Selecting Words— Concepts, Formulas & Shortcuts
- Article rule: "a" before a consonant SOUND, "an" before a vowel sound — an hour, a university, an honest man.
- "Since" takes a point in time, "for" takes a duration.
- Fixed verb–preposition pairs: good at, married to, prefer to, capable of, depend on, insist on.
- Correlative pairs must match: either…or, neither…nor, not only…but also, both…and.
- With "prefer", use "to" and never "than": I prefer tea to coffee.
- Read the whole sentence after inserting the option — a blank that sounds fine alone can still break the sentence.
Selecting Words Practice Questions with Answers
Attempt each question first, then open the explanation. All 6 questions below are free to read and require no signup.
Q1.Fill in the blank: He is ___ honest man.
Easy- Aa
- Ban
- Cthe
- Dno article
Selecting Words question 1 of 6+Show Answer & Explanation
Answer: B. an
Explanation: The h in "honest" is silent, so the word begins with a vowel sound and takes "an".
Q2.Fill in the blank: She has been living here ___ 2015.
Easy- Afor
- Bfrom
- Csince
- Dduring
Selecting Words question 2 of 6+Show Answer & Explanation
Answer: C. since
Explanation: "Since" is used with a specific point in time; "for" would need a duration such as "ten years".
Q3.Fill in the blank: I prefer tea ___ coffee.
Moderate- Athan
- Bto
- Cover
- Dfrom
Selecting Words question 3 of 6+Show Answer & Explanation
Answer: B. to
Explanation: "Prefer" is always followed by "to", never by "than".
Q4.Fill in the blank: He is good ___ mathematics.
Easy- Ain
- Bat
- Con
- Dwith
Selecting Words question 4 of 6+Show Answer & Explanation
Answer: B. at
Explanation: The fixed collocation is "good at" a subject or a skill.
Q5.Fill in the blank: Neither he ___ his brother attended the meeting.
Easy- Aor
- Bnor
- Cand
- Dbut
Selecting Words question 5 of 6+Show Answer & Explanation
Answer: B. nor
Explanation: "Neither" must pair with "nor"; "either" pairs with "or".
Q6.Fill in the blank: The success of the project depends ___ teamwork.
Easy- Aof
- Bin
- Con
- Dfrom
Selecting Words question 6 of 6+Show Answer & Explanation
Answer: C. on
Explanation: The verb "depend" always takes the preposition "on" (or "upon").
Selecting Words — Frequently Asked Questions
Why is it "an honest man" but "a university"?+
The rule depends on sound, not spelling. "Honest" begins with a vowel sound because the h is silent, while "university" begins with a consonant "yoo" sound.
How do I get prepositions right consistently?+
Learn them as verb + preposition pairs rather than as isolated words. "Good at", "depend on" and "capable of" are single memory units, and guessing by ear fails far more often than candidates expect.
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