Career Service

Examination
Review
ENGLISH

Prepared by: Kevin L. Dela Calzada, LPT

 COMPETENCY AREAS

General
Verbal Analytical Numerical
Info
PRESENTATION OUTLINE

GRAMMAR AND PARAGRAPH

CORRECT USAGE ORGANIZATION

VOCABULARY READING
COMPREHENSION
SUBJECT-VERB
AGREEMENT
 SUBJECT-VERB
AGREEMENT
RULE #1
Collective nouns may take either a singular or plural verb inflection depending on
the meaning.
Our school team has won its games.
Our school team have won all their games.

RULE #2
Some common and proper nouns ending in –s including –ics nouns and certain
diseases are always conceived as single entity- take a plural verb.
The recent news is exciting.
Measles is a contagious disease.
 SUBJECT-VERB
AGREEMENT
RULE #3
Title of works even when plural in form are conceived of as single entities.
The Ten Commandments is a beautiful movie.
The Syntax Files is good reading for those in linguistics.

RULE #4
Nouns occurring in sets of two take the singular when the noun “pair” is present
but take the plural when “pair” is absent.
That pair of Lee jeans is expensive.
My glasses are missing.
 SUBJECT-VERB
AGREEMENT
RULE #5
Fractions and percentages takes a singular verb inflection when modifying a non-
count noun and a plural verb when they modify a plural noun.
More than half of the cake is eaten.
Twenty percent of the students are not joining the field trip.

RULE #6
“A number” normally takes the plural. “The number” takes the singular.
A number of parents are coming for the meeting.
The number of signatories is substantial to merit approval of the motion.
 SUBJECT-VERB
AGREEMENT
RULE #7
When we use a number and a plural noun to talk about two or more things, we
usually use a plural verb. We use singular verb with ‘one’.
Seven days make up a week.
One solid evidence is enough to prove his dishonesty.

RULE #8
When we are talking about an amount of money or time, or a distance, speed, or
weight, we usually use a number, a plural noun, and a singular verb.
Five hundred dollars is a lot of money.
Three years is a long time to wait for a family member from abroad to come home.
 SUBJECT-VERB
AGREEMENT
RULE #9
Arithmetic operations take the singular because they are perceived as reflecting a
single numerical entity on both sides of the equation or equal sign.
Two plus two is/equals four.

RULE #10
The quantifiers a lot (of), lots of, and plenty of take a singular verb if the subject
noun is non-count by plural verb if the subject head noun is plural.
A lot of sound views were advanced during the discussion.
A lot of nonsense is evident from uninterested participants.
 SUBJECT-VERB
AGREEMENT
RULE #11
Traditional grammar states that when used as a subject, none (meaning not one)
is always singular regardless of what follows in a prepositional phrase.
None of the boys joins the mountaineering group.
None of the rice is eaten at all.

RULE #12
Traditional grammar maintains that the antecedent of the relative pronoun is the
noun before.
Alice is one of the graduate students who have finished her master’s degree in a
short period of time.
 SUBJECT-VERB
AGREEMENT
RULE #13
For correlates either…or and neither…nor, traditional grammar agrees for a
proximity rule.
Either my friend or my classmates are expected to help me with my project.
Neither my classmates nor my friend volunteers lend support.

RULE #14
A singular noun or pronoun should take a singular verb inflection regardless of what
else occurs between the subject and the verb.
Jimmy, along with his co-teachers, conducts a cleanliness campaign in the
barangay.
 SUBJECT-VERB
AGREEMENT
RULE #15
In questions, subjects don’t always come before verbs. Identify accurately the
subject before deciding on the proper verb to use.
Does your father usually go jogging?
What are the pages our teacher wants us to read?
PREPOSITIONS
PREPOSITIONS IN, ON,
AT
 GRAMMAR
AND CORRECT
USAGE
A student in that all-women’s
college should have no fears
about ______ future.

a.They
b.Her or him
c.His or Her
d.Their
My grandmother really loves
Johnny. She left all her money to
Federico and_______.

a.He
b.She
c.Him
d. His
Everybody in this class has
completed _______ requirements
for the licensure exam already.

a.Their
b.His or her
c.They
d.Him or Her
Neither of the accused
officers decided to quit
______ position.
a.Their
b.His
c.It’s
d.Its
In the 1050’s, English teachers still
believed that a background in Latin
______ essential for an understanding
of English.
a.Is
b.Are
c.Was
d.Were
Some of the lawyers _____ still
angry at the decision of the
court.
a.Is
b.Are
c.Seems
d.Did
He seems to forget that there
_______ things to be done before
he can pass the exam.
a.Are
b.Have
c.Is
d.Has
10 dollars _______ all I have
in my wallet.

a.Is
b.Am
c.Are
d.Are going
Historically, therefore, ______
must be no let up in the pursuit
of the solution.
a.There’ll
b.They’re
c.There
d.Their
How would you address a
doctor- husband and a lawyer-
wife?
a. Dr. and Mrs. Mel
Morales
b. Dr. Morales and Atty.
Morales
c. Dr. and Atty. Mel
Morales
d. Dr. Mel and Atty.
Morales
What word is not properly
spelled and used in these
sentences?
a. There were
commissions on the
fare
b. There were confusions
on admissions
c. There was confussion
on the plane
d. There was confusion of
directions
Some people _____ that the government
______ not doing its job well due to the
late respond to the typhoon victims.

a.Kept on saying,
was
b.Keep on saying, is
c.Kept on saying, is
d.Keep on saying,
was
They believe that they ___
the right candidate up to
now.
a.Elected
b.Will be electing
c.Have elected
d.Will have been
electing
The Mayans established a very advanced
civilization in the jungles of the Yucatan;
however, their culture _________ by the time
Europeans first arrived in the New World.
a.Had virtually
disappeared
b.Have disappeared
virtually
c.Has virtually
disappeared
d.Will have
disappeared virtually
A presence on the World Wide Web is now
becoming an essential part of a college’s
public relation programs.
a.Present perfect
progressive
b.Present
progressive
c.Present perfect
d.Simple present
Three years ago not all colleges
recognized the advantages of being on
the web.
a.Present perfect
progressive
b.Present
progressive
c.Past perfect
d.Simple past
Our Academic Technology Committee
had decided to invest in the necessary
hardware.

a.Past perfect
b.Past
progressive
c.Present perfect
d.Simple past
As a result, graphics end up in the
wrong place and some text will have
been coming out the wrong color or
size.
a.Future perfect
b.Future perfect
progressive
c.Future
progressive
d.Simple future
He moves up the mountain like a
packhorse, crunching many small
sticks and branches underfoot.
a.Simple present
b.Present
progressive
c.Simple past
d.Past
progressive
They have been doing the
project for three months now.
a.Present
progressive
b.Present perfect
progressive
c.Past progressive
d.Past perfect
progressive
I will be announcing the
winners of our daily raffle at
5pm later.
a.Simple future
b.Future past
c.Future
progressive
d.Future perfect
progressive
The painting had been
bought by the wealthiest man
in town.
a.Present perfect
b.Past perfect
c.Present
progressive
d.Past progressive
Identify the adjective
used in the given
sentences.
The twins look ____.

a.Equal
b.Identical
c.Similar
d.Synonymous
And he hastened straight down, running
over the wet, sodden fields; pushing
through the hedges; down into depression
of callous, wintry obscurity.

a.Hastened, callous,
obscurity
b.Wet, sodden, wintry
c.Straight running, wet
d.Pushing, depression,
hedges
He stood on the bank, breathing heavily. He
could see nothing astounding. His eyes
seemed to penetrate the dead deep water.
a.Astounding, dead,
deep
b.Breathing, dead,
deep
c.Breathing,
astounding, deep
d.All of the above
Yes, perhaps that was the dark shadow of
her black clothing beneath the surface of
the calm water.

a.Shadow, black,
surface
b.Calm, black, dark
c.Dark, black, surface
d.Perhaps, dark,
black
He slowly ventured into the pond. The
bottom was deep soft clay; then he
sank in, and the mushy water clasped.

a.Slowly, deep, soft

b.Deep, clay, mushy
c.Deep, soft, mushy
d.Soft, clasped,
slowly
As he stirred he could smell the cold, rotten clay
that fouled up into the water. It was
objectionable in his lungs. Still, repelled and yet
not heeding, he moved deeper into the pond.

a.Cold, deeper, repelled

b.Cold, rotten, deeper
c.Cold, objectionable,
fouled
d.Heeding, deeper,
stirred
Panem is the ______ country ever
existed in written human
history.
a.Bad
b.Baddest
c.Worse
d.Worst
Which of the following adjectives are
in the correct sequence?
a. The beautiful, old, big,
wooden, brown rocking
chair
b.The old, beautiful, brown,
big, wooden rocking chair
c. The beautiful, big, old,
brown, wooden rocking
chair
d.The old, big, brown, wooden,
beautiful rocking chair
Select the sentence in which usually
appears in an appropriate position.
a. She usually shops for
clothes at the local thrift
store.
b. Usually she shops for
clothes at the local thrift
store.
c. She shops for the clothes
at the local thrift store
usually.
d.Either A or B
The road is bumpy so Jack drives
carefully. Which word in the
sentence is an adverb of manner?

a.Bumpy
b.Carefully
c.Drives
d.So
Gabriel slept _______ .
a. Last night in his air-
conditioned room soundly.
b.Soundly last night in his
air-conditioned room.
c.In his air-conditioned
room soundly last night.
d.Soundly in his air-
conditioned room last
night.
My best friend lives ______
Boretz Road.
a.In
b.At
c.On
d.To
The child responded to his
mother’s demands ______
throwing a tantrum.
a.With
b.From
c.By
d.At
I will wait ______ 6:30, but
then I’m going home.
a.From
b.At
c.Until
d.On
My fingers were injured so my
sister had to write the note
______ me.
a.With
b.To
c.By
d.For
My best friend, John, is named
_______ his great grandfather.

a.From
b.By
c.After
d.At
My parents have been
married ______ forty-nine
years.
a.Since
b.Until
c.For
d.At
I told Mom we’d be home
______ any hour or so.

a.On
b.For
c.At
d.In
I’ll see you _____ home when I
get there.

a.In
b.For
c.At
d.In
You frequently see this
kind of violence _______
television.
a.On
b.For
c.At
d.In
I will meet up to you later
______ dawn.

a.In
b.For
c.At
d.In
The students never
cheated on the
examination,_______.
a.Is there?
b.Didn’t they?
c.Do they?
d.Did they?
More of our teammates
now ______ with the new
policies.
a.Are agreeing
b.Agrees
c.Agree
d.Is agreeing
Mathematics _____ the most
difficult subject in the board
exam.
a.Remains
b.Remaining
c.Has remains
d.Remain
VOCABULARY
The hostage is free. They paid their
way. What does this statement tell
us?
a.After paying ransom,
they were released.
b.They were freed
without ransom.
c.They negotiated
peacefully.
d.They escaped after
paying.
Children who have been exposed
too much to TV suffer from usually
short______.

a.Understanding
b.Concentration
c.Attention span
d.Learning
Stop shilly-shallying and make up
your mind. This serves as warning
not to_____.

a.Continue
b.Go ahead
c.Hesitate
d.Decide
She wrote a first-rate REPORT.
What does it say about the
report?

a.Run of the mill

b.Mediocre
c.Excellent
d.Ordinary
His apocalyptic views seemed to
doom the human race. This is to
be taken as ______.

a.Spiritless
b.Prophetic
c.Lethargic
d.Apathethic
The speech was full of
gobbledygook. Which does this
mean?

a.Fact
b.Sense
c.Ideas
d.Jargon
The battered wife is seeking
_____ separation from her
husband.

a.Juridical
b.Judicial
c.Judicious
d.Judiciary
The ancient people made a
______ that the end of the world
is near.

a.Prophetic
b.Prophecy
c.Prophesy
d.Prophet
What does the expression
“love begets love” mean?
a.Love is not freely
expected from everyone.
b.Don’t expect love,
though you love others.
c.If you offer love, you will
be loved in return.
d.Love is offered, not
waiting for love in return.
Which word/phrase is nearest in
meaning to the underlined word? Jose
was contemptuous of the effects of his
rival to show greater ability.

a.Deep in thought
b.Scornful
c.Appreciative
d.Angry
She was a phantom of delight
connotes that the woman is
_____.

a.Virtue
b.Real
c.Lovely
d.An illusion
Archimedes shouted
“Eureka”. What did we take
this to mean?
a.Discovery
b.Enjoyment
c.Wonderful
d.Mystery
She has a penchant for red
accessories. This indicates
_____.
a.Avoidance
b.Strong aversion
c.Dislike
d.Fondness
Except for the profanity, I
liked the story.

a.Kind words
b.Obscenities
c.Shamelessness
d.World lines
As long as our political leaders would
emulate the virtues of the leaders of
our country, we shall have economic
and social progress.

a.Embolden
b.Encourage
c.Set free
d.Imitate
The boy gave a furtive
look at his classmate’s test
paper.
a.Abortive
b.Sneaky
c.Underhanded
d.Coy
His parsimonious nature did
not permit him to enjoy any
luxury and relaxation.
a.Distinct
b.Vulnerable
c.Frustrating
d.Stingy
After all has been said, the
issue was a tempest in a
teapot.
a.Boiled down to
nothing
b.Temperature dropped
c.Heated argument
followed
d.Simmered down
I think it is impolitic to raise the
issue at this point in time
because the public is too
emotional about it.
a.Explosive
b.Apolitical
c.Advisable
d.Unwise
Your findings are
impertinent to the results of
his investigations.
a.Violent
b.Important
c.Malicious
d.Irrelevant
Several elements must be
transmuted to see the real
implications of this event.
a.Surpassed
b.Changed
c.Summed
d.Estimated
You should be ashamed of
your self of having such
carnal desires.
a.Bold
b.Worldly
c.Guilty
d.Spiritual
Thank you for your
candor, Mr. Secretary.

a.Frankness
b.Shyness
c.Courage
d.Honesty
October 10 is “red letter day”
for the Chinese. Classify the
quoted expression.
a.Simile
b.Idiom
c.Synonym
d.Metaphor
She is a vision of a feminine
pulchritude. This stands for
_____.
a.Loveliness
b.Homeliness
c.Simple
d.Plain
This car won’t start. Let’s call Danny
because he’s an old hand at repairing cars.
An old hand means _______.
a.A reliable person
b.An experienced
person
c.A trustworthy
person
d.An industrious
person
I drive my neighbors up a wall with the loud
banging of my new set of drums. The
underlined phrase means______.
a.A bump into my
neighbors fence
b.Make them
envious
c.Annoy
d.Let them listen
and enjoy
A Luta Continua!