Basic Flashcards
6 cards from real OOPT practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 6 Basic flashcards as text
Which sentence correctly uses 'a' vs 'an' in an unexpected context?
Answer: She is a historian who wrote a useful book.
'A' is used before words beginning with a consonant sound and 'an' before words beginning with a vowel sound. 'Historian' begins with a consonant /h/ sound (not silent here), so 'a historian' is correct. 'Useful' begins with a /j/ (y) sound, a consonant sound, so 'a useful' is correct — not 'an useful'.
Choose the sentence that correctly uses the present simple for a general truth.
Answer: Water boils at 100 degrees Celsius.
General scientific facts and permanent truths use the present simple tense. 'Water boils at 100°C' is always true, regardless of time. The continuous form 'is boiling' implies an action in progress right now, not a universal fact.
Which question form is grammatically correct for a subject question in the past simple?
Answer: Who called you last night?
When 'who' is the subject of the question (i.e., we are asking about the person who performed the action), we do NOT use the auxiliary 'did'. The verb stays in its past simple form: 'Who called you?' Option C asks who *you* called — that is an object question and uses 'did'.
A student writes: 'I have seen that film last Saturday.' What is the error?
Answer: The present perfect cannot be used with a specific past time expression like 'last Saturday'.
The present perfect ('have seen') is incompatible with specific past time expressions like 'last Saturday', 'yesterday', or 'in 2010'. When a specific time in the past is given, the past simple must be used: 'I saw that film last Saturday.' Changing only the verb form to 'saw' also fixes it, but option B correctly identifies the core grammatical rule being violated.
Which option correctly completes this sentence? 'There _____ a lot of furniture in the room.'
Answer: is
'Furniture' is an uncountable noun in English and always takes a singular verb. Therefore, 'there is a lot of furniture' is correct, even though the quantity described is large. Common mistakes occur because learners treat 'furniture' as plural since it refers to many items.
Which sentence uses 'used to' correctly?
Answer: They used to go camping every summer when they were children.
'Used to + infinitive' describes a past habit or state that no longer exists: 'They used to go camping' is correct. 'Be used to + gerund (-ing)' describes being accustomed to something: 'I am used to waking up early' (not 'wake up'). Options A and D mix up these two structures. Option B incorrectly combines 'used to' with a gerund.