Download is used as a conjunction to show contrast. The original

Grammar Perfectionism I
Answer
1. A – ‘but’ is used as a conjunction to show contrast. The original sentence should
be: The world is nothing but the world is ordinary.
2. C – ‘However’ is used as a connective (adverb) to show contrast. PSP is
contrasting NDS.
3. D – ‘and’ is used as a coordinating conjunction to balance two clauses. ‘injuring’
balances with ‘damaging’ (present participle)
4. B – only ‘when’ can be used as a conjunction connecting two clauses. Note that
‘moreover’ and ‘otherwise’ are connectives, which cannot combine two sentences
into one.
5. D – ‘as long as’ here means ‘when’, which means that when one thing happens,
another thing will then happen. Other choices are not conjunctions but connectives,
which cannot combine two sentences into one.
6. D – ‘either’ is used with ‘or’ to show the alternative choice.
7. A – ‘otherwise’ here is used as an adverb to refer to actions to situations that are
very different from the main statement.
8. B – ‘until’ is used as a conjunction, meaning ‘up till that moment’. It means the
event happens by the time the next event happens (you slap Terry in the face).
9. A – ‘whereas’ is used in the same way as ‘while’ to show contrast between two
events.
10. B – ‘but’ is used as a conjunction to show contrast between two events. ‘now’
indicates a time shift, which contrasts with the second auxiliary verb ‘might’, as in
a past form.
11. C – ‘soon’ means ‘going to happen’. It is used as an adverb, meaning that Sony is
going to let gamers know the release date of the latest sequel to the hit series.
12. D – here, only ‘before’ is a conjunction, which can connect two clauses.
13. B – ‘Despite’ is followed by a noun or gerund. Other choices are followed by a
clause.
14. A – here, only ‘when’ is a conjunction, which can connect two clauses.
15. B – ‘unless’ = ‘if not’; here, it means that if proper changes have not been made to
the education system, the number of suicides each year will increase.
16. A – ‘before’ shows a time difference. It is a conjunction connecting two clauses.
17. C – ‘However’ is used as an adverb showing contrast between the two events.
(‘full of novels’ vs ‘ONLY reads comic books’)
18. D – ‘while’ is used as a conjunction similar to ‘when’, which shows two events
happening at the same time. Note that ‘whenever’ means ‘no matter when’, which
doesn’t match the past tense used.
19. B – ‘Once’ means ‘immediately afterwards’.
20. B – ‘in order to’ is used to introduce the aim of the previous mentioned event. It is
followed by a bare infinitive.
21. B – ‘otherwise’ is used as a connective (adverb) introducing an alternative choice,
meaning ‘if not’.
22. A – ‘whether A or B’ is used to indicate that either one of the two choices will be
selected.
23. A – ‘and’ is used as a conjunction to balance the two clauses.
24. D – ‘Even though’ is used as a conjunction to combine two clauses which
contrasts with each other (‘asleep’ vs ‘keeps dreaming about being the king of the
world).
25. D – ‘due to’ means ‘because of’, followed by a reason in noun form.
26. C – ‘although’ is used as a conjunction showing contrast between the two events
(good listener (+ve) vs always speaks in a high tone (-ve)).
27. A – Here, ‘whereas’ is used to show contrast, while ‘despite the fact that’ and
‘albeit’ are equal, meaning ‘although’, so ‘if’ is the only choice here.
28. A – Here, ‘as’ is used before a reason; ‘so that’ is used to introduce an aim; ‘even
though’ is used to show contrast, so ‘if’ is the only choice here.
29. A – ‘until’ is used as a conjunction, meaning ‘up till that moment’. It means the
event happens by the time the next event happens (you give Fat Hui a bone).
30. A – ‘devastatingly’ is used as an adverb modifying the verb ‘destroyed’.
31. B – a singular noun ‘champion’ should be used after the article ‘the’ and a singular
verb to be ‘is’. ‘championship’ does not refer to a person but an event.
32. B – ‘up’ and ‘down’ are prepositions, which cannot be pluralized (with an ‘-s’).
‘up and down’ should be used because Joyce jumped up and at the same time
jumped down.
33. D – An adjective ‘sexy’ should be used to modify the noun ‘Terry’.
34. C – ‘extremely’ is used as an adverb to modify the adjective ‘ugly’.
35. B – ‘innovative’ is used as an adjective to modify the noun phrase ‘videogame
controllers’.
36. A – ‘to put something in effect’ means to make something effective. Here, after
the preposition, a noun should be used.
37. A – ‘remarkably’ is used as an adverb to modify the verb ‘resembles’.
38. B – ‘violently’ is used as an adverb to modify the verb ‘shakes’.
39. D – ‘expanded’ is used as a past participle as in passive voice (after ‘be’).
40. B – ‘mousy’ is used as an adjective to modify the noun phrase ‘rollercoaster rides’.
There is no comparison here, so ‘mousier’ or ‘mousiest’ should not be used.
41. B – ‘poisonous’ is used as an adjective to modify the noun phrase ‘malachite
green’.
42. C – ‘fatal’ is used as an adjective to modify the noun phrase ‘one kick by
K.OTen’.
43. D – ‘added’ is used as a past participle as in passive voice (after ‘be’).
44. A – ‘bulkiness’ is used as a noun after a determiner ‘its’.
45. B – Here, only ‘safely’ is an adverb, which can be used to modify the verb
‘landed’.
46. B – ‘intellectually’ is used as an adverb to modify the positional preposition
‘above’.
47. B – ‘obese’ is used as an adjective to modify the noun phrase ‘body shape’.
48. B – ‘awesome’ is used as an adjective to modify the noun phrase ‘(the fact that)
Chelsea is buying all the best players in the world’.
49. D – ‘bisexual’ here is used after the article ‘a’ as a noun referring to Terry.
50. A – ‘marvellous’ is used as an adjective to modify the noun phrase ‘animation
series’.
51. C – ‘narrowly’ is used as an adverb to modify the verb ‘passed’.
52. B – ‘dangerously’ used as an adverb to modify the adjective ‘close’.
53. B – ‘your’ is a determiner used before the noun phrase ‘own risk’.
54. A – ‘my’ is a determiner used before the noun ‘goodness’.
55. D – The ‘it’ in ‘it sounds’ refers to the noun phrase ‘your story’.
56. A – ‘saw’ (see) is a special verb followed by a bare infinitive or a gerund. Note
that a past participle can be used only when passive voice is used.
57. C – ‘walking’ is a present participle modifying the noun phrase ‘pretty woman’. It
is used as an active form.
58. A – ‘let’ is a special verb followed by a bare infinitive.
59. D – ‘it’ here is a bit ambiguous. You can say ‘take it’ to refer to ‘getting
something’, or ‘make it’ to refer to ‘getting something done’, or ‘do it’ to refer to
‘working on something’.
60. A – ‘saw’ (see) here means ‘take place’ or ‘happen’. Here, it means that there was
a tragic event taking place in Hong Kong.
61. A – The sentence can be read as ‘The spy felt that he was exposed so he ran away.’
The spy cannot ‘taste’ or ‘smell’ his being exposed. He cannot possibly ‘look’ at
himself.
62. C – A main verb should be used here after the subject ‘the bones of Bruce Lee’
and present tense should be used because it happens always.
63. A – ‘the one’ is a third person singular, so ‘is’ should be used after it.
64. B – As the conjunction ‘if’ is used in the first clause, the following clause should
not be connected with another conjunction, so ‘then’, which is an adverb, should
be used.
65. D – ‘which’ refers to the event ‘OTen beating Jet Li’.
66. B – A main clause should be used here after the participial phrase, with the subject
of the main clause matching the present participle (walking) in the participial
phrase.
67. D – ‘having been’ is a perfect participial phrase used in passive form. It means
that after Terry had been rejected again and again, he became gay.
68. C – ‘speaking’ is used as a present participial phrase modifying the following
main clause.
69. A – ‘Putting’ is used as a present participial phrase modifying the following main
clause. ‘putting it simply’ means ‘generally speaking’.
70. D – ‘Inspired’ is used as a past participle as it is in passive form. It means
‘Stephen Spielberg is inspired by Dick Hui’s theory’.
71. B – ‘Having lost’ is a perfect participial phrase used in passive form. It means that
after Steven Hendry had lost five tournaments in a row, he decided to retire from
professional snooker.
72. B/D – ‘capture’ in ‘the capture of’ is used as a noun while ‘capturing’ is a present
participle, meaning ‘the U.S. captured Saddam Hussein. ‘on’ is used for emphasis.
73. B – ‘if’ can be followed by a participial phrase. Here, it means ‘if you insist to
join our team, you should buy your own sports gear.’
74. D –‘Having been tortured’ is a perfect participial phrase used in passive form. It
means that after Vincent van Gogh had been tortured by severe mental illness, he
decided to commit suicide.
75. C – Here, a present participle instead of a main verb should be used because it is
not the main clause. The main clause is ‘there will be no school.’
76. B – Here, a present participle instead of a main verb should be used because it is
not the main clause. The main clause is ‘I declare the meeting adjourned.’ ‘There’
is followed by ‘be’ instead of ‘have’.
77. C – ‘Viewed’ is a past participle as it should be in passive form. The sentence can
be written as ‘When Terry was viewed from a distance, he looked like a handsome
guy.’ Note that a preposition ‘at’ should be used after ‘look’.
78. C – ‘give it a try’ means ‘to try something’. ‘it’ refers to the thing that you are
going to try.
79. C – ‘its’ is a determiner referring to ‘the People’s Republic of China’.
80. D – This is a tag question. ‘ain’t I’ shares the same subject ‘I’ in the main clause
and the opposite form of the verb ‘am’ should be used.
81. B – A possessive pronoun ‘mine’ should be used here referring to something that
belongs to the first person.
82. A – ‘who’ with a comma is used because ‘Lee Kin Wo’ is a person that doesn’t
need to be defined (non-defining clause)
83. C – ‘get used to’ means ‘be accustomed to’. A present participle should be used
after the verb ‘be’.
84. D – ‘himself’ refers to the same subject ‘he’, referring to ‘Bush’.
85. B – ‘when they died’ is a relative clause modifying ‘the day’. If ‘which’ were used,
a preposition ‘on’ should be used because we should say ‘on the day’.
86. B – A non-defining clause should be used because ‘four-letter-word’ is a specific
noun. Note that ‘that’ should not be used after a comma in relative clause.
87. A – A non-defining clause should be used because ‘Hong Kong Disneyland
Resort’ is a proper noun.
88. B – ‘whenever’ means ‘no matter when’, which specifies the time.
89. D – ‘To whom it may concern’ is a fixed phrase usually used in formal letters.
‘whom’ is a object relative pronoun.
90. A – ‘What’ means ‘The thing that’.
91. A – In the object position of the sentence, an object pronoun ‘me’ should be used.
92. B – In the subject position of the sentence, a subject pronoun ‘I’ should be used.
93. C – ‘can’t help + v~ing’ means ‘cannot bear the thing’.
94. B – Past tense should be used here because the condition is in past tense (didn’t).
95. D – ‘would rather’ means that ‘I would even choose to die’.
96. C – ‘had better’ is used when you want to give suggestions to somebody. It is
followed by a bare infinitive.
97. A – ‘to let someone down’ means ‘to make someone disappointed’.
98. B – We use ‘prefer A to B’, meaning that you like A more than B.
99. A/B/C – ‘needless to say’, ‘not to mention’ and ‘let alone’ are similar in meaning,
which can be added as an adverb phrase.
100. A – ‘good’ is used to modify the noun ‘Shark fin’. ‘taste’ is a special verb used
grammatically similar to ‘be’.
101. C – ‘saw’ (see) is a special verb followed by a bare infinitive or a gerund. A
gerund ‘knocking’ is used because the car ‘actively’ knocked down Terry and it
was happening at that moment. Note that a past participle can be used only when
passive voice is used.
102. B – ‘used to be’ is the same as ‘was’.
103. B – Past tense ‘rebuilt’ should be used first because of the time reference
‘decades ago’. We should not use present tense ‘rebuild’ because present tense
refers to something that always happens.
104. A – ‘is’ refers to the subject ‘Doing plenty of supplementary exercises’. Present
tense is used because it is always true.
105. C – Simple past tense should be used because of the time reference ‘yesterday’.
106. B – Simple past tense should be used because of the time reference ‘Last
Sunday’.
107. B – ‘blames’ should not be used because it is a simple present tense, which refers
to something that always happens, which contradicts the time reference ‘this
morning’.
108. D – ‘claimed’ should be used because the sentence was said in the past.
109. A – ‘compete’ means having a competition (here, on the price).
110. C – ‘lose’ (bare infinitive) should be used to balance with the verb ‘be’ after the
auxiliary verb ‘would’.
111. B – As ‘enjoying his bath’ takes a longer time then ‘rushed into the washroom’,
the verb in the when-clause should contain a verb in continuous form while the
verb in the main clause uses simple past.
112. D – 1 can be used when both events take a long period of time. 2 cannot be used
because the time for Terry to listen to Punk music cannot be longer than the time
for OTen to teach his fellow students. 3 can be used with the verb ‘was’ omitted
because ‘when’ can be regarded as a preposition. 4 can be used when both events
take a short period of time.
113. C – ‘have worked’ is used to emphasise the period of working (starting in the
past up till the present).
114. C – ‘by’ means ‘not later than’. It is used with a perfect tense. When the event
happens in the future, ‘will’ should be used (expecting something that will happen
in the future).
115. D – Passive voice should be used because the house cannot destroy itself, and
past perfect should be used because the condition of the sentence is in the past.
116. C – ‘after’ here is used as a preposition, so a gerund should follow. Passive voice
should also be used because of the indication of ‘by Joyce’.
117. B – A present participle is used to indicate an active action and it is used as an
adjective phrase to modify ‘free courses’.
118. B – ‘after’ here is used as a preposition, so a gerund should follow, and there is
no need to emphasise the sequence of the two events, so perfect form should not
be used.
119. A – A main verb should be used after the subject. The verb is in present tense
because it always happens.
120. D – Present perfect should be used because the survey has found the result since
the past until the present.
121. B – A past participle is used to modify ‘men’. A person is aged (in passive form)
because he cannot decide his age himself.
122. A/B – Both present and past tense can be used here, and the position here should
be the main verb of the sentence.
123. A – A past participle is used because the lesson is taught (in passive form). Note
that ‘is’ is the main verb of the sentence, not ‘taught’.
124. C – ‘recently’ indicates that the event starts happening in the past until the
present, so present perfect should be used.
125. B – Passive voice should be used because OTen cannot classify himself as one of
the world’s most intellectual and knowledgeable scholars.
126. A – Passive voice should be used because the people are forced to evacuate the
city. This is a past participle indicating a passive form.
127. C – Active form of participle should be used because the people (actively) refuse
to leave the city.
128. B – Active form of participle should be used because the students (actively)
queue in the centres.
129. B – Passive voice should be used because Terry is treated (by OTen) very well.
130. B – A first auxiliary verb should be used because the event is always true (not in
the past and not in an unreal situation). ‘can’ is used to show the capability.
131. B – All the auxiliary verbs can be used except ‘can’ because there is no need for
an indication of capability.
132. A – ‘shall’ is usually used in contract to show its formality.
133. B – Because it is a recommendation, ‘should’ should be used here.
134. B/D – A second auxiliary verb with perfect form is used to show an opposite
meaning. In the if-clause, a past perfect form is used to show the event in
conditional type III.
135. B – ‘by’ means ‘not later than’. It is used with a perfect tense. When the event
happens in the future, ‘will’ should be used (expecting something that will happen
in the future).
136. A – A second auxiliary verb with perfect form is used to show an opposite
meaning. In the if-clause, a past perfect form is used to show the event in
conditional type III.
137. D – ‘this morning’ indicates that the event happens in the past, so a past tense
should be used. Passive voice is used because Terry couldn’t assault himself.
138. D – ‘many years ago’ indicates that the event happens in the past, so a past tense
should be used. Passive voice is used because China couldn’t boycott itself.
139. D – A simple past tense should be used because the event simply happened in the
past.
140. C – ‘to attribute to something’ means something is caused by another thing.
Active voice should be used. Present perfect should be used because it has
happened till the present.
141. C – ‘in the following month’ indicates that the event happens in the future, so
‘will’ should be used. Passive voice is used because alumni cannot invite
themselves.
142. C – ‘at night’ is a fixed phrase indicating that the time when it is dark.
143. C – ‘in’ should be used for ages because age refers to the whole year. ‘in’ is used
for years.
144. A – ‘in’ here means ‘within’. It means that within four years time (starting from
the present moment until four years later), something will happen.
145. D – To meet ‘at’ a point meaning that to meet somewhere we can do something
(we’ll meet at K.OTen’s class to have lessons). ‘in’ here means ‘within’. It means
within five minutes (starting from the present moment until five minutes laters).
146. C – ‘at times’ is a fixed phrase meaning something happens or is true on some
occasions or at some moments.
147. B – ‘in’ here means ‘within’. It means that within 2 hours (starting from the
present moment until 2 hours later), something will happen.
148. A – ‘at’ is used for a point. ‘the start of the examination’ is a starting point, so ‘at’
should be used.
149. C – ‘on holiday’ is a fixed phrase meaning having a holiday.
150. B – ‘last’ is a verb which can be followed by ‘for’ or nothing, meaning
something continues to exist or happen for that length of time.
151. D - ‘at night time’ is same as ‘at night’ which is a fixed phrase meaning the time
when it is dark.
152. A - ‘in’ is the appropriate answer as ‘class’ is a three-dimensional place.
153. A - ‘work’ indicates that there is something happening in the place, so ‘at’ is the
first answer. ‘in’ refers to a place of a large area. Central and Hong Kong are the
cases here.
154. B - The question emphasizes the regular habit as the present tense shown.
Therefore, ‘at’ is a better answer as the focus is that there is something
happening.
155. A - The question emphasizes your physical location at the moment as the present
participle shown. Therefore, ‘in’ is a better answer as it refers to something just
inside a building.
156. C - ‘on the way’ is a phrase, meaning you have started your journey somewhere.
157. D - ‘in’ refers to a place of a large area. South Asia is the case here.
158. C - ‘at’ refers to a place as a point. ‘degree’ is the case here.
159. C - ‘at last’ is a fixed phrase meaning finally. ‘get into a school’ means being
accepted there as a student.
160. B - ‘at once’ is a fixed phrase meaning immediately.
161. A - ‘for’ is used when you explain the purpose of an object, action or activity.
162. B – ‘over’ is used when one thing is directly above the other. Alex can only fly
directly above the water.
163. C – ‘at’ refers to the place (Disneyland) as a whole. ‘up and down’ means the
movement of going upward and downward. ‘at’ refers to a place as a point
(speed).
164. C - ‘over’ here means covering something (part or all of Canada).
165. B - ‘in’ means ‘inside’. ‘curriculum’ can be regarded something abstract, which
contains critical thinking.
166. D - ‘in love with’ is a phrase meaning romantically attracted to somebody.
167. D - ‘on’ is here thought of a place as a surface (table). ‘during’ refers to a period
of time, usually for an event (meal) lasting through a period.
168. A - ‘in advance’ is a fixed phrase, meaning you do something before a particular
time. ‘on vacation’ is also a fixed phrase. It means having a holiday.
169. C - ‘hand in’ is a common phrasal verb. It means giving something to teachers or
people in authority. ‘by’ means on or before a particular time.
170. C - ‘beyond’ means to the further side of something. ‘think beyond the borders’
means not to restrict your thinking and consider as much as you can.
171. D - ‘by all means’ is an idiom. It means that you are very willing to do something
or to have something.
172. A - ‘at’ refers to a place as a point (the back of the bus). In this case, it refers to
an exact point of the bus.
173. C - ‘on’ is thought to be a place as a surface (bus).
174. B - ‘stand behind the yellow line’ is a common announcement heard in MTR
stations.
175. C - ‘between’ means a place that is before the one (Sai Wan Ho) but after the
other (Quarry Bay).
176. B - ‘near extinction’ means some special species are going to disappear on earth.
177. A - ‘verge’ is a line, so ‘on’ should be used. ‘on the verge of’ means something is
likely to happen very soon.
178. A - ‘Yin’ and ‘Yan’ are two extremes in a traditional Chinese theory. ‘opposite’
should be used as it means just on the other side of a space.
179. A - ‘besides’ means ‘in addition to’ instead of ‘next to’. So the only acceptable
answer is ‘in front ot’.
180. A - Not opening an umbrella inside a house is a taboo to Chinese. ‘house’ is a
three-dimensional place. ‘bring in’ means to attract something to a place.
181. A - ‘trickle down’ means that benefits given to people at the top of a system will
pass on to people lower down the system.
182. C - ‘through’ means past a barrier, a test or a stage. (firewalls)
183. A - ‘onto’ is used when something/somebody moves to a surface (diving board).
‘in’ here means inside the swimming pool, which is a three-dimensional place.
184. A - ‘off’ here means away from something.
185. C - Staying under the table can protect you from being hurt by the debris.
186. B - ‘over’ here means something is happening continuously within a period of
time. It means the same as ‘during’.
187. C - ‘travel around the world’ means visiting different countries. Don’t mess up
with ‘all over the world’ and ‘all around the world’, which means every part of
the world.
188. D - ‘intersection’ is a point where something happens. ‘along’ means in a line
that follows the side of something long.
189. B - ‘across’ means going from one side of something to the other. ‘on time’
means the plane was not late while ‘in time’ means the plane was not too late.
The sentence emphasizes movement instead of a physical location, so ‘at’ is the
appropriate answer.
190. C - ‘get up’ means ‘stand up’.
191. B – ‘rise’ means going upward, so ‘above’ is the only possible answer.
192. A - ‘at’ here refers to a place (hospital) where something (having treatment)
happens. However, ‘in hospital’ means that you need to stay in the hospital
overnight or for a period of time.
193. A - ‘by’ a particular method means to do something using that thing.
194. A - ‘at rest’ is a fixed phrase describing something not in an active state.
195. B - ‘at least’ is a fixed phrase meaning ‘not less than’. ‘hold’ unnecessarily
comes with ‘up’; otherwise, the meaning will turn into ‘to steal from a bank or
shop.’
196. A - ‘in an instant’ means a very short period of time whereas ‘at an instant’
means a particular point in time. ‘in time’ means ‘not too late for doing
something’ while ‘on time’ means ‘not later than a particular time set’.
197. A - ‘on’ here describes a state. ‘on business’ means ‘to work’. Similarly, ‘on loan’
means something has been borrowed.
198. B - ‘in general’ is a fixed phrase meaning ‘usually’.
199. A - ‘in stock’ means goods are available. In contrast, ‘out of stock’ means they
are not.
200. C - ‘by right’ means ‘if justice were done’.
201. A - ‘comment on’ means expressing opinions about something. ‘comment about’
is also correct.
202. A - In this case, ‘educational centre’ is not particularly referred.
203. A - In this case, ‘world’ is not particularly referred. It means ‘a society’ or ‘a
city’. ‘the world’ only refers to the planet where we are living.
204. A - ‘cruel dictator’ is mentioned for the first time, so non-definite article ‘a’
should be used. On the other hand, ‘one’ is a pronoun referring to Hitler;
therefore a definite article ‘the’ should be used.
205. B - ‘coldest’ is a superlative form of cold, which should come with ‘the’.
206. A - ‘Many’ means ‘a lot of’, which is used to describing countable nouns
(people).
207. B - ‘many more’ should be used instead of ‘much more’ because ‘students’ is a
countable noun.
208. A - ‘much’ means ‘a lot of’, which is used to describing uncountable nouns
(food).
209. B - When something is very unlikely to happen, past tense (came) should be used
in the if-clause and 2 nd aux verb (would) should be used in the main clause.
210. D - Being a superman is very unlikely to happen. So past tense (were) should be
used in the if-clause and 2nd aux verb (would) should be used in the main clause.
211. C - This is a general statement, which is very likely to happen. So present tense
(show) should be used in the main clause and 1st aux verb (will) should be used
in the main clause.
212. D - ‘wish’ means that you want something to happen though it is unlikely or
impossible. So ‘passed’ should be used to indicate the slightest possibility.
213. B - ‘had better’ belongs to the group of 1st aux verb. Therefore, in the if-clause,
present tense should be used.
214. B - ‘had better’ belongs to the group of 1st aux verb. Therefore, in the if-clause,
present tense should be used. ‘have wanted’ is not a suitable answer because
‘ever’ emphasizes all the time instead of a period of time.
215. A / B - For answer A, you are now not an American citizen but you could be one
in the future no matter it is likely or unlikely to happen. For answer B, you are
currently an American citizen and you will probably choose not to vote to Bush.
216. B - In this case, the two in the conversation should know each other. It means
‘meet you earlier’ is not possible. Therefore, it is an assumptive situation. Past
perfect should be used in the if-clause and 2 nd aux + perfect should be used in the
main clause.
217. A - B and C are incorrect because both if-clauses are in passive voice. Answer A
should be correct because it is an assumptive situation. Past perfect should be
used in the if-clause and 2nd aux + perfect should be used in the main clause.
218. C - ‘she is still there’ indicates that she had gone to do exercise. Therefore, it is
an assumptive situation. Past perfect should be used in the if-clause and 2 nd aux +
perfect should be used in the main clause.
219. B - ‘Do’ serves as an auxiliary verb for forming an interrogative clause.
220. C - 1. is not correct because ‘is’ and ‘love’ are both verbs. 4. is not correct either
because ‘does’ serves as an auxiliary verb, which should be followed by a bare
infinitive.
221. A - There is a verb missing in the question and ‘am’ is the only verb in the four
options
222. A - This sentence is not relevant to obligation, so ‘do’ can only be used to form a
question.
223. D - ‘so is my mother’ is an inversion when you gives a short answer. The
structure is SO + DO/BE + SUBJECT.
224. D - Answer A is not correct because it is delivered without negative meaning.
Answer C is grammatically correct but not semantically. Past tense should be
used as everyone knows Lee Kai Shing is the richest person in Hong Kong.
225. D - ‘should’ means ‘if’ in this conditional inversion. It is a likely event as we can
see the main clause is in present tense. Therefore, 1st aux should be used. Answer
B is not correct because ‘nor’ introduces the second alternative in a negative
statement. However, there is no first alternative in this sentence.
226. B - Answer A is not in the format of inversion. Answer C and D do not contain
all the content of the original sentence. ‘half a century’ is the content to be
emphasized, so, it should come with the negative word ‘not’ and be put at the
beginning of the sentence.
227. B/C/D - the subject and verb of option A is not exchanged.
228. B
229. B - The main clauses of option A and C are in imperative mood, which indicates
that the whole thing is likely to happen. Therefore, present tense should be used
in the if-clause. For option D, ‘should’ serves as ‘if’ but it is still an auxiliary
verb followed by a bare infinitive.
230. B - The verb of the first sentence is not ‘be’, so option A and C are incorrect.
There is no auxiliary verb in the first sentence either, so D is not correct.
231. A - The main clause of option A is in imperative mood, which indicates that the
whole thing is likely to happen. Therefore, present tense should be used in the
if-clause. Both option B and C contain an improper auxiliary verb in the main
clause.
232. C - option A and B are grammatically incorrect. For option D, a person who is
very likely to be rich will not say ‘just’ in the sentence.
233. A/D - both of them are grammatically correct but semantically different. For
option A, the event is an assumptive event while for option D, it is a likely event.
234. C - When talking about an event, past tense should be used. Pronouns should not
be used as a subject in an inversion report.
235. D - ‘in all my life’ indicates a period of time, so perfect tense should be used.
236. D - ‘No sooner…than’ is a common expression, meaning the second event
happens right immediately after the first event.
237. A - ‘may’ means I hope or I wish here. Right after ‘may’, there should be a
subject with a bare infinitive.
238. B - ‘Neither can I’ is an inversion when you give a short answer. ‘Me neither’ is
mostly used in informal occasions.
239. A - The verb of the first sentence is be. Therefore, ‘so am I’ should be used in
this case.
240. D - All A, B and C are not in the format of inversion as the position of the subject
and verb are supposed to be exchanged.
241. D - There are two subjects in option A (it and a penny). For option B, there are
two verbs in it. The ‘costs’ in option C should be a bare infinitive, following
‘does’ which serves as an auxiliary verb.
242. C - The original sentence is ‘It is not over until the fat lady sings.’
243. B - The original sentence is ‘I had not realised she wasn’t English until she
spoke.’
244. C - The original sentence is ‘I did not know that this spelled the end of my
career.’
245. D - The original sentence is ‘The house should be left unlocked on no account.’
246. C - Both option A and B have two verbs (‘was’ and ‘matter’).
247. A - The original sentence is ‘There is any danger to employees only if the red
light comes on.’ There is a verb missing in option B. For option C, past tense
should not be used as present tense is used in the if-clause. For option D, ‘it is’
should be followed by an adjective.
248. A - This structure ‘Here + Subject + Verb’ should be used when the subject is a
pronoun.
249. C - ‘There you are’ is an informal expression, used to emphasize that something
proves that you are right. So, present tense should be more appropriate than past
tense in this case.
250. A - ‘come up’ is a phrasal verb, meaning ‘stand close to’. ‘shut up’ means ‘stop
talking’.
251. D - ‘she has changed my life’ indicates that ‘I had never met this woman’ is an
assumptive situation. Therefore, past perfect should be used.
252. C - ‘wish’ means you want something to happen though it is unlikely or
impossible. Therefore, present tense is not appropriate.
253. A - ‘long’ is a verb, meaning you want something very much. Remember that it
should come with ‘for’.
254. B - ‘wish’ means you want something to happen though it is unlikely or
impossible. ‘desire’ means a strong wish, which is rather formal. ‘long for’
should be followed by a phrase instead of a clause.
255. C - ‘look forward’ should come with ‘to’. ‘hope’ and ‘wish’ are intransitive verbs
which should not come with an object whereas ‘desire’ is a transitive verb, which
should come with an object.
256. D - ‘wish’ means you want something to happen though it is unlikely or
impossible. ‘leave here as soon as possible’ is not difficult to achieve.
257. B - ‘it’s already close to it’ means it is very likely to happen very soon. Therefore,
‘hope’ is more suitable than ‘wish’.
258. C - ‘wish’ can be followed by two nouns when you give someone luck,
happiness or something good.
259. D - ‘want’ should come with ‘to’ instead of ‘of’.
260. D - ‘wanted’ is a past participle. When you are wanted, it means many people
feel a need for you.
261. B - ‘peak’ is the point when something is the strongest. In this case, it means
most tourists come in August.
262. A - ‘climax’ means the most exciting part of something.
263. D - ‘apex’ means the highest apart of something. ‘the apex of power’ is a
figurative expression, meaning the most powerful person.
264. C - ‘top’ of a structure means the highest rank in a structure. ‘top of society’
means rich people or people having high social status.
265. B - ‘on hand’ means ‘available’. When something is on hand, it means you can
use it if you need it.
266. C - ‘by hand’ means doing something with your hands rather than a machine.
267. C - ‘by hand’ means doing something with your hands rather than a machine.
268. A - ‘at first hand’ means experiencing something directly instead of being told by
others.
269. D - ‘hand in hand’ means two things are closely connected and cannot be
considered separately from each other.
270. B - ‘hands up’ means raising your hands.
271. D - ‘money in hand’ means that you have more money than you need.
272. D - When ‘in hand’ is used to describe a situation, it means the situation is under
control.
273. D - When a job is ‘in hand’, it means you are dealing with it now.
274. A - When a job is ‘on somebody’s hands’, it means he is responsible for the job.
275. D - When a place is ‘in somebody’ hands’, it means the place is controlled by
somebody.
276. A - ‘on hand’ means ‘available’. When something is on hand, it means you can
use it if you need it.
277. A - When a job is ‘on somebody’s hands’, it means he is responsible for the job.
278. A - ‘On one hand’ and ‘On the other hand’ are common expressions introducing
different points of view.
279. C - ‘out of hand’ means difficult or impossible to control.
280. C - If you reject something ‘out of hand’, you do so immediately without
thinking about it fully or listening to other people’s arguments.
281. D - ‘hand in’ means giving something to somebody in authority, who is the
teacher in this sentence.
282. B - ‘hand over to’ means giving something officially to another person.
283. B - ‘hand down’ means ‘pass down’. It means that you leave something to
somebody who is younger than you.
284. B - ‘hand over something’ means you give somebody else your position of power
or the responsibility for something
285. A - ‘handover’ is a noun, meaning the act of moving power from one group to
another.
286. B - ‘afraid’ can only be an adjective, which is not grammatically correct for the
sentence. ‘scare’ means a sudden feeling of fear. It makes no sense to say
somebody feels afraid of water suddenly.
287. D - ‘afraid’ can only be an adjective, which is not grammatically correct for the
sentence. ‘fear’ means feeling scared but not making scary feeling to others.
288. C - ‘fear’ means feeling scared, so it should be used in passive voice.
289. D - ‘fear’ means feeling scared, so it should be used in passive voice.
290. A - In this sentence, there is a verb missing. It means that the thief was scared
away but not Fat Hui, so the use of passive voice is not appropriate.
291. B - , 3 and 4 should come with ‘at’. ‘watch’ means looking at something for a
period of time and paying attention to what is happening.
292. B - ‘see’ means noticing something, so it cannot be followed by ‘around’.
‘watch’ means looking at something for a period of time and paying attention to
what is happening. ‘read’ means looking at and understanding the meaning of
written words. ‘glimpse’ means seeing something for just a moment, so it is
rather difficult to look around the conference room for just a short period of time.
293. C - 2, 5 and 6 should not come with ‘at’ as they do not mean to focus the sight at
a particular point.
294. B - ‘see’ cannot come with ‘at’. You need to spend much time to ‘look’ and
‘watch’ something, so they are not appropriate for the sentence. ‘glimpse’ means
looking at something for a very short time but not thoroughly.
295. B - ‘sight’ means the act of seeing something. ‘vision’ means the ability to see.
‘look’ and ‘glimpse’ means the act of looking at something.
296. B - glimpse’ means looking at something in a very short of time and very briefly,
so when you do not look at something carefully, it is hard to say it is a good
bargain.
297. D - ‘look’ and ‘glance’ should come with ‘at’. ‘see’ here means noticing
something.
298. A - ‘look’ means the act of
299. B - ‘read’ means looking at and understanding the meaning of written words.
300. D - ‘see’ means noticing something. ‘watch’ means looking at something for a
period of time and paying attention to what is happening. 1, 3 and 4 should be
followed by a preposition.