Register Today for free Practice Sets on each and every topic.New Course MS Excel is Live NowFree online Typing Course

English Grammar - Sentence Structure and Transformation: 199 MCQs with Answers

Sentence Structure and Transformation - English Grammar
English Grammar - Sentence Structure and Transformation

English Grammar- Sentence Structure and Transformation

Questions on sentence patterns, types of sentences and transformation of sentences.
70 min read 199 Questions

Your Progress

0%
0%
199
Total
0
Attempted
199
Remaining

Q1. Identify the pattern of the following sentence and choose the correct option : He left her everything he possessed.

Right Answer: SVOO

Explanation:

In ‘He left her everything he possessed’, ‘He’ is the subject and ‘left’ the finite verb. The verb ‘leave’ is here used ditransitively, that is with two objects: ‘her’ is the indirect object naming the person who benefits, and ‘everything he possessed’ is the direct object naming the thing transferred. The pattern is therefore Subject–Verb–Indirect Object–Direct Object, abbreviated SVOO. There is no adverbial of place, time or manner in the sentence, so patterns containing A are ruled out, and no word completes the meaning of an object, so there is no complement either.

Was this helpful?

No suggestions yet — be the first.

Your email will not be published. Suggestions are reviewed before appearing.

Security code image. Reload the page if you cannot read it. New code

Q2. Identify the sentence pattern of the sentence given below : It was too long a talk to hold the interest of the listeners.

Right Answer: Simple sentence

Explanation:

A simple sentence contains only one finite verb and therefore only one clause. In ‘It was too long a talk to hold the interest of the listeners’, the only finite verb is ‘was’; the phrase ‘to hold the interest of the listeners’ is a to-infinitive, which is a non-finite form and does not create a clause of its own. Since there is no subordinating conjunction and no coordinating conjunction joining two finite clauses, the sentence is neither complex nor compound. Infinitives, participles and gerunds often make a simple sentence look longer than it is.

Was this helpful?

No suggestions yet — be the first.

Your email will not be published. Suggestions are reviewed before appearing.

Security code image. Reload the page if you cannot read it. New code

Q3. 'Only a coward would say so'. Convert the above sentence into negative statement and choose the correct option :

Right Answer: None but a coward would say so.

Explanation:

When a sentence beginning with the exclusive word ‘only’ is transformed into the negative, the standard equivalent is ‘none but’, which preserves the exclusive meaning by first denying everyone and then admitting the single exception. ‘Only a coward would say so’ therefore becomes ‘None but a coward would say so.’ The other options reverse the sense: ‘No coward would say so’ and ‘A coward would not say so’ both deny of the coward exactly what the original asserts of him. Similar transformations are ‘Only he can do it’ to ‘None but he can do it’.

Was this helpful?

No suggestions yet — be the first.

Your email will not be published. Suggestions are reviewed before appearing.

Security code image. Reload the page if you cannot read it. New code

Q4. Choose the most suitable option to replace the highlighted part of the sentence: She has the reputation to be a kind woman.

Right Answer: of being a kind woman

Explanation:

The noun 'reputation' is idiomatically followed by the preposition 'for' or 'of' together with a gerund, not by a to-infinitive. The original phrasing 'reputation to be a kind woman' is therefore ungrammatical. Replacing it with 'of being a kind woman' produces the correct pattern 'She has the reputation of being a kind woman'. Option one changes the meaning and still reads awkwardly after 'reputation'. Option three inserts the definite article 'the', which wrongly implies one specific kind woman already known to the listener. Option four repeats the faulty infinitive structure. Hence option two is correct.
Was this helpful?

No suggestions yet — be the first.

Your email will not be published. Suggestions are reviewed before appearing.

Security code image. Reload the page if you cannot read it. New code

Q5. Choose the most suitable option to replace the highlighted part of the sentence: The doctor advised him to avoid eating sweets and doing exercise regularly.

Right Answer: to avoid eating sweets and to exercise regularly

Explanation:

The original sentence is faulty because 'doing exercise regularly' is joined to 'to avoid eating sweets', which makes it read as though the doctor advised avoiding exercise as well. Two separate pieces of advice are intended, so both must appear as parallel to-infinitives. Option three supplies exactly that with 'to avoid eating sweets and to exercise regularly', keeping the structures balanced and the meaning clear. Option one changes the form after 'advised him', option two contains the ungrammatical 'to exercises', and option four mixes a negative infinitive with a bare verb. Hence option three is correct.
Was this helpful?

No suggestions yet — be the first.

Your email will not be published. Suggestions are reviewed before appearing.

Security code image. Reload the page if you cannot read it. New code

Q6. Choose the most suitable option to replace the highlighted part of the sentence: No sooner had I reached the station when the train departed.

Right Answer: than the train departed

Explanation:

'No sooner' is one half of a fixed correlative pair and must always be followed by 'than', never by 'when' or 'then'. The original sentence therefore contains a standard error. Replacing the highlighted portion with 'than the train departed' produces the correct construction: No sooner had I reached the station than the train departed. Option two confuses the conjunction 'than' with the adverb 'then'. Option three keeps the wrong conjunction 'when'. Option four adds the inverted 'did the train depart', but inversion belongs only in the first clause after 'No sooner', not after 'than'. Hence option one is correct.
Was this helpful?

No suggestions yet — be the first.

Your email will not be published. Suggestions are reviewed before appearing.

Security code image. Reload the page if you cannot read it. New code

Q7. Choose the most suitable option to replace the highlighted part of the sentence: The manager asked to the clerk to submit the report.

Right Answer: asked the clerk to submit the report

Explanation:

The verb 'ask' takes a direct personal object without any preposition, so the phrase 'asked to the clerk' is ungrammatical and the word 'to' must be removed. The correct pattern is 'ask somebody to do something', which gives 'asked the clerk to submit the report'. Option one wrongly replaces the infinitive with the conjunction 'that' followed by a bare verb. Option two removes the necessary article 'the' before 'report'. Option four inserts 'to' after 'told' and then drops the infinitive marker before 'submit', producing two errors. Hence option three is correct.
Was this helpful?

No suggestions yet — be the first.

Your email will not be published. Suggestions are reviewed before appearing.

Security code image. Reload the page if you cannot read it. New code

Q8. Choose the most suitable option to replace the highlighted part of the sentence: She insisted me to take the medicine.

Right Answer: that I take the medicine

Explanation:

The verb 'insist' is never followed by an object and an infinitive, so the structure 'insisted me to take' is incorrect. In standard English, 'insist' is followed either by the preposition 'on' with a gerund, as in 'She insisted on my taking the medicine', or by a 'that' clause containing a subjunctive verb, as in 'She insisted that I take the medicine'. Option one uses this correct subjunctive pattern, where the base form 'take' is used without the marker of tense. The remaining options either keep the wrong object or produce awkward and ungrammatical constructions. Hence option one is correct.
Was this helpful?

No suggestions yet — be the first.

Your email will not be published. Suggestions are reviewed before appearing.

Security code image. Reload the page if you cannot read it. New code

Q9. Choose the most suitable option to replace the highlighted part of the sentence: No one knows where is he hiding.

Right Answer: where he is hiding

Explanation:

When a question is embedded inside a larger statement, it becomes an indirect or reported question and the normal statement word order must be restored. This means the subject comes before the verb and the interrogative inversion disappears, so 'where is he hiding' must become 'where he is hiding'. Option one wrongly keeps the inversion and also uses the base form 'hide' after 'is'. Option two adds the unnecessary preposition 'at' at the end, which is redundant after 'where'. Option four produces a confused structure with two verbs. Hence option three is the correct choice.
Was this helpful?

No suggestions yet — be the first.

Your email will not be published. Suggestions are reviewed before appearing.

Security code image. Reload the page if you cannot read it. New code

Q10. Choose the most suitable option to replace the highlighted part of the sentence: I suggested that he goes to the doctor immediately.

Choose the most suitable option to replace the highlighted part of the sentence:

I suggested that he goes to the doctor immediately.

Right Answer: go to the doctor immediately

Explanation:

The verb 'suggest' belongs to the group of verbs that take the subjunctive mood in a that-clause expressing a proposal or recommendation. In the subjunctive the base form of the verb is used regardless of the subject, so the correct construction is 'I suggested that he go to the doctor immediately'. The third person '-s' is dropped, which is why 'goes' is wrong. Option three supplies 'go to the doctor immediately' and preserves the adverb. Option one alters the wording unnecessarily, option two keeps the faulty 'goes', and option four is ungrammatical. Hence option three is correct.
Was this helpful?

No suggestions yet — be the first.

Your email will not be published. Suggestions are reviewed before appearing.

Security code image. Reload the page if you cannot read it. New code
Published: 04 August 2026 | Last Updated: 08 September 2026 |

Was this topic helpful?
Deepak - Educational Content Creator

Written by Deepak

Educational Content Creator

I am an educational content creator dedicated to making learning simple, engaging, and accessible for students preparing for competitive exams. He specializes in creating high-quality study materials, including notes, multiple-choice questions (MCQs), previous year question papers, practice tests, and exam-oriented resources.

Experience: 10+ years in Education and Competitive Exam Content Creator

0 Comments

Be the first to comment.

Leave a comment

Your email will not be published. Comments are reviewed before appearing.

Security code image. Reload the page if you cannot read it. New code