Class 9 practice
Class 9 english questions.
English questions for Class 9, at the level of students aged 12–14, each with its answer and a short explanation. Try each one before opening the answer.
While organizing the school exhibition, Preeti decided to take the bull by the horns. What does this idiom mean?
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Answer: To face a difficult challenge directly and boldly
The idiom "to take the bull by the horns" means to confront a tough problem with courage and decisive action instead of avoiding it.
Choose the conjunction that correctly completes the sentence. Scarcely had the speaker finished her presentation ______ the audience erupted in applause.
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Answer: when
The correlative pair 'scarcely... when' indicates that one action quickly followed another. 'Than' is used only after 'no sooner'.
Read this line: The ancient banyan tree stretched its weary arms across the silent courtyard. Which figure of speech is used here?
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Answer: Personification
Personification attributes human qualities or actions, such as having 'weary arms', to non-human objects like a banyan tree.
Choose the option that correctly completes the sentence. The captain, along with all the squad members, ______ arriving on the evening flight.
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Answer: is
When a subject is joined with phrases like 'along with', the verb agrees with the main subject. Since 'The captain' is singular, the singular verb 'is' is required.
Which sentence correctly changes this active statement into the passive voice? 'The librarian catalogued the new reference books.'
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Answer: The new reference books were catalogued by the librarian.
The active sentence uses simple past tense ('catalogued'), which changes to 'were catalogued' for plural subjects in the passive voice.
Meera spoke at length during the meeting. Instead of being direct, she used numerous indirect phrases to avoid the main point. Which term best describes this habit?
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Answer: Circumlocution
'Circumlocution' comes from Latin roots meaning 'talking around' a subject. It refers to using unnecessarily complex or roundabout language to express an idea.
If Rohan had informed his coach earlier, he _______ selected for the state-level badminton championship.
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Answer: would have been
This is a third conditional sentence about an unreal past condition. When the 'if' clause uses the past perfect tense ('had informed'), the main clause takes 'would have' plus the past participle.
Choose the correct word to complete the sentence: 'The heavy monsoon rain did not _____ the scheduled train departure from Chennai.'
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Answer: affect
'Affect' is a verb meaning to influence or produce a change. 'Effect' is generally a noun meaning the result of a change.
Neither the team members nor the coach _____ present at the prize distribution ceremony yesterday.
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Answer: was
When two subjects are joined by 'neither... nor', the verb agrees with the subject closest to it. Here, 'coach' is singular.
Neither the headmaster nor the subject teachers ____ present at the annual sports briefing yesterday. Which verb form correctly completes the sentence?
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Answer: were
When subjects are joined by 'neither... nor', the verb agrees with the subject closer to it. 'Teachers' is plural and the event took place in the past, so 'were' is correct.
- True or false?
In English grammar, uncountable nouns such as "information," "luggage," and "furniture" can take the indefinite article "a" or "an."
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Answer: False
Uncountable nouns cannot be counted individually. They do not take indefinite articles directly and require partitive expressions like "a piece of" instead.
- True or false?
When a collective noun like 'committee' acts as a single unified body, it takes a singular verb.
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Answer: True
When members of a collective noun act together as one unit, standard grammar requires a singular verb.
- Fill in the blank.
Deepa found the old letter completely ___ (definition: impossible to read), as the faded ink had smudged over decades.
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Answer: illegible
The prefix 'il-' attaches to 'legible' to mean unreadable. 'Eligible' means qualified, which is a common point of confusion.
Which of the following idioms is the odd one out based on its meaning?
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Answer: Spill the beans
The first three idioms mean to mislead, tease, or deceive someone, whereas 'spill the beans' means to disclose a secret.
Which word is the odd one out based on how it was formed?
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Answer: Laser
Brunch, smog, and motel are portmanteau words formed by blending two existing words together. Laser is an acronym formed from the first letters of multiple words.
Identify the sentence that correctly uses conditional inversion to replace 'If he had known the answer, Rohan would have spoken'.
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Answer: Had he known the answer, Rohan would have spoken.
In third conditional inversion, the conjunction 'if' is omitted and the auxiliary verb 'had' moves before the subject.
Selvi carefully edited the school newsletter. Which sentence uses subject-verb agreement correctly?
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Answer: Neither the captain nor the players were ready for the match.
When subjects are joined by 'neither... nor', the verb agrees with the closer subject. Since 'players' is plural, the plural verb 'were' is correct.
- True or false?
In the sentence 'Rohan spent a restless night before his result', the phrase 'restless night' is an example of a transferred epithet.
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Answer: True
A transferred epithet shifts a modifier from the person who experiences the feeling to an associated object. Rohan was restless, not the night itself.
- Fill in the blank.
The local welfare committee is responsible for the routine ___ (maintain) of the neighbourhood park.
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Answer: maintenance
The noun form of the verb "maintain" is "maintenance". Notice that the spelling shifts from "-tain" to "-ten-".
- Fill in the blank.
The science documentary explained several optical ___ (phenomenon) observed in the upper atmosphere.
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Answer: phenomena
"Phenomenon" is a singular noun borrowed from Greek. Its correct plural form is "phenomena".
These questions come from Ado’s question bank and are written with AI help. They are never used in ranked play, so practising them here can’t change anyone’s rank.
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