Test your understanding of some commonly confused words with this grammar exercise.
1Those tablets are really ................ My headache is much better now.
Wrong!
"Effective" means producing the intended result.
2The postal service is not as ............... as the telephone service.
Wrong!
"Efficient" means working well without wasting time, money, or energy.
3That idea has been ............... for years.
Wrong!
"Dead" is the adjective needed after "has been" here.
4So far 50 people have ............... in the fighting.
Wrong!
"Died" is the past participle of the verb "die" after "have".
5She was standing ............... a crowd of children.
Wrong!
"Among" is used when someone is in a group or crowd.
6I think we are making a ............... mistake.
Wrong!
"Big" is the natural adjective with the abstract noun "mistake".
7She has got longer hair ............... I have.
Wrong!
"Than" is used after a comparative adjective such as "longer".
8It was ............... good soup that we couldn't stop drinking it.
Wrong!
"Such" is used before an adjective plus noun, as in "good soup".
9When I was twelve, I ............... knew that I wanted to be a scientist.
Wrong!
"Already" shows that this was true earlier than might be expected.
10Have you got a cold cream for ............... skin?
Wrong!
"Sensitive" describes skin that is easily affected or irritated.
11"I want to buy that car." "Be ..............., my dear. We haven't got that much money."
Wrong!
"Sensible" means showing good judgment or common sense.
12It is not my ............... to believe everything I hear.
Wrong!
"Policy" means a rule or principle for what you do.
Answers
- Those tablets are really effective. My headache is much better now.
- The postal service is not as efficient as the telephone service.
- That idea has been dead for years.
- So far 50 people have died in the fighting.
- She was standing among a crowd of children.
- I think we are making a big mistake.
- She has got longer hair than I have.
- It was such good soup that we couldn’t stop drinking it.
- When I was twelve, I already knew that I wanted to be a scientist.
- Have you got a cold cream for sensitive skin?
- “I want to buy that car.” “Be sensible, my dear. We haven’t got that much money.”
- It is not my policy to believe everything I hear.