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PSAT/NMSQT English Grammar Questions
Practise english grammar (english) for the Preliminary SAT / National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test: 10 multiple-choice questions, each with the correct answer and a worked explanation. Click an option to check it, or “New questions” for another set.
English Grammar practice
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Q1.Choose the correct option: If I ___ you, I would accept the offer.
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Answer: B — were
The subjunctive “were” is used in hypothetical conditions: “If I were you…”.
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Q2.Choose the correct tag question: She can swim, ___?
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Answer: B — can’t she
A positive statement takes a negative tag with the same auxiliary: “can’t she?”.
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Q3.Choose the correct article: He is ___ honest man.
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Answer: B — an
“Honest” begins with a vowel sound (silent h), so “an”.
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Q4.Choose the correct option: She has been working here ___ 2019.
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Answer: B — since
Use “since” with a point in time (2019) and “for” with a duration.
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Q5.Choose the correct comparative: This road is ___ than that one.
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Answer: A — narrower
Two-syllable adjectives ending in -ow usually take -er: “narrower”.
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Q6.Choose the correct option: Hardly had he left ___ it started raining.
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Answer: A — when
The correlative pair is “hardly … when” (also “no sooner … than”).
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Q7.Choose the correctly punctuated sentence.
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Answer: A — It’s a lovely day.
“It’s” is the contraction of “it is”; “its” is possessive.
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Q8.Choose the correct option: I look forward to ___ from you.
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Answer: B — hearing
In “look forward to”, “to” is a preposition, so it takes a gerund: “hearing”.
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Q9.Choose the correct option: Scarcely ___ the room when the lights went out.
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Answer: D — had I entered
Negative adverbs at the start (scarcely, hardly) cause inversion: “had I entered”.
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Q10.Identify the error: “One of my friend is a doctor.”
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Answer: B — my friend
After “one of” use a plural noun: “one of my friends”.
How to approach english grammar questions
Find the subject first and make the verb agree with it, ignoring phrases in between. Watch fixed prepositions (good at, insist on, prefer to) and tense sequence in reported speech.
About PSAT/NMSQT
Preliminary SAT / National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test — conducted by College Board & National Merit Scholarship Corporation. The practice SAT that also screens for National Merit Scholarships.
Original practice questions written for this site in the style and difficulty of each exam’s syllabus. They are not past papers and the site is not affiliated with any exam body. Exam patterns, marking schemes and syllabi change — always check the latest official notification.
PSAT/NMSQT practice topics
| Topic | Section | Question source |
|---|---|---|
| Algebra | Mathematics | Calculated (new numbers every set) |
| Percentages | Quantitative aptitude | Calculated (new numbers every set) |
| English Grammar | English | Question bank |
| Vocabulary & Idioms | English | Question bank |