WREN & MARTIN's English grammar-10 MCQs on adjectives used as nouns
10 MCQs on Adjectives Used as Nouns, Position of Adjectives and Correct Usage of Some Adjectives
1. "The government has introduced several new schemes to provide financial assistance to the poor." — What is the grammatical function of "the poor" in this sentence?
- A) It functions as an adjective modifying a noun
- B) It functions as an adverb modifying the verb "provide"
- C) It functions as a noun referring to poor people as a group
- D) It functions as a pronoun replacing a previously mentioned noun
Answer: C) It functions as a noun referring to poor people as a group ("The poor" is an example of an adjective used as a noun — when the definite article "the" is placed before certain adjectives they function as collective nouns referring to a group of people sharing that characteristic — other examples include "the rich" "the elderly" "the sick" "the blind" and "the homeless.")
2. "Which of the following sentences correctly uses the adjective "elder" and "older"?"
- A) She is older than her elder sister by three years.
- B) My elder brother is older than me by five years.
- C) He is the most elder member of the family.
- D) She is elder to all her colleagues in the office.
Answer: B) My elder brother is older than me by five years. ("Elder" is used to show family relationships and seniority within a family and is not used with "than" — "older" is used for general comparisons of age and is used with "than" — "elder" cannot be used predicatively after a linking verb while "older" can — the correct usage is "my elder brother" for relationship and "older than me" for comparison.)
3. "She wore a beautiful long red silk evening gown to the award ceremony." — Which of the following correctly identifies the order of adjectives in this noun phrase?
- A) Opinion — length — colour — material
- B) Colour — length — opinion — material
- C) Material — colour — length — opinion
- D) Length — opinion — colour — material
Answer: A) Opinion — length — colour — material (When multiple adjectives precede a noun they must follow a specific order — "beautiful" is an opinion adjective "long" is a size/length adjective "red" is a colour adjective and "silk" is a material adjective — the standard order of adjectives in English is opinion — size — age — shape — colour — origin — material — purpose.)
4. "The doctor advised him to take fewer calories and less sugar in his daily diet." — Which rule applies to the correct usage of "fewer" and "less"?
- A) "Fewer" is used with uncountable nouns and "less" is used with countable nouns
- B) "Fewer" is used with countable nouns and "less" is used with uncountable nouns
- C) Both "fewer" and "less" can be used interchangeably with all nouns
- D) "Fewer" is used with singular nouns and "less" is used with plural nouns
Answer: B) "Fewer" is used with countable nouns and "less" is used with uncountable nouns ("Fewer" is the comparative form of "few" and is used with countable plural nouns such as "calories" — "less" is the comparative form of "little" and is used with uncountable nouns such as "sugar" — confusing "fewer" and "less" is one of the most common grammatical errors in English.)
5. "Which of the following sentences correctly uses the adjective "latter" and "later"?"
- A) The later chapters of the book are more interesting than the former ones.
- B) Of the two proposals, the latter is more practical and cost-effective.
- C) She arrived latter than all the other guests at the dinner party.
- D) The latter train to arrive was more crowded than the former one.
Answer: B) Of the two proposals, the latter is more practical and cost-effective. ("Latter" refers to the second of two previously mentioned things and is used as a determiner or noun — "later" refers to time and means "after the expected time" or "at a subsequent time" — "latter" is always used in contrast with "former" which refers to the first of two things.)
6. "She is a woman beautiful." — Why is this sentence grammatically incorrect?
- A) Because adjectives must always come after linking verbs
- B) Because adjectives in English normally come before the noun they modify not after
- C) Because "beautiful" should be replaced by "beauteous"
- D) Because the article "a" should be replaced by "an"
Answer: B) Because adjectives in English normally come before the noun they modify not after (In English the normal position of an attributive adjective is before the noun it modifies — the correct form is "a beautiful woman" not "a woman beautiful" — however adjectives can appear after the noun in certain poetic literary or fixed expressions such as "time immemorial" or "heir apparent.")
7. "The blind are provided with special facilities at most public institutions." — What is the grammatical function of "the blind" in this sentence?
- A) It functions as an adjective modifying a noun
- B) It functions as a noun referring to blind people as a group
- C) It functions as an adverb modifying the verb "provided"
- D) It functions as a pronoun replacing a previously mentioned person
Answer: B) It functions as a noun referring to blind people as a group ("The blind" is an adjective used as a collective noun — placing "the" before the adjective "blind" converts it into a noun referring to all people who are blind as a collective group — this construction is used to refer to groups of people sharing a particular characteristic or condition.)
8. "Which of the following sentences correctly uses the adjectives "farther" and "further"?"
- A) She could walk no farther into the discussion without evidence.
- B) He needs further rest before he can travel any farther distance.
- C) The village is farther away and we need no further discussion on the route.
- D) They walked further into the forest than they had planned to go.
Answer: C) The village is farther away and we need no further discussion on the route. ("Farther" refers specifically to physical distance and is the comparative form of "far" used for measurable space — "further" refers to figurative or metaphorical distance and means "additional" or "more" — "farther away" correctly describes physical distance while "no further discussion" correctly uses the figurative sense.)
9. "She is liable to make mistakes when she is working under extreme pressure and stress." — Which of the following correctly explains the usage of "liable"?
- A) "Liable" means capable of doing something positive with great skill
- B) "Liable" means likely to do something undesirable or to be subject to something negative
- C) "Liable" means legally exempt from any form of responsibility or obligation
- D) "Liable" means completely unable to do something under any circumstance
Answer: B) "Liable" means likely to do something undesirable or to be subject to something negative ("Liable" is an adjective that means likely to experience something undesirable or to be legally responsible for something — it is followed by the infinitive "to" and is used when referring to an undesirable tendency or legal obligation — it should not be confused with "likely" which has a more neutral or positive connotation.)
10. "Which of the following sentences correctly uses the adjectives "sensible" and "sensitive"?"
- A) She is very sensible about other people's feelings and emotions.
- B) He is a sensitive decision-maker who always thinks before he acts.
- C) She is sensitive to criticism and he is a sensible and practical thinker.
- D) He made a sensitive choice by investing all his savings in that scheme.
Answer: C) She is sensitive to criticism and he is a sensible and practical thinker. ("Sensitive" means being easily affected by or aware of the feelings of others or being easily hurt emotionally — "sensible" means having or showing good judgement and practical wisdom — confusing these two adjectives is a common error — "sensitive to criticism" correctly shows emotional awareness while "sensible and practical thinker" correctly shows good judgement.)
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