C-CAT — English Language: Detailed Notes & 50 MCQs

Complete definitions + examples + 50 practice MCQs (answers highlighted). Optimized for rsetu.link
Mobile-first • SEO-ready • Printable

How to use this guide

Read the topic definitions and examples first. Then attempt the 50 MCQs without looking at answers. For timed practice, set 45 minutes. To convert to a self-test, remove the .option.correct styles.

Detailed Notes — Definitions & Examples

1. Parts of Speech

Definition: Categories of words based on their function in a sentence.

  • Noun: Name of a person/place/thing/idea. Example: student, city, freedom.
  • Pronoun: Replaces a noun. Example: he, they, which.
  • Verb: Action or state. Example: run, is, seem.
  • Adjective: Describes a noun. Example: large, quick, blue.
  • Adverb: Modifies verb/adjective/adverb. Example: quickly, very, well.
  • Preposition: Shows relation. Example: in, on, between.
  • Conjunction: Joins words/clauses. Example: and, but, although.
  • Interjection: Emotion. Example: Wow!, Ouch!

2. Tenses (Overview + Examples)

Definition: Tense shows time of action. Important to master simple, continuous, perfect and perfect continuous forms.

  • Simple Present: I write. (Habitual)
  • Present Continuous: I am writing. (Ongoing)
  • Present Perfect: I have written. (Completed with relevance)
  • Simple Past: I wrote.
  • Past Perfect: I had written. (Earlier past)
  • Future (will/going to): I will write / I am going to write.

3. Subject-Verb Agreement

Rule: Verb must agree with subject in number and person. Watch for intervening phrases.

Example: The list of items is on the table. (List = singular)

4. Articles (a, an, the)

Use a/an for non-specific singular; the for specific items or unique nouns.

Example: I saw a dog. The dog was barking.

5. Modals (can, could, may, might, must, should, etc.)

Express ability, permission, possibility, obligation.

Example: You must submit the form. He might come later.

6. Active & Passive Voice

Passive puts object as subject to emphasize the action receiver. Form: be + past participle.

Example: Active: She wrote the letter. Passive: The letter was written by her.

7. Direct & Indirect Speech

Direct: exact words quoted. Indirect: reported speech with tense changes.

Example: Direct: He said, "I am tired." Indirect: He said that he was tired.

8. Clauses (Independent & Dependent)

Independent clause can stand alone; dependent cannot.

Example: Although it rained, we went out. (Although it rained = dependent)

9. Conditionals (Zero, First, Second, Third)

  • Zero: If + present, present (general truth). If you heat ice, it melts.
  • First: If + present, will + base (real future). If it rains, I will stay.
  • Second: If + past, would + base (unreal present). If I were rich, I would travel.
  • Third: If + past perfect, would have + past participle (past regret). If I had known, I would have gone.

10. Punctuation (common rules)

  • Comma to separate clauses and items. Use semicolon to join related independent clauses.
  • Colon before lists or explanations. Quotation marks for direct speech.
  • Apostrophe for possession or contractions (don\'t, John\'s book).

11. Commonly Confused Words

  • Accept/Except: accept = receive; except = excluding.
  • Affect/Effect: affect = verb (influence); effect = noun (result).
  • Their/There/They\'re: possession/location/contraction.

12. Para-jumble & Cohesion

Look for opening sentences, connectors, chronology and pronoun references to arrange sentences.

Connector clues: however, therefore, subsequently, meanwhile.

13. Reading Comprehension Tips

  • Skim for main idea, read questions, then scan passage for answers.
  • Watch for inference questions — answers not directly stated but implied.

14. Idioms & Phrasal Verbs

Common idioms (e.g., a blessing in disguise, hit the nail on the head). Phrasal verbs: look up, come across, bring about.

15. Vocabulary — Synonyms & Antonyms

Learn root words, prefixes and suffixes; practice synonyms/antonyms in context.

50 MCQs — Practice (Answers highlighted)

Attempt without peeking at the green highlights for a self-test. Answers are intentionally highlighted for quick review.

1. Choose the correct synonym for abundant.
A) scarce
B) plentiful
C) meager
D) rare
2. Choose the correctly punctuated sentence.
A) Its a lovely day, isn't it?
B) It's a lovely day isn't it?
C) It's a lovely day, isn't it?
D) Its a lovely day isn't it?
3. Identify the error: "Each of the students have submitted their project."
A) have → has
B) Each → Every
C) their → his/her
D) No error
4. Choose the sentence with correct subject-verb agreement.
A) The team are playing well.
B) The team is playing well.
C) The team have playing well.
D) The team were playing well.
5. Select the correct option: "Had I known, I ____ told you."
A) would have
B) would have
C) will have
D) would
6. Choose the correct article: "He is ___ honest man."
A) a
B) an
C) the
D) (no article)
7. Pick the option that best replaces the underlined part: "She advised me to not go."
A) to not go
B) not to go
C) don't go
D) to never go
8. Choose the correct tense: "By this time tomorrow, I ___ the report."
A) finish
B) will finish
C) will have finished
D) have finished
9. Choose the correctly spelled word.
A) recieve
B) recieve
C) receive
D) recive
10. Select the best phrasal verb: "We will ___ the meeting until next week."
A) call off
B) call on
C) call off
D) call up
11. Choose the sentence with correct parallel structure.
A) She likes hiking, to swim and biking.
B) She likes hiking, swimming and biking.
C) She likes to hike, swimming and bike.
D) She likes hiking, swimming, and to bike.
12. Choose the correct form: "If I ___ you, I wouldn't do that."
A) were
B) was
C) am
D) had been
13. Which is the antonym of constructive?
A) helpful
B) positive
C) destructive
D) productive
14. Choose the correct preposition: "She is good ___ math."
A) in
B) at
C) on
D) for
15. Choose the sentence which uses 'whom' correctly.
A) Whom is at the door?
B) To whom did you speak?
C) Whom wrote the letter?
D) Whom will go with you?
16. Pick the best option to complete: "Hardly ___ I reached when it started to rain."
A) had
B) did
C) have
D) was
17. Identify the sentence with correct punctuation.
A) He said, I will come.
B) He said, "I will come."
C) He said "I will come".
D) He said I will come.
18. Choose the correct word: "She is the ___ person for the role."
A) ideal
B) ideal
C) ideally
D) idealness
19. Choose the option that best paraphrases: "He resigned owing to irreconcilable differences."
A) He was promoted due to differences.
B) He left because disagreements could not be resolved.
C) He was fired because of differences.
D) He stayed despite differences.
20. Choose the right connective: "He was tired; ___, he kept working."
A) therefore
B) however
C) nevertheless
D) because
21. Fill the blank: "I look forward ___ your reply."
A) to
B) to
C) for
D) at
22. Choose the best meaning of the idiom: 'to hit the nail on the head'.
A) to describe exactly the cause
B) to hammer something
C) to overstate
D) to ignore
23. Choose the correctly formed word: "He showed great _____ in adversity."
A) brave
B) bravely
C) bravery
D) braveness
24. Select the option with correct use of 'less'/'fewer'.
A) There are less cars today.
B) There are fewer cars today.
C) Less people came.
D) Fewer water is left.
25. Choose the correct passive form: "They have completed the project."
A) The project has been completed.
B) The project has been completed by them.
C) The project is completed by them.
D) The project was completed by them.
26. Which sentence is error-free?
A) He is taller than me.
B) He is taller than I.
C) He is more taller than I.
D) He is the taller than me.
27. Choose the word closest in meaning to concise.
A) wordy
B) brief
C) long
D) verbose
28. Choose the right preposition: "She blamed him ___ the mistake."
A) for
B) for
C) of
D) on
29. Choose the sentence which uses conditional correctly.
A) If I were you, I would apologize.
B) If I was you, I would apologize.
C) If I am you, I would apologize.
D) If I had been you, I would apologize.
30. Choose the best word to complete: "He has an excellent ____ of humor."
A) sense
B) sense
C) sens
D) scents
31. Choose the correct synonym for ambiguous.
A) clear
B) unclear
C) certain
D) obvious
32. Identify the sentence with a misplaced modifier.
A) She served cupcakes to the children on paper plates.
B) She served the children cupcakes on paper plates.
C) On paper plates, she served the children cupcakes.
D) She served cupcakes on paper plates to the children.
33. Choose the correctly spelled word.
A) mantenence
B) maintanence
C) maintenance
D) maintenence
34. Choose the right reported speech: "He said, 'I have finished my work.'"
A) He said that he has finished his work.
B) He said that he had finished his work.
C) He said that he will have finished his work.
D) He said that he finishes his work.
35. Pick the option that best corrects: "She is more kinder than her sister."
A) more kind
B) kinder
C) the kinder
D) most kind
36. Choose the sentence with correct use of comma.
A) After the rain, the sun appeared.
B) After the rain the sun, appeared.
C) After, the rain the sun appeared.
D) After the rain the sun appeared,
37. Choose the correct word: "He reacted ___ anger."
A) on
B) with
C) with
D) to
38. Choose the correct option: "No sooner had she arrived ___ she left."
A) than
B) than
C) when
D) then
39. Choose the best connective: "He didn't study; ___, he failed the test."
A) therefore
B) therefore
C) however
D) although
40. Choose the appropriate tag question: "You will join us, ___?"
A) will you
B) won't you
C) won't you
D) will not you
41. Choose the sentence with correct infinitive use.
A) He decided to leave early.
B) He decided leaving early.
C) He decided leave early.
D) He decided for leaving early.
42. Choose the best alternative to replace the underlined phrase: "She ran very fast."
A) very quick
B) very quickly
C) very quickly
D) very quicklier
43. Choose the correct comparative form: "good" → ____
A) better
B) more good
C) gooder
D) best
44. Choose the correct meaning of 'ubiquitous'.
A) rare
B) everywhere
C) unique
D) unknown
45. Select the correct option: "She prefers tea ___ coffee."
A) to
B) than
C) over
D) with
46. Choose the correct sentence.
A) Neither of the answers are correct.
B) Neither of the answers is correct.
C) Neither of the answers were correct.
D) Neither the answers is correct.
47. Choose the correct gerund usage: "I am good at ___."
A) to dance
B) dancing
C) dance
D) to dancing
48. Choose the option that corrects: "He suggested that she goes to the doctor."
A) she goes
B) she go
C) she went
D) she will go
49. Choose the best word: "Her argument was very ____; everyone agreed."
A) ambiguous
B) weak
C) persuasive
D) confusing
50. Reading: Read the short passage and answer. Passage: "Careful editing improves clarity; concise language reduces reader fatigue." What is the main idea?
A) Editing is unnecessary.
B) Conciseness is confusing.
C) Editing and concise language enhance clarity.
D) Long sentences are better.

If you want: a printable PDF, a no-answer version for self-testing, or step-by-step explanations for each MCQ — reply with your preference and I'll generate it.