GCSE English LanguageGrammar and punctuation
24 questions on standard English. Pick your answer, then tap to see if you were right and why. Every question comes from the Show Working English Language bank.
Standard English is the formal English expected in exam writing, unless a character is speaking. These questions cover the slips that cost technical accuracy marks: “could of” for “could have”, “we was”, double negatives, less and fewer, and who or whom.
01 / Quiz yourselfTry it, then tap to check
Choose your answer before you open it. Then read why, so it sticks.
01 / Standard English
Answer: A I could have won the race.
“Could have” (or the short form “could’ve”) is correct. Because “could’ve” sounds like “could of” when spoken, people often write “of”, but “of” is never right after could, should or would.
02 / Standard EnglishOur own example
We should of left earlier.
Answer: D have
After “should”, “could”, “would”, “might” and “must”, the word is “have”: “We should have left earlier.” “Should of” is a mishearing of “should’ve”.
03 / Standard English
Answer: C They should of told us sooner.
“Should of” is the error; it should be “should have”. The short form “should’ve” is correct, and “ought to have” is correct too.
04 / Standard EnglishOur own example
Me and him went to the cinema.
Answer: B He and I went to the cinema.
The people doing the action need subject pronouns: “I” and “he”, not “me” and “him”. Test it by taking one person away: you would say “I went”, not “me went”. It is polite to put yourself last.
05 / Standard EnglishOur own example
The teacher gave the prizes to Ella and I.
Answer: A The teacher gave the prizes to Ella and me.
After “to”, the pronoun is the object, so it is “me”. Take Ella away to check: “gave the prizes to me”, not “to I”. Using “I” here can sound formal, but it is not Standard English.
06 / Standard EnglishOur own example
My mum and me are going shopping.
Answer: D My mum and I are going shopping.
The two people are the subject of the sentence, so the pronoun is “I”: you would say “I am going”, not “me am going”. Two people take “are”, not “is”.
07 / Standard English
Answer: D They were waiting outside.
In Standard English, “they”, “we” and “you” take “were”; “I”, “he”, “she” and “it” take “was”. “Them” cannot be the subject of a sentence.
08 / Standard EnglishOur own example
You was right about the film.
Answer: C “You” needs “were”, not “was”
“You was” is common in speech in many parts of Britain, but Standard English always uses “you were”, whether you are talking to one person or several.
09 / Standard EnglishOur own example
We was sat at the back.
Answer: A We were sitting at the back.
“We” takes “were”, and “us” cannot be the subject. “We were sitting” is the safe Standard English choice in a formal piece of writing.
10 / Standard EnglishOur own example
He don’t like football.
Answer: D He doesn’t like football.
With “he”, “she” and “it”, Standard English uses “does” and “doesn’t”. “Don’t” goes with “I”, “you”, “we” and “they”.
11 / Standard EnglishOur own example
I seen him yesterday.
Answer: B I saw him yesterday.
The simple past is “saw”. “Seen” is only used after “have” or “had”: “I have seen him”. Never “have saw”.
12 / Standard EnglishOur own example
She done her homework last night.
Answer: A did
The simple past of “do” is “did”: “She did her homework.” “Done” needs “has” or “had” before it: “She has done her homework.”
13 / Standard EnglishOur own example
It ain’t fair.
Answer: C It isn’t fair.
“Ain’t” is common in casual speech but is not Standard English. Use “isn’t”, “aren’t”, “hasn’t” or “haven’t”, depending on the sentence.
14 / Standard EnglishOur own example
Can you pass me them books?
Answer: B those
Before a noun, Standard English uses “those” (or “these”): “those books”. “Them” is a pronoun and cannot point to a noun like this.
15 / Standard EnglishOur own example
I didn’t do nothing wrong.
Answer: B I didn’t do anything wrong.
Standard English uses only one negative in a clause. “Didn’t” is already negative, so the next word is “anything”, not “nothing”.
16 / Standard EnglishOur own example
There isn’t no milk left.
Answer: D It uses a double negative
“Isn’t” and “no” are both negatives. Standard English uses one: “There isn’t any milk left” or “There is no milk left.”
17 / Standard EnglishOur own example
There were less people at the match this year.
Answer: B fewer
Use “fewer” for things you can count one by one (people, cars, mistakes) and “less” for amounts you cannot count (water, time, noise).
18 / Standard English
Answer: C fewer
Cars can be counted, so it is “fewer cars”. If the noun is something you measure rather than count, such as traffic, use “less”: “There is less traffic on Sundays.”
19 / Standard English
Answer: B I drink less water than I should.
Water is an amount, not a number of separate things, so it takes “less”. You would say “fewer glasses of water”, because glasses can be counted.
20 / Standard English
Answer: C To whom should I send the letter?
“Whom” is for the person something is done to, often after a word like “to”, “for” or “with”. The person doing the action is “who”: “Who is at the door?”
21 / Standard English
Answer: A who
The man is doing the living, so it is “who” (“that” would also be fine). “Which” is for things, not people, and “whom” is only for someone an action is done to.
22 / Standard English
Answer: C The form of English expected in formal speech and writing
Standard English is about grammar and vocabulary, not accent: you can speak it in any accent. It is the form used in formal writing, news reports and exams.
23 / Standard English
Answer: B In dialogue, to show how a character speaks
In a story, a character can say “We was robbed!” because real people talk that way. Outside speech marks, and in any formal task, use Standard English.
24 / Standard English
Answer: D It is part of what the technical accuracy marks reward
Every board gives a large share of the writing marks (AO6) to technical accuracy, and Standard English is one of the things it checks, along with spelling, punctuation and sentence variety.
02 / Where marks slipOne thing to watch
Writing “could of”. The sound is “could’ve”, short for “could have”.
03 / In the appComing to Show Working
In the app, Standard English gives you ten questions at a time, picked from all 24, with the reason after every answer. English Language is built, but it isn’t on phones yet: it will arrive in an update.
Coming soon to the App StoreOur own questions, written for every board. Lines from books are from authors who died long enough ago that their words are free to quote. Show Working is independent and not affiliated with any exam board.
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