CELTA Language Analysis & Awareness 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which sentence uses a modal verb to express past deduction?
- She must have missed the train. (Correct answer)
- She had to take the train.
- She should take the train.
- She might take the train tomorrow.
Correct answer: She must have missed the train.
'Must have missed' expresses a logical deduction about a past event based on available evidence.
Question 2: What is the grammatical function of the underlined word in: 'Running is her favorite hobby'?
- Gerund acting as subject (Correct answer)
- Present participle modifying a noun
- Infinitive used as a subject
- Adjective describing 'hobby'
Correct answer: Gerund acting as subject
When an '-ing' form acts as the subject of a sentence, it functions as a gerund (a noun).
Question 3: What is a 'collocation' in English language teaching?
- A pair or group of words that frequently appear together by convention (Correct answer)
- A word that has multiple unrelated meanings
- A sentence that contains an idiomatic expression
- A grammatical structure that links two clauses
Correct answer: A pair or group of words that frequently appear together by convention
Collocations are conventional word partnerships, such as 'make a decision' or 'heavy rain,' that native speakers use habitually.
Question 4: In phonology, what does the term 'minimal pair' refer to?
- Two words that differ by exactly one phoneme, such as 'ship' and 'sheep' (Correct answer)
- Two words that are spelled the same but pronounced differently
- Two adjacent stressed syllables in a word
- A pair of words with opposite meanings
Correct answer: Two words that differ by exactly one phoneme, such as 'ship' and 'sheep'
Minimal pairs differ in only one phoneme, making them useful for teaching pronunciation distinctions.
Question 5: Which of the following best describes a 'defining relative clause'?
- A clause that identifies which person or thing is being referred to and cannot be removed without changing the meaning (Correct answer)
- A clause that adds optional extra information and is set off by commas
- A clause that replaces the subject of the main sentence
- A clause that always begins with 'which' after a comma
Correct answer: A clause that identifies which person or thing is being referred to and cannot be removed without changing the meaning
A defining relative clause specifies the noun it modifies and is essential to the sentence's meaning.
Question 6: What is 'register' in the context of language use?
- The variety of language used in a particular social situation or context (Correct answer)
- The speed at which a speaker delivers speech
- The pitch range of a speaker's voice
- The accent associated with a specific region
Correct answer: The variety of language used in a particular social situation or context
Register refers to how language varies according to context, audience, and purpose, from formal to informal.
Question 7: Which concept describes the way words are built from smaller meaningful units?
- Morphology (Correct answer)
- Syntax
- Phonology
- Pragmatics
Correct answer: Morphology
Morphology is the study of morphemes — the smallest units of meaning — and how they combine to form words.
CELTA Language Analysis & Awareness 3
Which sentence uses a modal verb to express past deduction?