MCQs - Syntax and Sentence Structure

1. Syntax refers to:

A. The sound system of a language

B. The rules governing sentence structure

C. Word meanings

D. Vocabulary acquisition

Answer: B. The rules governing sentence structure

 

2. Identify the type of sentence: “Although he was tired, he kept working.”

A. Simple Sentence

B. Compound Sentence

C. Complex Sentence

D. Compound-Complex Sentence

Answer: C. Complex Sentence

 

3. Which of the following is a grammatically correct sentence in English?

A. She to school goes.

B. Goes school she to.

C. She goes to school.

D. School she goes to.

Answer: C. She goes to school.

 

4. In the sentence "She gave him a book," "him" is the:

A. Direct Object

B. Indirect Object

C. Subject

D. Complement

Answer: B. Indirect Object

 

5. Which of the following best describes a compound sentence?

A. One independent clause

B. One independent and one dependent clause

C. Two or more independent clauses joined by a conjunction

D. A sentence without a subject

Answer: C. Two or more independent clauses joined by a conjunction

 

6. In English syntax, a typical word order in a declarative sentence is:

A. VSO (Verb-Subject-Object)

B. SOV (Subject-Object-Verb)

C. OSV (Object-Subject-Verb)

D. SVO (Subject-Verb-Object)

Answer: D. SVO (Subject-Verb-Object)

 

7. Which sentence contains a relative clause?

A. She sings beautifully.

B. The boy who won the race is my friend.

C. I read a book yesterday.

D. Let’s go outside.

Answer: B. The boy who won the race is my friend.

 

8. A sentence with one independent clause and one or more dependent clauses is called a:

A. Simple sentence

B. Compound sentence

C. Complex sentence

D. Compound-complex sentence

Answer: C. Complex sentence

 

9.Transformational grammar was pioneered by:

A. Noam Chomsky

B. Ferdinand de Saussure

C. B.F. Skinner

D. Lev Vygotsky

Answer: A. Noam Chomsky

 

10.The sentence "Colorless green ideas sleep furiously" is grammatically correct but meaningless. This highlights:

A. Phonological rules

B. Syntactic competence

C. Pragmatic failure

D. Morphological derivation

Answer: B. Syntactic competence (Chomsky's example of syntax-semantics distinction.)

 

11.The process of omitting a sound in connected speech (e.g., "don't" → "dont") is called:

A. Assimilation

B. Elision

C. Liaison

D. Metathesis

Answer: B. Elision

12. Which part of a syllable is mandatory?

A. Onset

B. Nucleus

C. Coda

D. Both onset and coda

Answer: B. Nucleus

 

13.In the word "cat," which part is the onset?

A. /æ/

B. /k/

C. /t/

D. None

Answer: B. /k/

 

14.In the word "see," which part is the coda?

A. /s/

B. /iː/

C. None

D. /siː/

Answer: C. None

 

15.The combination of nucleus and coda is called:

A. Onset

B. Rime

C. Cluster

D. Syllable

Answer: B. Rime

 

16.Which of the following syllables has no onset?

A. "stop"

B. "eat"

C. "cat"

D. "splash"

Answer: B. "eat"

 

17.What is the maximum number of consonants possible in an English onset cluster?

A. 2

B. 3

C. 4

D. 5

Answer: B. 3

 

18. Which of the following is a noun phrase?

A. "Running quickly"

B. "The tall building"

C. "Because she left"

D. "Is sleeping"

Answer: B. "The tall building"

 

19.A dependent clause:

A. Can stand alone as a sentence

B. Always begins with a coordinating conjunction

C. Cannot function independently

D. Must contain a finite verb

Answer: C. Cannot function independently

 

20.Identify the prepositional phrase in: "The book on the shelf is mine."

A. "The book"

B. "on the shelf"

C. "is mine"

D. "shelf is"

Answer: B. "on the shelf"

 

21.Which of these is a verb phrase?

A. "Under the bridge"

B. "Might have been sleeping"

C. "The red car"

D. "After the storm"

Answer: B. "Might have been sleeping"

 

22."She finished her work, and she went home." This is a:

A. Simple sentence

B. Compound sentence

C. Complex sentence

D. Compound-complex sentence

Answer: B. Compound sentence

 

23."Although it rained, we played outside." This is a:

A. Simple sentence

B. Compound sentence

C. Complex sentence

D. Imperative sentence

Answer: C. Complex sentence

 

24.Which sentence is declarative?

A. "Close the door."

B. "Did you see that?"

C. "The sky is blue."

D. "What a surprise!"

Answer: C. "The sky is blue."

 

25."Don’t touch that wire!" is an example of:

A. Interrogative

B. Imperative

C. Exclamatory

D. Declarative

Answer: B. Imperative

 

26.In "The chef cooked a delicious meal," the subject is:

A. "The chef"

B. "cooked"

C. "a delicious meal"

D. "chef cooked"

Answer: A. "The chef"

 

27.The direct object in "She sent him a letter" is:

A. "She"

B. "him"

C. "a letter"

D. "sent"

Answer: C. "a letter"

 

28.In "The teacher gave the students homework," the indirect object is:

A. "The teacher"

B. "gave"

C. "the students"

D. "homework"

Answer: C. "the students"

 

29.A gerund phrase functions as a:

A. Verb

B. Noun

C. Adjective

D. Adverb

Answer: B. Noun

 

30.Which sentence has a passive voice construction?

A. "The dog chased the cat."

B. "The cat was chased by the dog."

C. "She is reading a book."

D. "They will win the game."

Answer: B. "The cat was chased by the dog."