Grammar Based Questions - 1 | English for CLAT PDF Download

Directions: Read the passage carefully and answer the questions that follow.
Monseigneur, one of the great lords in power at the Court, held his fortnightly reception in his grand hotel in Paris. Monseigneur was in his inner room, his sanctuary of sanctuaries, the Holiest of Holiests to the crowd of worshippers in the suite of rooms without. Monseigneur was about to take his chocolate. Monseigneur could swallow a great many things with ease, and was by some few sullen minds supposed to be rather rapidly swallowing France; but, his morning's chocolate could not so much as get into the throat of Monseigneur, without the aid of four strong men besides the Cook.
Yes. It took four men, all four ablaze with gorgeous decoration, and the Chief of them unable to exist with fewer than two gold watches in his pocket, emulative of the noble and chaste fashion set by Monseigneur, to conduct the happy chocolate to Monseigneur's lips. One lacquey carried the chocolate-pot into the sacred presence; a second, milled and frothed the chocolate with the little instrument he bore for that function; a third, presented the favoured napkin; a fourth (he of the two gold watches), poured the chocolate out.
It was impossible for Monseigneur to dispense with one of these attendants on the chocolate and hold his high place under the admiring Heavens. Deep would have been the blot upon his escutcheon if his chocolate had been ignobly waited on by only three men; he must have died of two. Monseigneur had been out at a little supper last night, where the Comedy and the Grand Opera were charmingly represented. Monseigneur was out at a little supper most nights, with fascinating company. So polite and so impressible was Monseigneur, that the Comedy and the Grand Opera had far more influence with him in the tiresome articles of state affairs and state secrets, than the needs of all France.
A happy circumstance for France, as the like always is for all countries similarly favoured! always was for England (by way of example), in the regretted days of the merry Stuart who sold it. Monseigneur had one truly noble idea of general public business, which was, to let everything go on in its own way; of particular public business, Monseigneur had the other truly noble idea that it must all go his way tend to his own power and pocket.
Of his pleasures, general and particular, Monseigneur had the other truly noble idea, that the world was made for them. The text of his order (altered from the original by only a pronoun, which is not much) ran: "The earth and the fulness thereof are mine, saith Monseigneur." Yet, Monseigneur had slowly found that vulgar embarrassments crept into his affairs, both private and public; and he had, as to both classes of affairs, allied himself perforce with a Farmer-General.
Q1: Identify the type of the underlined pronoun in the following sentence from the paragraph: "Monseigneur was about to take his chocolate."
(a) Personal pronoun
(b) Reflexive pronoun
(c) Demonstrative pronoun
(d) Possessive pronoun
Ans: (d)
Sol: In this sentence, 'his' is a possessive pronoun that shows ownership or possession. It indicates that the chocolate belongs to Monseigneur.

Q2: Choose the sentence from the paragraph that uses a modal verb.
(a) Monseigneur had been out at a little supper last night.
(b) It was impossible for Monseigneur to dispense with one of these attendants.
(c) One lacquey carried the chocolate-pot into the sacred presence.
(d) Monseigneur was out at a little supper most nights.
Ans: (b)
Sol: In this sentence, 'was' is a modal verb used to indicate necessity or inevitability.

Q3: Find the sentence in the paragraph that exemplifies the use of a past perfect tense.
(a) Monseigneur had been out at a little supper last night.
(b) It took four men, all four ablaze with gorgeous decoration.
(c) Monseigneur could swallow a great many things with ease.
(d) The Chief of them unable to exist with fewer than two gold watches in his pocket.
Ans: (a)
Sol: This sentence uses the past perfect tense ("had been"), which is used to describe an action that was completed before another action in the past.

Q4: Which sentence from the paragraph contains a prepositional phrase?
(a) Monseigneur was in his inner room, his sanctuary of sanctuaries.
(b) Monseigneur could swallow a great many things with ease.
(c) Yes. It took four men, all four ablaze with gorgeous decoration.
(d) The earth and the fulness thereof are mine, saith Monseigneur.
Ans: (a)
Sol: The phrase 'in his inner room' is a prepositional phrase that starts with the preposition 'in' and includes its object 'inner room'.

Q5: Identify the sentence in the paragraph that demonstrates the use of a compound adjective.
(a) Monseigneur was in his inner room, his sanctuary of sanctuaries.
(b) It was impossible for Monseigneur to dispense with one of these attendants.
(c) One lacquey carried the chocolate-pot into the sacred presence.
(d) All four ablaze with gorgeous decoration.
Ans: (d)
Sol: In this sentence, 'gorgeous decoration' is a compound adjective made up of two words that jointly modify the noun 'decoration'.