QUESTION 32- 36: GRAMMAR IN USE

Mini Heroes Challenge · 5 lessons

The _________, exhausted from a long day, are sleeping peacefully on the bed

  • babies
  • baby
  • babies'
  • baby's
Why:

Why "babies" is correct:
The sentence needs a plural noun (more than one baby) as the subject. "Babies" is the simple plural form that works as the subject of the verb "are sleeping."

Why the others are wrong:
- B. baby – Singular; doesn't match "are" (which requires plural). You'd need "is sleeping."
- C. babies' – This is a possessive form (showing ownership). You'd need it if something *belonged to* the babies, like "the babies' toys," not as a subject.
- D. baby's – Singular possessive; wrong for the same reasons as C, plus it's singular when you need plural.

As soon as the kitchen lights were switched on, the mice __________ running around, searching for hiding places.

  • were
  • is
  • are
  • was
Why:

Correct Answer: were
- "Mice" is plural, so it needs the plural verb form "were" (not the singular "is" or "was")
- This matches the past tense required by "were switched on"

Why the others are wrong:
- B (is) - singular present tense; doesn't match the plural subject or past tense
- C (are) - plural present tense; correct number but wrong tense (the sentence is past tense)
- D (was) - singular past tense; wrong number for the plural subject "mice"

The teacher told us to submit our homework, but I think I left ___________ at home.

  • mine
  • yours
  • theirs
  • ours
Why:

A. mine ✓

"Mine" is correct because it's a possessive pronoun that refers to something belonging to the speaker (I/me). The sentence needs a pronoun showing whose homework was left at home—the speaker's own homework.

Why the others don't work:
- B. yours - refers to the person you're talking to, not yourself
- C. theirs - refers to other people, not the speaker
- D. ours - refers to a group including the speaker, but the speaker is clearly talking about their individual homework

______ of these two historical figures made a greater impact on modern science, Albert Einstein or Isaac Newton?

  • Which
  • Who
  • Why
  • Where
Why:

# Why "Which" is correct:

"Which" is correct because it's asking you to select between two specific people (Einstein or Newton). "Which" is used when choosing from a limited, defined group.

Why the others are wrong:
- "Who" asks for identity/names, but we already know who they are—we're choosing between them
- "Why" asks for reasons or causes, not a selection between two options
- "Where" asks about location or place, which doesn't fit this comparison question

Can you pass me ___________ books over there on the shelf?

  • those
  • this
  • that
  • these
Why:

Correct answer: A. those

  • "Those" is correct because it refers to multiple books that are far away ("over there on the shelf"), and we need a plural demonstrative.

Why the others are wrong:

  • B. this — singular, and used for things nearby (not far away)
  • C. that — singular, even though it works for distant objects
  • D. these — plural, but used for things that are close, not far away on a shelf

Practise any of these free

Make an account in under a minute, or try it as a guest first.

Start learning free