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