Verbal Ability Practice Set (36 Questions with Answers)

These are practice questions written in the style of company aptitude tests. They are not actual questions from any company's test. Time yourself: aim for 36 questions in 30 minutes, then check the answers and explanations at the end.

Every answer was checked by working it through twice, once by the author and once by a separate reviewer. For the numerical and reasoning sections of the same tests, use the percentage, profit and loss practice set and the logical reasoning practice set.

A. Spot the error

Each sentence is split into parts (a), (b) and (c). Choose the part that has a grammatical error, or (d) if there is none.

1. (a) Each of the students   (b) in the final year   (c) have submitted the form.   (d) No error

2. (a) Neither the manager nor his assistants   (b) was present   (c) at yesterday's meeting.   (d) No error

3. (a) If I would have known about the traffic,   (b) I would have left   (c) much earlier.   (d) No error

4. (a) This year,   (b) the number of applicants   (c) have increased sharply.   (d) No error

5. (a) He has been working   (b) in this company   (c) since five years.   (d) No error

6. (a) Despite of the rain,   (b) the match   (c) started on time.   (d) No error

7. (a) I look forward   (b) to meet you   (c) at the interview.   (d) No error

8. (a) The report was   (b) well written   (c) and contained no errors.   (d) No error

B. Fill in the blank

Choose the word or phrase that best completes the sentence.

9. She is good ___ solving puzzles.

   (a) in   (b) at   (c) on   (d) with

10. The interviewer asked me where ___.

    (a) did I study   (b) do I study   (c) I studied   (d) had I studied

11. He insisted ___ paying for the dinner.

    (a) for   (b) to   (c) at   (d) on

12. Hardly had the meeting started ___ the power went out.

    (a) than   (b) then   (c) when   (d) as

13. I would rather walk ___ wait for the bus.

    (a) than   (b) then   (c) to   (d) instead

14. Each of the candidates ___ given a hall ticket.

    (a) were   (b) are   (c) have   (d) was

15. She has lived in Pune ___ 2019.

    (a) for   (b) since   (c) from   (d) by

16. If it rains tomorrow, we ___ the match.

    (a) would postpone   (b) postponed   (c) will postpone   (d) had postponed

C. Sentence improvement

Choose the best replacement for the part named in brackets. If the sentence is already correct, choose (d).

17. He did not knew the answer. (Part: did not knew)

    (a) did not know   (b) does not knew   (c) not knew   (d) No improvement

18. Being a holiday, the office was closed. (Part: Being a holiday)

    (a) Since it was a holiday   (b) Being holiday   (c) As being a holiday   (d) No improvement

19. She prefers tea than coffee. (Part: prefers tea than coffee)

    (a) prefers tea from coffee   (b) prefers tea to coffee   (c) prefers tea over than coffee   (d) No improvement

20. I am knowing him for ten years. (Part: am knowing)

    (a) knew   (b) have known   (c) am known   (d) No improvement

21. We discussed about the problem for an hour. (Part: discussed about the problem)

    (a) discussed on the problem   (b) discussed over about the problem   (c) discussed the problem   (d) No improvement

22. The results will be announced next week. (Part: will be announced)

    (a) will announced   (b) will be announce   (c) are announce   (d) No improvement

D. Commonly confused words

Choose the correct word.

23. The new rule will ___ all students.

    (a) effect   (b) affect   (c) effects   (d) affection

24. Please ___ my apologies for the delay.

    (a) accept   (b) except   (c) expect   (d) excerpt

25. He gave me some useful ___ on my resume.

    (a) advise   (b) advices   (c) advice   (d) advised

26. The ___ reason for the delay was the weather.

    (a) principle   (b) principal   (c) principally   (d) principled

27. Don't ___ your hall ticket before the test.

    (a) loose   (b) loss   (c) lose   (d) lost

28. The candidates must bring ___ own pens.

    (a) there   (b) they're   (c) theirs   (d) their

E. Reading comprehension

Read each passage, then answer the questions that follow it using only what the passage says.

Passage 1

Many students prepare for tests by reading the same chapter again and again the night before. It feels productive, because the material looks familiar by the third reading. But familiarity is not the same as memory. When you recognise a page, you have only shown that you have seen it before; you have not shown that you can produce the answer without help. A more demanding habit is to close the book and try to recall what you read, then check what you missed. This takes more effort and often feels slower, which is exactly why many people avoid it. Spreading this kind of practice over several days, rather than doing it all at once, gives you more chances to notice what you have forgotten. The aim is not to make studying feel easy. It is to make the test feel easy, by having already done the hard part: retrieving the answer on your own.

29. According to the passage, why does rereading feel productive?

    (a) It covers more chapters   (b) The material starts to look familiar   (c) Teachers recommend it   (d) It takes less time than other methods

30. What does the author suggest instead of rereading?

    (a) Reading faster   (b) Studying only the night before   (c) Recalling the material without the book, then checking   (d) Making notes on every chapter

31. Why, according to the passage, do many people avoid the habit the author recommends?

    (a) It needs special books   (b) It takes more effort and feels slower   (c) It works only for some subjects   (d) It is hard to check

32. Which statement best expresses the main idea of the passage?

    (a) Studying should always feel easy   (b) Recognising a page shows you have learnt it   (c) Practising recall over several days prepares you better than rereading   (d) Tests are easier without preparation

Passage 2

A small company that makes school furniture had a problem: orders were arriving faster than its workshop could finish them. The owner's first idea was to hire more carpenters. Before doing so, she spent a week watching how work moved through the workshop. She noticed that the carpenters were rarely the reason for delays. Most of the waiting happened at the painting stage, where one machine was shared by everyone and often stood idle while workers looked for the right colour. She bought a second machine and labelled the paint shelves by colour. Within a month, the workshop was finishing more orders each week, without a single new hire. The owner later said that the most useful thing she did was not the purchase but the week of watching, because it stopped her from solving the wrong problem.

33. What was the owner's first plan?

    (a) Buy a second painting machine   (b) Hire more carpenters   (c) Take fewer orders   (d) Change the colours used

34. Where did most of the waiting happen?

    (a) At the painting stage   (b) In cutting the wood   (c) In delivery   (d) In taking orders

35. What did the owner do to fix the delay?

    (a) Hired new painters   (b) Bought a second machine and labelled the paint shelves   (c) Asked the carpenters to work longer hours   (d) Stopped taking new orders

36. What lesson does the owner draw from the experience?

    (a) New machines always solve delays   (b) More staff always means more output   (c) Labels save money   (d) Watching the work first stopped her from solving the wrong problem

Answers and explanations

Spot the error

1. (c). "Each" is singular, so the verb is singular: "Each of the students in the final year has submitted the form."
2. (b). With "neither … nor", the verb agrees with the nearer subject. "Assistants" is plural, so it should be "were present".
3. (a). For an imagined past, the "if" clause takes the past perfect: "If I had known about the traffic". In an unreal past condition, "would have" goes in the result clause, not the "if" clause.
4. (c). "The number of" takes a singular verb: "the number of applicants has increased". (Compare "A number of applicants have applied", which is plural.)
5. (c). Use "for" with a length of time and "since" with a starting point: "for five years", or "since 2021".
6. (a). In modern English, "despite" takes no "of": "Despite the rain". ("In spite of the rain" is also correct.)
7. (b). In "look forward to", "to" is a preposition, so it takes an -ing form: "I look forward to meeting you".
8. (d). The sentence is correct.

Fill in the blank

9. (b) at. "Good at" something.
10. (c) I studied. In a reported question, the word order is that of a statement: "asked me where I studied", not "where did I study".
11. (d) on. "Insist on" doing something.
12. (c) when. "Hardly … when" (or "scarcely … when"). "Than" pairs with "no sooner".
13. (a) than. "Would rather … than". "Then" means "after that".
14. (d) was. "Each" takes a singular verb: "Each of the candidates was given a hall ticket".
15. (b) since. "Since" with a starting point (2019); "for" with a length of time ("for five years").
16. (c) will postpone. A likely future condition takes the present in the "if" clause and "will" in the other: "If it rains, we will postpone".

Sentence improvement

17. (a) did not know. After "did", the verb takes its base form: "did not know".
18. (a) Since it was a holiday. "Being a holiday" has no subject of its own, so it seems to describe "the office". Giving the clause its own subject fixes it.
19. (b) prefers tea to coffee. "Prefer A to B", not "than".
20. (b) have known. "Know" is a state verb and is not normally used in continuous forms, and a situation that started in the past and continues takes the present perfect: "I have known him for ten years". (a) "knew" would mean you no longer know him, which changes the meaning.
21. (c) discussed the problem. "Discuss" takes a direct object without "about": "discussed the problem". ("A discussion about the problem" is correct, because there it is a noun.)
22. (d) No improvement. "Will be announced" is the correct future passive.

Commonly confused words

23. (b) affect. "Affect" is usually the verb (to influence); "effect" is usually the noun (a result).
24. (a) accept. "Accept" means to receive; "except" means "apart from".
25. (c) advice. "Advice" (meaning suggestions) is uncountable, so it has no plural "advices" in this sense; "advise" is the verb.
26. (b) principal. "Principal" means main or most important; "principle" is a rule or belief.
27. (c) lose. "Lose" is the verb (to misplace); "loose" means not tight.
28. (d) their. "Their" shows possession; "there" is a place and "they're" means "they are".

Reading comprehension

29. (b). "It feels productive, because the material looks familiar by the third reading."
30. (c). "Close the book and try to recall what you read, then check what you missed."
31. (b). "This takes more effort and often feels slower, which is exactly why many people avoid it."
32. (c). The passage contrasts rereading with recall practice spread over several days and argues for the second. Option (a) contradicts it: "The aim is not to make studying feel easy."
33. (b). "The owner's first idea was to hire more carpenters."
34. (a). "Most of the waiting happened at the painting stage."
35. (b). "She bought a second machine and labelled the paint shelves by colour."
36. (d). "The most useful thing she did was not the purchase but the week of watching, because it stopped her from solving the wrong problem."

Score yourself

Preparing for a specific test? The TCS NQT guide shows what its verbal ability section covers and fits this set into a four-week plan.