Test your advanced English grammar skills with these Tricky Questions on English Grammar: Part 3, featuring error spotting, subject-verb agreement, and verb tenses.
Welcome back to our English grammar challenge! If you missed earlier quizzes, make sure to check out Tricky Questions on English Grammar: Part 1 and Tricky Questions on English Grammar: Part 2. Today, we are back with Tricky Questions on English Grammar: Part 3 to push your knowledge further.
Test your knowledge by trying to answer the questions below on your own first, and then scroll down to the bottom to check your answers and explanations.
Advanced English Grammar Quiz: Part 3 Questions
1. Identify the error in the following sentence:
"Neither John or Sarah have finished their homework."
2. Choose the correct sentence:
- a) "I cannot hardly wait for the party."
- b) "I can hardly wait for the party."
3. Which sentence is grammatically correct?
- a) "Me and my friend went to the movies."
- b) "My friend and I went to the movies."
4. Select the appropriate word to fill in the blank:
"Each of the students ____ given a certificate of achievement."
5. Spot the error in this sentence:
"The book, who I borrowed from the library, was fantastic."
6. Which is the correct question tag?
- a) "The movie starts at 8 p.m., isn't it?"
- b) "The movie starts at 8 p.m., doesn't it?"
- c) "The movie starts at 8 p.m., hasn't it?"
7. Choose the right possessive pronoun for the sentence:
"The bicycle belongs to Alex. It is _____."
8. What is the superlative form of the adverb "quickly"?
9. Identify the error in this sentence:
"Sam's favorite hobbies are reading, jogging, and to play chess."
10. Select the correct verb tense to fill in the blank:
"By the time she gets home, I _______ my work."
If you enjoy tackling difficult grammatical rules, you might also love reviewing Tricky Questions on English Grammar: Part 4 and Tricky Questions on English Grammar: 5 for even more practice.
Detailed Answers and Explanations for Tricky Grammar Questions
1. Answer: "Neither John nor Sarah has finished his, her, or their homework."
Explanation: Correlative conjunctions require proper pairing. "Neither" is always paired with "nor," not "or." Additionally, "neither" is singular, so it takes the singular verb "has."
2. Answer: b) "I can hardly wait for the party."
Explanation: Negative adverbs like "hardly" already create a negative meaning, so combining them with "cannot" results in a double negative, which is grammatically incorrect.
3. Answer: b) "My friend and I went to the movies."
Explanation: When using subject pronouns, always use the subjective case ("I"), never the objective case ("me"). A reliable trick is to remove "my friend and" to test if "I went" sounds correct.
4. Answer: "Each of the students was given a certificate of achievement."
Explanation: Indefinite pronouns like "Each" are strictly singular and require the singular verb "was," regardless of the plural noun phrase that follows.
5. Answer: "The book, which I borrowed from the library, was fantastic."
Explanation: Relative pronouns must match their antecedents. Use "who" for people and "which" (or "that") for objects, items, and concepts.
6. Answer: b) "The movie starts at 8 p.m., doesn't it?"
Explanation: The main verb "starts" is in the simple present tense, meaning the correct auxiliary verb for the question tag is "does" (or "doesn't" for a positive sentence).
7. Answer: "The bicycle belongs to Alex. It is his."
Explanation: Possessive pronouns like "his" indicate ownership clearly without needing an attached noun.
8. Answer: "most quickly" (or "quickest" in informal contexts).
Explanation: Most multisyllable adverbs ending in "-ly" form their superlative by placing "most" before the adverb.
9. Answer: "Sam's favorite hobbies are reading, jogging, and playing chess."
Explanation: This sentence tests parallel structure. All items listed together must share the same grammatical form (in this case, gerunds: reading, jogging, playing).
10. Answer: "By the time she gets home, I will have finished my work."
Explanation: The future perfect tense ("will have finished") is used to express an action that will be completed prior to a specific point in the future.
Don't stop here! Take a look at Tricky Questions on English Grammar: 6 to test your mastery even further.
Key Takeaways for Advanced English Learners
- Correlative Conjunctions: Always pair "neither" with "nor" and "either" with "or."
- Double Negatives: Avoid pairing negative verbs with negative adverbs like "hardly" or "barely."
- Parallelism: Ensure items in a series share the exact same grammatical form.
- Subject-Verb Agreement: Singular indefinite pronouns like "each" take singular verbs.
Frequently Asked Questions
What makes English grammar tricky?
English grammar contains many exceptions, irregular verbs, tricky pronoun cases, and confusing correlative pairs that often trick even advanced learners.
How can I improve my English grammar score?
Consistent practice through interactive grammar quizzes, learning structural rules, and reviewing detailed answer explanations will dramatically improve your accuracy.
Where can I find more grammar practice tests?
You can explore more lessons and quizzes right here on english-grammarblog.blogspot.com to sharpen your skills daily.
How did you do? Let us know your score in the comments below, and stay tuned for Part 4!