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GMAT Standard English — practice questions

Explore 27 free Standard English questions in GMAT Verbal Reasoning. Open each question or exercise to read its content, reference answers and available explanation.

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Standard English questions and exercises with answers

Showing questions 1–27 of 27.

**Each of the students ___ to bring a notebook.** Which is correct?Read the answer and worked solution →**The author and her editor ___ working closely on the manuscript.** Which is correct?Read the answer and worked solution →**The team played ___ in their final match of the season.** Which adverb is correct?Read the answer and worked solution →**The students who arrived late ___ to remain in the corridor.** Which is correct?Read the answer and worked solution →Which sentence uses the SEMICOLON correctly?Read the answer and worked solution →**The dog wagged ___ tail when it saw its owner.** Which choice is correct?Read the answer and worked solution →**The professor and her student ___ working on the experiment last night.** Which is correct?Read the answer and worked solution →**Neither of the proposals ___ acceptable to the committee.** Which is correct?Read the answer and worked solution →**The committee, along with its advisors, ___ to vote on the proposal next week.** Correct verb:Read the answer and worked solution →**My friend, Sarah, ___ moving to Paris next year.** Correct:Read the answer and worked solution →**The data ___ been analyzed and published last month.** Correct:Read the answer and worked solution →**The author's argument, ___ I find compelling, has been widely criticized.** Correct relative pronoun:Read the answer and worked solution →**The reporter ___ wrote the article won an award.** Correct:Read the answer and worked solution →**The book on the shelf ___ been there for years.** Correct:Read the answer and worked solution →**Which sentence is CORRECT?**Read the answer and worked solution →**'The team played well, ___ they did not win.'** Best completing word:Read the answer and worked solution →**She is more talented than ___ .** Correct:Read the answer and worked solution →**The dog and ___ are best friends.** Correct:Read the answer and worked solution →**The teacher gave the assignment to John and ___ .** Correct:Read the answer and worked solution →**The professor's lectures, ___ are renowned for their clarity, often attract international students.** Correct:Read the answer and worked solution →Which version uses the apostrophe correctly? 'The cat licked _____ paws clean.'Read the answer and worked solution →Choose the option that follows subject-verb agreement: 'The basket of mangoes _____ on the kitchen counter.'Read the answer and worked solution →Choose the option that uses parallel structure: 'On weekends she enjoys _____.'Read the answer and worked solution →Choose the option that uses correct idiomatic prepositions: 'The committee's findings are very _____ those of the earlier panel.'Read the answer and worked solution →SAT · English · Academic Vocabulary — SynonymsRead the answer and worked solution →SAT · English · AntonymsRead the answer and worked solution →SAT · English · Words in Context — Memory FlipRead the answer and worked solution →

Worked practice questions

**Each of the students ___ to bring a notebook.** Which is correct?

  1. have needed
  2. need
  3. needing
  4. needs
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Correct answer: D. needs

The subject is 'Each' (singular indefinite pronoun), even though 'of the students' is plural. Singular subject requires singular verb 'needs'. SAT frequently tests this — 'each', 'every', 'either', 'neither' all take singular verbs.

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**The author and her editor ___ working closely on the manuscript.** Which is correct?

  1. is
  2. was
  3. are
  4. has been
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Correct answer: C. are

Compound subject 'the author AND her editor' = plural (two people). Plural verb 'are'. (Note: when subjects are joined by 'or', the verb agrees with the nearer one — different rule.)

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**The team played ___ in their final match of the season.** Which adverb is correct?

  1. goodly
  2. good
  3. best
  4. well
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Correct answer: D. well

'Well' is the adverb form. 'Played' is a verb and needs an adverb to modify it. 'Good' is the adjective form (would modify a noun). 'Goodly' is archaic; 'best' would need comparison context.

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More Verbal Reasoning topics

Text CompletionVerbal AbilityVocabularyGreek and Latin RootsCritical ReasoningExpression of IdeasGrammar and VocabularySentence Equivalence