Cloze Test
🔒 Log in to trackGrammar inside the passage: tense, agreement, articles
🔒 Log in to trackMost cloze blanks are won by grammar before vocabulary. Three or four of the five blanks usually follow a grammar rule. The passage fixes the time, the subject and the structure, and the blank must obey them. Check tense first, then agreement, then the form of the word.
What grammar blanks test
In most passages, three or four blanks depend on a grammar rule, not on word power. The passage sets the time, the subject and the structure. The blank must obey them.
Rule: For every verb blank, run two checks. Does the tense match the passage? Does the form match the subject? An option that passes only one check is a planted distractor.
Subject-verb agreement
Find the true subject. Ignore the words between it and the verb.
- Correct: The quality of the mangoes is poor. Wrong: The quality of the mangoes are poor. The subject is quality.
- Correct: The list of items is on the table. Wrong: The list of items are on the table.
- Each, every, either, neither, everyone and one of + plural noun take a singular verb.
- A number of takes a plural verb. The number of takes a singular verb.
Tip: Delete the phrase between the subject and the blank. Read the short skeleton: a group ___ discipline.
The time frame
The first sentence usually sets the tense. Every verb must stay inside that frame.
- Habit or general truth: simple present. The shop opens at nine.
- Past story: past forms. When Arun was small, he drafted a reply.
- Yesterday, last year, ago signal the past. Now, still, these days, every morning signal the present.
- Since, for, already, yet signal perfect forms.
- A habit inside a past story stays past: Every evening he made new kites.
Use a perfect form after by evening or by the time only when the sentence looks back from a later point. In plain story order, use the simple past.
Verb forms after other words
Only a finite verb can be the main verb. After some words, a fixed form is compulsory.
| After | Use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| enjoy, avoid, mind, finish, suggest, keep | -ing | He enjoys showing old kites. |
| decide, plan, hope, refuse, manage, teach someone | to + base form | Gardening has taught him to be patient. |
| a preposition | -ing | She is good at solving puzzles. |
A bare -ing word cannot be the main verb. Wrong: A group developing its own discipline. Correct: A group develops its own discipline.
Articles
- A / an = first mention, or one of many. He gave him a bucket the next day.
- The = already known, or one of a kind. The sky above the lane was full of kites.
- No article for most general plural nouns. Trees give shade.
- Sound decides a or an, not spelling: a university, an hour, a European.
Adjective or adverb, and pronouns
After a linking verb (be, look, seem, feel, taste, smell, sound), use an adjective. The tree looks attractive.
After an action verb, use an adverb. She sings beautifully.
A pronoun must match its noun in number and gender. Its case must fit its job.
- Correct: The committee published its report.
- Correct: Between you and me, the plan is weak.
Watch: Theirs and their's never go before a noun. Use their or its.
Question types you will see
Each type: how to recognise it, the method step by step, and one question to try.
Subject-verb agreement blank
A long phrase or a second noun sits between the subject and the verb blank.
Cut out the phrase between the subject and the blank.
Read the short skeleton.
Match the verb to the true subject.
The trap noun sits nearest the blank, but it is not the subject.
The list of names ___ on the notice board. Options: is / are / were / be.
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Skeleton: the list ___ on the board.
List is singular, so use is.
is
Tense / time-frame blank
The passage opens with a time frame such as a past story or a habit.
Find the anchor in the opening lines.
Choose the tense of that frame.
Match the form to the subject.
Every verb blank must stay inside the frame the passage set.
When Arun was young, he ___ kites every evening. Options: makes / made / has made / making.
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Was young sets a past story.
An evening habit inside a past story stays past.
made
Verb form: gerund or infinitive after another word
The blank comes right after a verb such as enjoy, avoid, decide, plan or a preposition.
Find the word before the blank.
Recall its pattern: -ing or to + base form.
Pick the option in that pattern.
A fixed word decides the form. Meaning does not help.
She avoids ___ the crowded market. Options: to visit / visiting / visit / visited.
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Avoid is followed by -ing.
Visiting fits.
visiting
Article / determiner blank
The blank sits before a noun. The options are a, an, the or no article.
Say the next word aloud.
Listen to its first sound.
Then decide: is the noun known or one of many?
Sound decides a or an. Known nouns take the.
He waited for ___ hour outside the office. Options: a / an / the / no article.
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Hour starts with a vowel sound because h is silent.
The noun is not a known one, so an fits.
an
Adjective or adverb blank
The blank comes after a verb. The options are two forms of one word, such as beautiful and beautifully.
Name the verb before the blank.
Is it a linking verb (be, look, seem, feel)? Use an adjective.
Is it an action verb? Use an adverb.
The verb type decides which form fits.
The garden looks ___ in spring. Options: beautiful / beautifully / beauty / beautify.
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Looks is a linking verb here.
A linking verb takes an adjective.
beautiful
Pronoun blank
The blank is a pronoun. Its noun sits earlier in the sentence.
Find the noun the pronoun refers to.
Match its number and gender.
Check the job: subject, object or possessive.
A pronoun must agree with its noun and fit its case.
The committee has published ___ report. Options: their / its / theirs / it's.
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Committee is one body here, so it is singular.
A possessive before a noun is needed: its.
its
Shortcuts that save time
Delete every phrase between the subject and the verb blank. Then apply agreement to the short skeleton.
A group that walks together ___ its own quiet discipline. Options: develop / develops / developing / developed.
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Skeleton: a group ___ discipline.
The subject is singular and the meaning is habitual present.
develops
In a past story, one option may be the only past form among present and -ing forms. The anchor already decided it. Mark it and move on.
For an a/an blank, pronounce the first sound of the next word. It is an hour but a university. Sound decides it, not the first letter.
Mistakes to avoid
Where most students lose marks on this subtopic.
Agreeing the verb with the nearest noun.
Find the true subject. Ignore the words between it and the verb.
Using a perfect tense such as had joined in a plain past story because by evening looks like an anchor.
Use the simple past unless the sentence truly looks back from a later point.
Choosing the base verb after a singular subject: the city awaken.
Add -s to the simple present verb after a singular subject.
Writing an before any word that starts with a vowel letter, such as an one-rupee coin.
Go by sound. One starts with a consonant sound, so use a one-rupee coin.
Using an adverb after look or seem.
Use an adjective after a linking verb: looks attractive.
Quick revision
Read this the night before the exam.
Find the true subject first. Ignore the words between it and the verb.
Fix the passage's time frame. Keep every verb inside it.
enjoy, avoid, mind, finish + -ing. decide, plan, hope, refuse, manage + to + base form.
Preposition + -ing: good at solving.
a/an = first mention. the = known or one of a kind. Sound decides a or an.
Linking verb + adjective. Action verb + adverb.
A pronoun matches its noun in number and gender, with the right case.
Practice: 16 questions
Sets of 10, mixed across the question types above. Every answer has a step-by-step explanation.
Topic test · 10 questions
Suggested time 6 min · wrong answers go to your mistake notebook automatically.