English MCQs – Page 87 (Q861-870)

The correct answer is 'Sheep' because this word belongs to a small category of English nouns that use the identical form for both singular and plural, requiring no change whatsoever, a pattern shared with 'deer', 'fish' (in its collective sense), and 'aircraft'. This zero-plural pattern is a notable and frequently tested exception to standard English pluralization, since it defies the expectation that a plural must be visibly marked with an added ending like '-s' or an internal vowel change.

The correct answer is 'Cacti' because 'cactus', a word of Latin origin, forms its plural by changing the ending '-us' to '-i', following the standard pattern for many Latin-derived nouns, similar to 'fungus' becoming 'fungi' and 'nucleus' becoming 'nuclei'. Note that 'cactuses', following the regular English '-es' pattern, is also considered acceptable in modern usage, but 'cacti', preserving the original Latin plural form, remains the more traditionally correct and frequently expected answer in formal grammar exams.

The correct answer is 'Actress' because the feminine form of 'actor' is conventionally created by adding the suffix '-ess', a common but increasingly less-used pattern for forming feminine equivalents of originally masculine or gender-neutral profession nouns. While modern English increasingly favors gender-neutral terms like 'actor' for all genders, competitive exams in Pakistan still frequently test these traditional '-ess' feminine forms, including 'actress', 'princess', 'lioness', and 'waitress', as a recognized grammatical category.

The correct answer is 'Princess' because the feminine form of 'prince' is conventionally created by adding the suffix '-ess' directly to the base word, following the same '-ess' pattern seen in 'actor' becoming 'actress' and 'waiter' becoming 'waitress'. This consistent feminine-forming suffix across multiple unrelated nouns makes recognizing the '-ess' pattern a reliable strategy for correctly identifying feminine forms tested throughout this category of vocabulary questions.

The correct answer is 'Lioness' because the feminine form of 'lion' is conventionally created by adding the suffix '-ess', following the same pattern seen across other animal and profession-related feminine forms like 'actress' and 'princess'. This '-ess' suffix pattern extends beyond human professions to certain animal names as well, making 'lioness' a useful example of how gendered noun formation in English spans both human roles and animal classification.

The correct answer is 'Waitress' because the feminine form of 'waiter' is conventionally created by adding the suffix '-ess' after removing the final 'er', producing 'waitr-ess' rather than simply appending '-ess' onto the full word 'waiter'. This slight modification pattern, dropping part of the base word before adding the suffix, distinguishes 'waitress' from simpler additions like 'actress' and makes it worth noting as a small but testable variation within the broader '-ess' feminine suffix pattern.

The correct answer is 'Best' because 'good' is one of a small group of English adjectives with irregular, or suppletive, comparison forms, where the comparative and superlative are entirely different words rather than variations formed with '-er' or '-est', following the pattern 'good, better, best'. The distractor options incorrectly attempt to apply regular comparison rules, either adding 'more' unnecessarily or attaching '-est' directly to 'good', both violating this well-known irregular pattern that must simply be memorized.

The correct answer is 'Worst' because 'bad' is another of English's irregular, suppletive comparison adjectives, following the completely irregular pattern 'bad, worse, worst', where each degree uses an entirely different root word rather than a regular '-er' or '-est' ending. The distractor options incorrectly apply regular comparison patterns or double the comparative form as 'worser', both errors reflecting an attempt to regularize an adjective that English speakers must simply memorize as an exception.

The correct answer is 'Least' because 'little', when referring to quantity rather than physical size, is another irregular comparison adjective, following the suppletive pattern 'little, less, least'. Note this differs from 'little' used to describe physical smallness, which instead takes the regular comparison 'little, littler, littlest', meaning this word actually follows two entirely different comparison patterns depending on its intended meaning, a nuanced nuance frequently tested in advanced degree-of-comparison questions.

The correct answer is 'Farthest' because 'far' is an irregular comparison adjective when referring to physical distance, following the pattern 'far, farther, farthest', distinct from 'far, further, furthest', which is instead used when referring to figurative or abstract degree, as in 'further discussion'. This physical-versus-figurative distinction between 'farther' and 'further' is a nuanced but frequently tested point in comparison-related grammar questions in competitive English exams.