Grammar Quiz

Question 1

Fill in the blank.
"She introduced herself as _____ at the start of the meeting."

Job titles used after as or be need the indefinite article when referring to one person in a role. ✓ She works as a project manager. / I'm a developer. / He's an analyst. "The project manager" implies a specific, known person; no article at all is incorrect.

Question 2

Fill in the blank.
"December is always _____ for our department — everyone is at full capacity."

A singular countable noun always needs an article (or other determiner) — you cannot use it bare. ✓ a busy time, a natural way, a tough question. "Busy time" with no article is a very common error — think of it as an alarm: no article + singular noun = something is missing.

Question 3

Fill in the blank.
"We plan to expand into two new markets _____ ."

The near future is a fixed expression — it always takes the. Same pattern: in the end, in the meantime, in the past, in the present. "In near future" (no article) is a direct-translation error; "in a near future" treats it as non-specific, which doesn't work here.

Question 4

Fill in the blank.
"I'm so glad it's almost _____ — I really need a break."

"The weekend" refers to the specific, upcoming weekend both speakers understand — use the. Same logic: the morning, the evening, the future, the past. No article ("weekend") is incorrect. "A weekend" implies any random weekend, not this particular one.

Question 5

Fill in the blank.
"I found a great tutorial _____ that explains the whole setup process."

Several media and communication channels take the as a fixed article: the internet, the radio, the news. ✓ on the internet, on the radio, in the news. "On internet" (no article) is incorrect. Use on, not in — you are accessing a surface, not entering a physical space.

Question 6

Fill in the blank.
"Warsaw is one of the biggest _____ in Poland."

"One of the…" always requires a plural noun. ✓ one of the biggest cities / one of the best decisions / one of our most important clients. The logic: there is a group (cities), and Warsaw is one member of that group. A singular noun after "one of" is always wrong.

Question 7

Fill in the blank.
"We need _____ as possible before the client call."

Information is uncountable — use much, not "many." ✓ as much information, so much information, a piece of information. Same type: advice, feedback, news, research, knowledge. "Many" is only for countable nouns: many ideas, many reports, many clients.

Question 8

Fill in the blank.
"I did _____ on the topic before the meeting."

Research is uncountable — no plural form, no "several." ✓ some research, a lot of research, a piece of research. If you want to count individual studies: several studies / two papers. "Researches" does not exist as a common noun in standard English.

Question 9

Fill in the blank.
"She's very good at _____ with new clients — she always puts them at ease."

Small talk is uncountable — no plural. ✓ make small talk, have small talk. The verb is make (or have) — not "do." "Small talks" (plural) and "doing small talk" are both incorrect.

Question 10

Fill in the blank.
"The report gathered different _____ from across the industry."

In compound nouns, the main noun is pluralised — not the modifier. ✓ points of view, heads of department, editors-in-chief, passers-by. "Point of views" pluralises the wrong word; "points of views" doubles the error.

Question 11

Fill in the blank.
"I'm really looking forward to _____ you at the conference next month."

"Look forward to" ends with the preposition to — and prepositions are followed by a noun or gerund, never a bare infinitive. ✓ looking forward to seeing / to meeting / to hearing from you. This catches many learners because "to" looks like the infinitive marker — it isn't here.

Question 12

Fill in the blank.
"She spent the whole afternoon _____ the numbers."

"Spend time" is always followed by the gerund (verb + -ing). ✓ spend time checking / spend time preparing / spend time figuring it out. Same pattern: have trouble doing, have difficulty doing, have fun doing.

Question 13

Fill in the blank.
"We'll move to a bigger flat when our son _____ a little older."

After time conjunctions (when, as soon as, once, before, after, until), use the present simple — not the future — even when referring to future events. ✓ when he is older / when I get there / as soon as I arrive. "When he will be" is a very common Polish-speaker error.

Question 14

Which sentence uses "despite" correctly?

Despite is a preposition — it must be followed by a noun or gerund, never a full clause. ✓ despite feeling ill / despite the bad weather / despite the difficulties. To use a full clause, switch to although or even though: ✓ although I was feeling ill. There is also no "despite of" in English.

Question 15

Fill in the blank.
"I _____ the project would take this long — I'd have planned differently."

After the auxiliary didn't, always use the base form of the main verb — the past tense is already carried by "didn't." ✓ didn't think, didn't know, didn't realise. "Didn't thought" adds a second past marker, which is redundant and incorrect.

Question 16

Fill in the blank.
"This approach is much more effective _____ the one we used last year."

Comparatives always use than, not "that" or "then." ✓ better than, more than, faster than, less than, easier than. "That" introduces a clause or points to something; "then" refers to time. Only "than" signals a comparison.

Question 17

Choose the correct form.
"The latest data _____ we need to rethink the pricing strategy."

Suggest does not take an indirect object directly. ✓ The data suggests (that) we should… If you want to include "me," you need a different structure: ✓ It suggests to me that… but "suggests me that" is never correct — "me" cannot sit between the verb and its object.

Question 18

Fill in the blank.
"I _____ check my emails after 8 p.m. — it really affects my sleep."

The negative of an infinitive is formed by placing not directly before to — not after it. ✓ try not to, decide not to, choose not to, manage not to. "Try to not check" splits the infinitive unnecessarily and sounds unnatural. "Try not" without "to" is incomplete.

Question 19

Which sentence is correct?

English does not allow double negatives. A negative auxiliary (can't, won't, don't) + a negative pronoun (nothing, nobody, never) cancel each other out and create a positive meaning. ✓ We can't do anything (negative + positive pronoun) OR ✓ We can do nothing (positive + negative pronoun) — never both together.

Question 20

Choose the correct form.
"I know _____ in the company — she's been there since the beginning."

In an embedded (indirect) question, the word order does not invert — use subject + verb, as in a statement. ✓ I know how important this position is. "How important is this position?" is a direct question; once embedded inside "I know…", the inversion disappears.

Question 21

Fill in the blank.
"Can you _____ me to send the invoice before I leave today?"

Remind = external — one person prompts another. ✓ Can you remind me to…? / He reminded me about the meeting.
Remember = internal — you retrieve something from your own memory. ✓ I remembered to send it. / I just remembered I have a call.
You cannot ask someone to "remember you" to do something — only to remind you.

Question 22

Fill in the blank.
"The candidate was _____ for the interview — she had a detailed answer for every question."

When modifying a past participle used as an adjective, you need an adverb. Well is the adverb form of good. ✓ well-prepared, well-organised, well-designed, well-known. "Good-prepared" uses an adjective where an adverb is needed — a very common error. "Goodly" is archaic and not used in modern English.

Question 23

Fill in the blank.
"After a long discussion, we finally _____ a new timeline for the project."

Agree needs a preposition when followed by a noun. ✓ agree on a plan/timeline/price (= reach an agreement about something). ✓ agree to a proposal/request (= accept/consent to). "Agreed a timeline" with no preposition is incorrect — it is a direct-translation error.

Question 24

Fill in the blank.
"The system automatically backs up all data _____ every night."

Use at with precise times and fixed points in the day: at midnight, at noon, at 3 p.m., at dawn. Use in with longer periods: in the morning, in the evening. "In the midnight" treats midnight as a period rather than a point — incorrect.

Question 25

Fill in the blank.
"I need to _____ the client before the end of the day."

Call is a transitive verb — it takes a direct object with no preposition. ✓ call the client, call me, call your manager. "Call to someone" is a direct translation from Polish (zadzwonić do kogoś) and does not work in English. Compare: call someone vs. talk to / speak to someone (where "to" is needed).