English Grammar - Verb: 73 MCQs with Answers

When learners use their native language (mother tongue) to understand, analyze, or discuss complex material in a second language (like an English poem), this teaching approach is known as using the mother tongue as a "resource." In modern language pedagogy, this practice is often called "Translanguaging" or utilizing multilingual resources to help students grasp difficult concepts in the target language.

Why the other options are incorrect:

• (1) evaluative comprehension: This refers to making judgments or forming opinions about a text. While discussing a poem might involve evaluation, the specific act of using a native language to do so highlights the use of a multilingual strategy, not just the act of evaluating.
• (3) pre-reading skills: These are activities done before reading a text to prepare the learner (like looking at titles to predict the story or learning key vocabulary). Discussing the meaning of a poem usually happens during or after reading.
• (4) first language acquisition: This refers to the natural, subconscious process by which infants and young children learn their very first language from birth. It is a developmental milestone, not a teaching strategy used in a classroom to learn a second language.

In general, print materials are:

• Portable – Books and notes can be carried easily.
• Easily available – They are widely accessible in libraries, bookstores, and schools.
• Cost-effective – Especially when compared with many digital devices and multimedia resources.

J.C. Nesfield's grammar books (such as English Grammar: Past and Present) are classic examples of prescriptive grammar.

Here is why:

• Prescriptive Grammar: This approach lays down strict rules about how a language should or must be used. It focuses on what is grammatically "correct" versus "incorrect," often based on traditional or classical rules. Nesfield's books were written exactly for this purpose—to teach students the rigid, formal rules of Standard English.

Why the other options are incorrect:

(1) Universal Grammar: This is a modern linguistic theory (proposed by Noam Chomsky) suggesting that the ability to learn grammar is hard-wired into the human brain and that all human languages share a common structural basis.

(2) Cognitive Grammar: This is a psychological approach to language that argues grammar and meaning are deeply tied to human cognition and how we perceive the world.

(3) Descriptive Grammar: This is the modern linguistic approach that observes and describes how native speakers actually use the language in real life, without judging it as "right" or "wrong." Nesfield did the exact opposite of this.

The correct answer is 'did, do'. The word 'yesterday' shows that the sentence is in the simple past tense, so the past auxiliary 'did' is required to frame the question. A very important rule of English grammar is that when an auxiliary such as do, does or did is used, the main verb always remains in its bare infinitive form, that is, the first form. Therefore we say 'What did you do with this knife yesterday?' and never 'What did you did'. Hence option (3) is correct.

The subjunctive is the verb form used for wishes, demands, recommendations and statements of necessity, and in the present subjunctive the base form of the verb is used regardless of the subject. In ‘It is essential that he take great care’, the expected indicative form would be ‘takes’, and the bare form ‘take’ after the expression of necessity is the mark of the subjunctive. ‘Take great care!’ is imperative, ‘I advise you to take great care’ uses an infinitive after a verb of advising, and ‘You must take great care’ is an ordinary indicative with a modal.

The sentence expresses a confident deduction. Since the person has been working all day, the speaker is almost certain that he is tired, and English marks such a logical conclusion about the present with ‘must’. ‘Can’ would express ability or theoretical possibility rather than certainty, and in this sense it normally appears only in questions or negatives. ‘Should’ would express obligation or mild expectation, which is not intended here. ‘Need’ is a semi-modal used for necessity, chiefly in negatives and questions, and it does not fit an affirmative deduction of this kind.

'Completed' is the main verb carrying the core action; 'has' is the auxiliary verb supporting it.

'Playing' is the main verb expressing the action; 'are' functions as the auxiliary verb.