Grammar Quiz

Question 1

Fill in the blank.
"We _____ to hire that developer for two years now, but he keeps turning us down."

An action that started in the past and is still going on takes the present perfect continuous: "we have been trying … for two years." Polish uses a simple present here, which is why "we try to hire him for many years" slips out.

Question 2

Fill in the blank.
"When I was younger, I _____ that TV series every single evening."

used to + base verb describes a past habit that has stopped. Don't confuse it with "be / get used to + -ing," which means "accustomed to."

Question 3

Fill in the blank.
"It bothered me at first, but after ten years in this house I _____ the noise from the road."

Three different forms: I am used to it (it is normal for me now — the state), I got used to it (the change happened in the past), I've gotten used to it (gradually, up to now). "I get used to it" describes a general habit of adapting, not your current state.

Question 4

Fill in the blank.
"Sorry I'm late — the meeting _____ an hour ago, but some issues came up."

should have + past participle = it was expected in the past but didn't happen. Compare: "The meeting should be finished in an hour" points forward from now.

Question 5

Fill in the blank.
"The new tool helps you _____ routine tasks much faster."

Like let and make, help takes an object plus the bare infinitive: "it helps you do certain tasks," "she helped me find the file." ("helps you to do" is also fine.) Only "help you with doing" uses the -ing form.

Question 6

Fill in the blank.
"I like to _____ a podcast while I'm doing household chores."

Listen always takes "to" before an object — listen to music, listen to me, listen to something in English. (Hear takes no preposition: "I heard it on the radio.")

Question 7

Fill in the blank.
"There was almost nothing to do _____ three months of the project."

A period of time takes in: "in the first three months," "in the last week." "At first" means "initially" and cannot be followed by a time span.

Question 8

Fill in the blank.
"During my ride _____ yesterday, I listened to a TED podcast."

With movement, home behaves like an adverb and takes no preposition: go home, drive home, my ride home, on the way home. ("At home" describes location, not direction.)

Question 9

Fill in the blank.
"The appointment was too short to _____ the technical issues properly."

Discuss is transitive — it takes a direct object with no preposition: discuss the budget. Only talk needs "about": talk about the budget.

Question 10

Fill in the blank.
"He's completely _____ smart glasses — he wears them every single day."

Fascinated by (or "fascinated with"). The thing causing the feeling follows "by," as with impressed by, surprised by, shocked by.

Question 11

Fill in the blank.
"We ran into a guy from my university whose name I _____ know."

Even goes after the auxiliary and before the main verb: "I don't even know," "she has even offered to help." Polish puts nawet out front, which produces "even I don't know" — in English that means something different ("me as well, not just the others").

Question 12

Fill in the blank.
"_____ consider a formal agenda necessary — it really depends on the meeting."

English can't front "not always" before the subject. Negate the verb and put always after the auxiliary: "I don't always consider it necessary." Note also consider something necessary — no "as."

Question 13

Fill in the blank.
"_____ some kind of issue when you start a new project."

English needs the dummy subject there to say that something exists, and the frequency adverb sits between "there" and the verb: "there is almost always," "there was rarely." A statement can never begin with the verb.

Question 14

Fill in the blank.
"He's a good developer, but he isn't _____ for that senior role yet."

Enough comes after an adjective or adverb (skilled enough, fast enough, human enough) but before a noun (enough time, enough water, enough light).

Question 15

Choose the correct sentence.

Two valid patterns: show someone something (no preposition) or show something to someone. When the person comes first, drop the "to." The same applies to give, send, tell, and offer.

Question 16

Fill in the blank.
"_____ mostly focused on negative stories these days."

News ends in -s but is an uncountable singular noun: the news is, the news was. The same goes for advice, information, research, and equipment — all singular, never "informations."

Question 17

Fill in the blank.
"We had a big _____ about that decision last week."

Argue is the verb ("we used to argue about that all the time"); argument is the noun. After "a big," you need the noun.

Question 18

Fill in the blank.
"Many _____ people move to wealthier countries for better opportunities."

Unemployed is the adjective that describes a person; unemployment is the noun for the situation: "Unemployment is a serious issue in developing countries."

Question 19

Fill in the blank.
"This model is too expensive — I think I'll go with _____ ."

another + singular ("another one," "another neighbor of ours"), other + plural ("compared to other ones"). "Another" already contains the article "an," so "an another" is never possible.

Question 20

Fill in the blank.
"There are a lot of differences between Europe and _____ in this area."

Country names built from plurals or common nouns take the: the US, the UK, the Netherlands, the Philippines, the European Union. Single-word names don't: Poland, Germany, France.

Question 21

Fill in the blank.
"Self-checkouts really _____ the whole shopping process."

Speed up = make something faster. Fasten means to secure or tighten — fasten your seat belt, fasten the load. The two are unrelated despite the shared root.

Question 22

Fill in the blank.
"Wait a second — I'll check in the _____ to see whether we have more in stock."

A classic false friend: Polish magazyn is a warehouse or storage room; an English "magazine" is something you read. In a shop you can also say "in the back of the shop."

Question 23

Fill in the blank.
"When it comes to cybersecurity, I think I'm quite _____ ."

Past participles are modified by the adverb well, not the adjective "good": well protected, well known, well paid, well written.

Question 24

Fill in the blank.
"The solar panels produce far less energy _____ ."

Weather and temperature take the dummy subject it: it's cloudy, it's quite cold in our house, it was raining. "There is" introduces existence, and English never leaves the subject out.

Question 25

Fill in the blank.
"My dog barks all the way through my calls — he's incredibly _____ ."

Distracting = it pulls your attention away. Disturbing = upsetting or shocking (a disturbing image). Distracted describes the person who has lost focus, not the cause.

Question 26

Fill in the blank.
"If something goes wrong at the self-checkout, you should _____ a member of staff."

Flag someone down = signal to get their attention so they come over: flag down a taxi, flag down a waiter. "Wave someone off" means the opposite — dismiss them.

Question 27

Fill in the blank.
"The laptop was heavily discounted, so I _____ before anyone else could."

With a separable phrasal verb, a pronoun object must sit between the verb and the particle: snapped it up, gave it up, cut it out, took it over. A full noun can go on either side ("snapped up the laptop" / "snapped the laptop up").

Question 28

Fill in the blank.
"A merger hasn't been decided yet, but it's definitely _____ ."

On the table = still an option, under consideration. The opposite is "off the table" — no longer a possibility. Useful in negotiations: "There are three choices on the table."

Question 29

Fill in the blank.
"New regulations alone can't _____ data collection by these companies."

Curb = restrain, limit, keep under control — curb spending, curb emissions. "Cure" means heal; "curve" is a bend in a line.

Question 30

Fill in the blank.
"Without a local supplier, you'd be _____ to find those parts in under a month."

Be hard-pressed to do something = find it very difficult, or nearly impossible: "You'd be hard-pressed to find a better deal." Note that "hardly" means "almost not," which changes the meaning completely.