Sentence completion exercises

1. The villagers ________ the death of their leader by keeping all the shops closed.

a) Consoled                        b) avenged              c) mourned                        d) protested

Here the answer is (C), 'mourned' because the word in use for expressing sorrow over the death of someone is 'mourn'. This is a matter of usage.

2. While on a routine flight, the aircraft was hit by a missile and ______ into flames

a) Shot                     b) burst                    c) caught                  d) blew

Here the answer is (B), 'burst' because all other words are not in keeping with 'into' and thus they are eliminated at the first stage- structure.

3. Authority _____ when it is not supported by the moral purity of its users.

a) Empowers         b) crumbles                        c) prevails               d) waits

The answer is (B), 'crumbles' because other alternatives are eliminated at Stage 2-meaning. 'Empower' is opposite in meaning, 'prevails' is also oppo-site in meaning and 'waits' is not in accord with the meaning. Thus the only choice left is 'crumbles'.

4. He did not register a _________ to the proposal.

a) Dissent                b) disfavor              c) divergence         d) deviation

The answer is (A), 'dissent', because other alternatives may have similar meanings, but 'dissent', is the word in use for showing agreement to an idea or a proposal. So other alternatives are eliminated at Stage 3.

5. No sooner had he entered the room ___ the light went out and everyone started talking loudly.

a) But                        b) than                      c) if                             d) and

The answer is (B). Here the rule of grammar operates.

6. When I saw him through the window _______

a)I have run out to open the door                 b) I ran out to open the door

c)I am running out to open the door           d) I should run out to open the door

The answer is (B). Here the rule of tense operates.

7. He congratulated me ________ my success.

a) On                         b) for                                     c) at                            d) in

The answer is (A). 'On'. It is a rule of preposition.

8. I prefer drinking Tea ___ Coffee.

a) Than         b) to                           c) over                      d) as

The answer is (B), 'to' it is rule of preposition.

9. The school festival is always of a very high order because the students have a number of

______ before any performance.

a) Practices             b) exercise               c) rehearsals          d) repetitions

Here the answer is (C), 'rehearsals'. Here the point to remember is common usage, for preparations done beforehand for performances in dance, drama and theatre the word in common usage is 'rehearsal'.

10. I read 'Trojan War' because it was __________ by my friend who said it was very exciting.

a) Recommended            b) exhorted                         c) motivated           d) commended

Here the answer is (A), 'recomm-ended'. The word commonly used in such a context is 'recommended'.

11. His German was roughly _____ with my English, so communi-cation was rather difficult.

a) in accordance with          b) at par                   c) in time                 d) in tune

Here the answer is (B), 'at par'. The correct phrase with the required meaning is 'at par'.

12. I could not _______ what he wanted to say.

a) Make up                          b) make out                        c) make in               d) make away

Here the correct phrase is 'make out' and thus the answer is (B).

13. A committee has been set up to ________ on the problem of unemployment in this region.

a) Investigate                     b) inquire                c) research              d) report

Here the answer can be either 'investigate' or 'report'. Since the connecting word is 'on', the choice will be report.

14. We can't eat this food; it is ____.

a) Rotten                  b) old                                    c) bad                        d) rancid

Here the answer is (A), 'rotten', because this word has the required nuance of meaning.

15. Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru were leaders of the same period; they were _______

a) Contemporary             b) colleague                   c) associate                    d) co-writers

Here the word 'contemporary' sta-nds for the expression of the same period and thus (A) is the answer.

16. Ramu has been nominated as the person to settle the dispute between the two warring parties;

he is the _____

a) Judge          b) advocate                      c) arbitrator                        d) barrister

Here the answer is (C), 'arbitrator' because this is the substitute word.

17. He has been winning the election, but this time his popularity is on the _________ he may

not win this time.

a) Rise                       b) wane                                c) ascendance        d) increasing

Here the answer is (B), 'wane' as an antonym is required.

18. Do not ________ him; he has done no harm to any of you.

a) Accuse                 b) admire                            c) discuss                 d) refer

Here the answer is (A), 'accuse', as an antonym is required.

19. I ____ him because of his ____ .

a) Love, impertinence    b) hate, rudeness             c) admire, hypocrisy       d) detest, generosity.

Here the answer is (B); in the first option one cannot love because of impoliteness, we love someone for their good quality not for a bad trait, in the same way in option C we cannot admire if one has double stand-ards and in the last option to hate someone because of generosity is not correct so the answer is B.

20. The influence of the environment on man is revealed by an ___ study.

a) Anthropological           b) ecological           c) epigraphic          d) ecumenical

Here the answer is (B). It is a word used to indicate a branch of study.