivity A. 200 C. 500
B. Complexity D. Responsibility
B. 400 D. 900
44. In academic writing, what aspect emphasizes the usage of
50. Who collected the most numbers of newspapers?
various signaling phrases the most? A. Grade 7 C. Grade 9
A. Accuracy C. Planning
B. Grade 8 D. Grade 10
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--------------------END OF TEST------------------

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