PTE Vocabulary & Grammar 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which sentence correctly uses an article before a countable noun?
- She submitted a research last week.
- He made an important discovery. (Correct answer)
- They conducted an research on climate.
- She has knowledge about a subject.
Correct answer: He made an important discovery.
"An important discovery" correctly uses "an" before a vowel sound. "Discovery" is a countable noun (one discovery). "Research" and "knowledge" are uncountable nouns and do not take "a/an" in standard academic usage.
Question 2: What is the noun form of the verb "investigate"?
- investigatory
- investigative
- investigation (Correct answer)
- investigatement
Correct answer: investigation
"Investigation" is the correct noun form of "investigate," using the suffix "-ation." "Investigatory" and "investigative" are adjective forms. Word form transformation is a core skill tested in PTE Academic Fill in the Blanks tasks.
Question 3: Choose the sentence with correct use of a comparative adjective:
- This study is more significant than the previous one. (Correct answer)
- This study is more significanter than the previous one.
- This study is significanter than the previous one.
- This study is the most significant one.
Correct answer: This study is more significant than the previous one.
"More significant" correctly forms the comparative of multi-syllable adjectives using "more + adjective." "Significanter" is incorrect — never add "-er" to adjectives of three or more syllables. Option D is a superlative, not a comparative.
Question 4: Which sentence uses a conditional correctly in an academic context?
- If the temperature rises, the glacier will melt. (Correct answer)
- If the temperature would rise, the glacier will melt.
- If the temperature rises, the glacier would melt.
- If the temperature would have risen, the glacier will melt.
Correct answer: If the temperature rises, the glacier will melt.
First conditional (real/likely): "If + present simple, will + base verb." "If the temperature rises, the glacier will melt" is a correct first conditional expressing a realistic future outcome. Mixing "would" in the if-clause is a common error.
Question 5: The word "mitigate" in academic texts most closely means:
- To worsen or aggravate
- To measure or calculate
- To lessen or reduce the severity of (Correct answer)
- To confirm or verify
Correct answer: To lessen or reduce the severity of
"Mitigate" means to make something less severe, serious, or painful. Academic texts use it in contexts like "mitigate the effects of climate change" or "mitigation strategies." It is an important Academic Word List (AWL) term.
Question 6: Which sentence demonstrates correct use of the present perfect tense in academic writing?
- Researchers discovered a new compound in 2020.
- Researchers have discovered significant links between diet and cognition. (Correct answer)
- Researchers are discovering new compounds since 2010.
- Researchers had discovered new compounds before.
Correct answer: Researchers have discovered significant links between diet and cognition.
Present perfect ("have + past participle") is used for findings still relevant today without specifying a past time. "Discovered in 2020" uses simple past (specific time). "Are discovering since 2010" incorrectly mixes present continuous with a time reference.
PTE Vocabulary & Grammar 2
Which sentence correctly uses an article before a countable noun?