CBSE Class 8 English Advanced Noun Very Short Answer Questions Set 01

Very Short Answer Questions

Teacher's Note:
1. The list of types is jumbled and 'Abstract noun' appears twice, so match by meaning, not by position.
2. Ask of each word: is it one particular name (proper), a general name (common), a group (collective), or a feeling or idea (abstract)?

Question 2. Fill in the blank: Parliamentarian and leader are ____________ nouns. (common gender / feminine gender)
Answer:
common gender
In simple words: Both words can be used for either a man or a woman.

Teacher's Note:
1. Common gender nouns do not show whether the person is male or female.
2. Other examples: teacher, doctor, child, student.

Question 3. Fill in the blank: We sat down in the shade of a ____________ of trees. (clump / bunch)
Answer:
clump
In simple words: A small group of trees growing together is called a clump.

Teacher's Note:
1. A bunch goes with things held or tied together, such as bananas, grapes or keys.
2. Learn the groups: a clump of trees, a bunch of flowers.

Question 4. Fill in the blank: 'Eraser' can be considered as a ____________. (common gender / neuter gender)
Answer:
neuter gender
In simple words: An eraser is a lifeless thing, so it has neither sex.

Teacher's Note:
1. Neuter gender is used for non-living things.
2. Animals whose sex is not stated are sometimes also treated as neuter.

Question 5. Fill in the blank: 'Nun' can be considered as a ____________. (common gender / feminine gender)
Answer:
feminine gender
In simple words: A nun is always a woman.

Teacher's Note:
1. The masculine word is monk.
2. Feminine gender names a female person or animal.

Question 6. Fill in the blank: Our picnic was completely ruined by a ____________ of bees. (colony / swarm)
Answer:
swarm
In simple words: A large group of bees flying together is a swarm.

Teacher's Note:
1. A colony is the group living in a hive, but the group that attacks or flies about is a swarm.
2. The phrase 'a swarm of bees' is the standard one.

Question 7. True or False: Rahul's hairs have turned grey. (True / False)
Answer:
False. Hair is uncountable and has no plural. The correct sentence is 'Rahul's hair has turned grey.'
In simple words: The word 'hair' stays singular, even when there are many hairs on the head.

Teacher's Note:
1. Rule 1: hair, furniture, advice, luggage and information have no plural form.
2. Use 'a strand of hair' to count.

Question 8. True or False: All his sister-in-laws are very beautiful to look at. (True / False)
Answer:
False. The plural of 'sister-in-law' is 'sisters-in-law', because the main noun takes the plural. The correct sentence is 'All his sisters-in-law are very beautiful to look at.'
In simple words: In a compound like sister-in-law, the first word gets the -s.

Teacher's Note:
1. Same pattern: mothers-in-law, brothers-in-law.
2. Find the main noun of the compound and make that plural.

Question 9. True or False: I obey your orders and nobody's else. (True / False)
Answer:
False. The apostrophe-s goes with 'else', not with 'nobody'. The correct sentence is 'I obey your orders and nobody else's.'
In simple words: The possessive sign is added to the last word, 'else'.

Teacher's Note:
1. Rule 5(v): somebody else's, anybody else's, nobody else's.
2. Check the position of the apostrophe.

Question 10. True or False: One of my uncle are living in Jaipur. (True / False)
Answer:
False. After 'one of' the noun must be plural and the verb must agree with 'one', which is singular. The correct sentence is 'One of my uncles is living in Jaipur.'
In simple words: Use a plural noun after 'one of' and a singular verb after it.

Teacher's Note:
1. Rule 6: one of, each of, either of, neither of take a plural noun but a singular verb.
2. This sentence has two errors: 'uncle' and 'are'.

Question 11. True or False: I saw many deer in the zoo. (True / False)
Answer:
True. The word 'deer' has the same form for singular and plural, so 'many deer' is correct.
In simple words: Deer does not change in the plural.

Teacher's Note:
1. Rule 3: sheep, deer, fish and aircraft do not change in the plural.
2. Do not write 'deers'.

Question 12. Fill in the blank: Solomon was famous for his wisdom. Here Solomon is a ____________ noun. (Collective/Proper)
Answer:
Proper
In simple words: Solomon is the name of a particular person.

Teacher's Note:
1. Proper nouns name particular persons, places or things.
2. They start with a capital letter.

Question 13. Fill in the blank: Wisdom is better than riches. Here 'Wisdom' is a/an ____________ noun. (Abstract/Proper)
Answer:
Abstract
In simple words: Wisdom is a quality of the mind, which we cannot touch.

Teacher's Note:
1. Riches is also an abstract noun here.
2. Abstract nouns name qualities, feelings and ideas.

Question 14. Fill in the blank: There were many ____________ in the pond. (duck/ducks)
Answer:
ducks
In simple words: 'Many' needs a plural noun.

Teacher's Note:
1. Use 'many' with countable plurals and 'much' with uncountable nouns.
2. 'Duck' is countable, so the plural is ducks.

Question 15. Fill in the blank: My friend ate three ____________ of cake. (piece/pieces)
Answer:
pieces
In simple words: 'Three' needs a plural, so we write pieces of cake.

Teacher's Note:
1. Cake is uncountable here, but 'piece' is a countable unit.
2. The unit word takes the plural: two glasses of milk, three pieces of cake.

Question 16. Fill in the blank: My father always brings home two ____________ apples. (dozens/dozen)
Answer:
dozen
In simple words: After a number, 'dozen' stays singular.

Teacher's Note:
1. After a number, dozen, hundred, thousand and score do not take -s.
2. Without a number we do write 'dozens of apples'.

Question 17. Fill in the blank: Though he is still in his twenties he has grey ____________. (hair/hairs)
Answer:
hair
In simple words: The word for the hair on the head has no plural.

Teacher's Note:
1. 'Hairs' is only used for separate individual strands, such as 'two hairs on the pillow'.
2. Rule 1 puts hair among the uncountable nouns.

Question 18. True or False: Honesty is an abstract noun. (True / False)
Answer:
True. Honesty names a quality, which we cannot see or touch, so it is an abstract noun.
In simple words: Honesty is a quality of a person.

Teacher's Note:
1. Abstract nouns include honesty, bravery, hatred and success.
2. They are formed from adjectives such as honest and brave.

Question 19. True or False: Committee is a common noun. (True / False)
Answer:
False. A committee is a group of persons taken as one whole, so it is a collective noun.
In simple words: Committee names a group, so we call it collective.

Teacher's Note:
1. Collective nouns are listed separately from common nouns in this chapter.
2. Other examples: class, jury, team.

Question 20. True or False: They are sending some man to fix the roof. (True / False)
Answer:
False. 'Some' goes with a plural noun here, and the plural of man is men. The correct sentence is 'They are sending some men to fix the roof.'
In simple words: Man changes to men in the plural.

Teacher's Note:
1. Irregular plurals: man, men; woman, women; child, children.
2. With 'some' a plural form is usually needed.

Question 21. True or False: I clean my tooth three times a day. (True / False)
Answer:
False. We clean all our teeth, so the plural 'teeth' is needed. The correct sentence is 'I clean my teeth three times a day.'
In simple words: Tooth becomes teeth in the plural.

Teacher's Note:
1. Irregular plurals: tooth, teeth; foot, feet; mouse, mice.
2. Think of the meaning: you brush many teeth, not one.

Question 22. True or False: He badly needs two pairs of boots. (True / False)
Answer:
True. 'Pair' is a countable unit and 'two pairs of boots' is correct.
In simple words: A pair is two boots, so two pairs is four boots.

Teacher's Note:
1. 'Pair' takes -s when a number above one is used before it.
2. Compare 'two dozen', where the unit does not take -s after a number.

Question 23. True or False: He narrated the story superbly in great detail. (True / False)
Answer:
True. The phrase 'in great detail' is a correct, fixed expression with 'detail' in the singular, so the sentence has no error.
In simple words: Nothing is wrong in this sentence.

Teacher's Note:
1. Do not look for an error where there is none; read the sentence once for meaning first.
2. 'Superbly' is an adverb telling how he narrated.