Verbal Ability Comprehension Flashcards

Choose the correctly punctuated sentence:

Answer: It's a good idea to proofread your work.

'It's' is the contraction of 'it is,' which is what the sentence requires; 'its' is the possessive form.

Passage: 'Despite her ostensibly calm exterior, her fidgeting hands betrayed her anxiety.' What does 'ostensibly' mean here?

Answer: Outwardly or apparently

'Ostensibly' means outwardly appearing to be a certain way, though the reality may differ.

Which word correctly fills the blank? 'The attorney argued that the evidence was ______ to the charges and should be excluded.'

Answer: Irrelevant

If the attorney wants evidence excluded, it must be 'irrelevant' — not related to the charges.

Select the sentence that is free of redundancy:

Answer: She gave a brief summary of the report.

'Brief summary' is not redundant; 'revert back,' 'new innovation,' and 'collaborated together' all repeat meaning unnecessarily.

Passage: 'The author's prose was sparse yet evocative, painting vivid images with minimal words.' What does 'sparse' suggest about the writing style?

Answer: It relied on very few but carefully chosen words.

'Sparse' means minimal or limited, indicating the author used very few words intentionally.

Identify the correct use of 'fewer' vs. 'less':

Answer: We need fewer resources than originally planned.

'Fewer' is used with countable nouns like 'resources,' while 'less' is used with uncountable quantities.

Passage: 'The company's meteoric rise was matched only by its spectacular collapse.' What literary device is used in this sentence?

Answer: Antithesis

Antithesis places contrasting ideas ('rise' vs. 'collapse') side by side for rhetorical effect.