Get a sense of what questions will come out of the Civil Service Exam or CSE by taking this practice test about Grammar and Correct Usage.
This will allow you to know which areas you need to improve on thus increasing your chances of passing the eligibility exam
Directions: Choose the letter that corresponds to the word or phrase that will correctly complete each sentence.
CSE test questions on Grammar and Correct Usage
1. Czarmaine _____ remarkable poems even at her young age.
A. rites
B. rights
C. writes
D. write
2. Being too _____ will undoubtedly make other men hate you.
A. vane
B. vain
C. vein
D. vanity
3. Due to bad weather, the airline company decided _____ postpone the flight.
A. two
B. to
C. too
D. then
4. Drunk driving was the reason for _____ accident.
A. their
B. they’re
C. there
D. there are
5. May I _____ your Titanic compact disk?
A. borrow
B. lend
C. loan
D. credit
6. _____ the three girls, the eldest is the most diligent.
A. Between
B. Among
C. In
D. By
7. Exposure to air pollution will _____ your asthma.
A. cure
B. deteriorate
C. aggravate
D. annoy
8. His ____ to Mount Apo was carefully documented.
A. assent
B. ascent
C. descent
D. decrease
9. The children _____ the ill effects of war.
A. have borne
B. have born
C. has borne
D. had born
10. The teachers distributed different _____ outlines for the students to follow.
A. coarse
B. corps
C. course
D. corpse
11. Carl juggles oranges, ______ you?
A. why
B. may
C. should
D. can
12. The refugees decided to _____ their homes because of the war.
A. desert
B. dessert
C. deserve
D. reserve
13. My sister _____ to Zamboanga seven years ago.
A. migrated
B. migrating
C. immigrated
D. immigrating
14. We used _____ sauce for the spaghetti last Sunday.
A. less
B. few
C. a number of
D. pieces of
15. If we work together, we could finish this _____ in a short time.
A. piece
B. peace
C. please
D. peas
16. When the Apartheid Policy was still in effect, The Blacks were _____ by the Whites.
A. praised
B. hailed
C. persecuted
D. prosecuted
17. When we ____ the flag. we should all stand up.
A. rice
B. rise
C. risen
D. raise
18. The DPWH crew worked _____ the night to repair the damaged bridge.
A. threw
B. through
C. trough
D. true
19. _____ the leader of your group?
A. Who’s
B. Whose
C. Which
D.Whom’s
20. The village elder told many interesting _____.
A. tale
B. tail
C. tails
D. tales
21. Marty _____ Evelyn ______ to dinner.
A. asked-out
B. asked-after
C. called-out
D. called-up
22. The celebrant ______ the candles after we sang.
A. blew off
B. blew up
C. blew out
D. blew over
23. The secretary ______ due to stress.
A. broke even
B. broke out
C. broke in
D. broke down
24. The Edsa People’s Revolution ______ the Marcos regime.
A. brought in
B. brought out
C. brought forth
D. brought down
25. The unexpected ______ of vehicles along Marcos Highway caused heavy traffic.
A. build-up
B. build on
C. build in
D. build over
26. After cleaning the entire house, I felt _____.
A. burned in
B. burned out
C. burned up
D. burned over
27. The drug pushers tried to _____ the arresting cops.
A. buy-in
B. buy off
C. buy out
D. buy up
28. The Cabinet meeting was _____ on account of the President’s ill health.
A. called in
B. called up
C. called out
D. called off
29. The telenovela viewers cried helplessly when they got ______ by the tragedy that befell the main character.
A. carried out
B. carried away
C. carried over
D. carried on
30. We should ______ on our expenditures and spend only on our needs.
A. cut short
B. cut up
C. cut back
D. cut out
31. People of all races should try to ______ with each other.
A. get round
B. get along
C. get at
D. get over
32. We should grow wiser as time ______.
A. goes along
B. goes by
C. goes down
D. goes through
33. The partying teens were told to _____ the noise.
A. hold down
B. hold forth
C. hold on
D. hold with
34. A gust of strong wind ______ the old wooden swing.
A. knocked around
B. knocked back
C. knocked down
D. knocked out
35. A number of factory workers were ______ due to retrenchment.
A. laid aside
B. laid away
C. laid of
D. laid out
36. We should never ______ people with disabilities for they also have the right to live.
A. look down on
B. look forward to
C. look out to
D. look up to
37. Stop _____ your younger brother so he will stop crying.
A. picking at
B. picking on
C. picking out
D. picking up
38. Always _______ your best effort in everything you do.
A. put across
B. put down
C. put forth
D. put out
39. Did you help in ______ the able?
A. setting apart
B. setting back
C. setting down
D. setting up
40. She _____ the details of the program.
A. wrote in
B. wrote off
C. wrote over
D. wrote up
Answer key
| 1. C | 9. A | 17. D | 25. A | 33. A |
| 2. B | 10. C | 18. B | 26. B | 34. C |
| 3. B | 11. D | 19. A | 27. B | 35. C |
| 4. A | 12. A | 20. D | 28. D | 36. A |
| 5. A | 13. C | 21. A | 29. B | 37. B |
| 6. B | 14. A | 22. C | 30. C | 38. C |
| 7. C | 15. A | 23. D | 31. B | 39. D |
| 8. B | 16. C | 24. D | 32. B | 40. D |
Other English-related CSE reviewers
| CSE English Reviewer | No. of Items |
|---|---|
| Alphabetizing | 20 items |
| Synonyms | 40 items |
| Antonyms | 40 items |
| Single-word Analogy | 40 items |
| Double-word Analogy | 40 items |
| Paragraph Development | 10 items |
