English Usage Previous Year Questions (CAT) - Set 0002
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Previous years`s CAT questions: English Usage
Post your solutions as reply to respective questions below.
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Question 1
These are sentences that form a paragraph. Identify the sentence(s) or part(s) of sentence(s) that is/are correct in terms of grammar and usage. Then, choose the most appropriate option.
A. It is sometimes told that democratic
B. government originated in the city-states
C. of ancient Greece. Democratic ideals have been handed to us from that time.
D. In truth, however, this is an unhelpful assertion.
E. The Greeks gave us the word, hence did not provide us with a model. Â
(1) A, B & D
(2) B, C & D
(3) B & D
(4) B only
(5) D only  (CAT 2007)
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Answer: Option 3
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Question 2
Choose the option in which the usage of the word is inappropriate.
NEAR
(1) I got there just after you left – a near miss!
(2) She and her near friend left early.
(3) The war led to a near doubling of prices.
(4) They came near to tears seeing the plight of the victims. (CAT 2005)
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Answer: Option 2
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Question 3
Choose the option in which the usage of the word is inappropriate.
HAND
(1) I have my hand full, I cannot do it today.
(2) The minister visited the jail to see the breach at first hand.
(3) The situation is getting out of hand here.
(4) When the roof of my house was blown away, he was willing to lend me a hand.
(CAT 2005)
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Answer: Option 1
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Question 4
Choose the option in which the usage of the word is inappropriate.
FOR
(1) He has a great eye for detail.
(2) We are waiting for the day.
(3) I can’t bear for her to be angry.
(4) It couldn’t be done for ever. (CAT 2005)
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Answer: Option 4
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Question 5
Select the option that indicates the grammatically correct and appropriate sentence(s).
A. When virtuoso teams begin their work, individuals are in and group consensus is out.
B. As project progresses, however, the individual stars harness themselves to the product of the group.
C. Sooner or later, the members break through their own egocentrism and become a plurality with single-minded focus on the goal.
D. In short, they morph into a powerful team with a shared identity.
(1) A and C
(2) A and D
(3) B and D
(4) A, C and D (CAT 2005)
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Answer: Option 2
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Question 6
Select the option that indicates the grammatically correct and appropriate sentence(s).
A. Large reductions in the ozone layer, which sits about 15-30 km above the Earth, take place each winter over the Polar regions, especially the Antarctic, as low temperatures allow the formation of stratospheric clouds that assist chemical reactions breaking down ozone.
B. Industrial chemicals containing chlorine and bromine have been blamed for thinning the layer because they attack the ozone molecules, making them to break apart.
C. Many an offending chemicals have now been banned.
D. It will still take several decades before these substances have disappeared from the atmosphere.
(1) D only
(2) B and D
(3) A and D
(4) A and C (CAT 2005)
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Answer: Option 3
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Question 7
Select the option that indicates the grammatically correct and appropriate sentence(s).
A. The balance of power will shift to the East as China and India evolve.
B. Rarely the economic ascent of two still relatively poor nations has been watched with such a mixture of awe, opportunism, and trepidation.
C. Postwar era witnessed economic miracles in Japan and South Korea, but neither was populous enough to power worldwide growth or change the game in a complete spectrum of industries.
D. China and India, by contrast, possess the weight and dynamism to transform the 21stcentury global economy. Â
(1) A, B and C
(2) A and D
(3) C only
(4) C and DÂ (CAT 2005)
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Answer: Option 2
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Question 8
Select the option that indicates the grammatically correct and appropriate sentence(s).
A. People have good reason to care about the welfare of animals.
B. Ever since Enlightenment, their treatment has been seen as a measure of mankind's humanity.
C. It is no coincidence that William Wilberforce and Sir Thomas Foxwell Buxton, two leaders of the movement to abolish the slave trade, helped found the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in 1820s.
D. An increasing number of people go further: mankind has a duty not to cause pain to animals that have the capacity to suffer.
(1) A and D
(2) B only
(3) A and C
(4) C and D (CAT 2005)
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Answer: Option 1
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Question 9
Identify the INCORRECT sentence or sentences.
A. Harish told Raj to plead guilty.
B. Raj pleaded guilty of stealing money from the shop.
C. The court found Raj guilty of all the crimes he was charged with.
D. He was sentenced for three years in jail.Â
(1) A and C
(2) B and D
(3) A, C and D
(4) B, C and DÂ Â (CAT 2004)
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Answer: Option 2
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Question 10
Identify the INCORRECT sentence or sentences.
A. Last Sunday, Archana had nothing to do.
B. After waking up, she lay on the bed thinking of what to do.
C. At 11 o'clock she took shower and got ready.
D. She spent most of the day shopping.
(1) B and C
(2) C
(3) A and B
(4) B, C and D (CAT 2004)
