Civil Service Reviewer vocabulary

1. Knave – noun
Untrustworthy person, rogue, scoundrel, unscrupulous man
Example: The knave is usually suspicious of everyone around him.

2. Laggard – adjective
Slow, sluggish, dilatory
Example: Jimmy, a laggard, always makes his friends late too.
3. Marred – adjective
Damaged, disfigured, scarred
Example: It took me all day to scrub the walls marred by graffiti.
4. Nadir – noun
Lowest point
Example: The nadir of humanity is when the time comes that it does not care anymore about life.
5. Ornate- adjective
Excessively or elaborately decorated, flowery
Example: The ornate ice carving won the first prize in the last Ice Festival in Sapporo.
6. Pariah – noun
Outcast, castaway
Example: Persons with leprosy were treated as social pariahs.
7. Quell – verb
Put down, extinguish, put an end, suppress
Example: The government is now planning on to quell the rebellion.
8. Rapacious – adjective
Excessively greedy
Example: The rapacious loan shark stripped the tenants with all their possessions.
9. Sham – verb
Pretend, fake
Example: Lucia shammed her sickness to avoid going to the dentist.
10. Tether – verb
Tie with a rope, attach
Example: Before leaving the farm, we make sure to tether the cows and goats to prevent them
from wandering.
Civil Service Reviewer Spelling
In each item, find the word with incorrect spelling.
Item 01
a.) caffeine
b.) liaison
c.) accesory-accessory
d.) mayonnaise
e.) None of the above.
Item 02
a.) grammar
b.) inedible
c.) handywork
d.) rendezvous
e.) None of the above.

Item 03
a.) auxillary-auxiliary
b.) rhythm
c.) separate
d.) besiege
e.) None of the above.

Item 04
a.) fluorescent
b.) hypocrisy
c.) berrserk-berserk
d.) repertoire
e.) None of the above.

Item 05
a.) iridescent
b.) maneuver
c.) memento
d.) bizzare-bizarre
e.) None of the above.
Item 06
a.) subtle
b.) bookkepping-bookkeeping
c.) hemorrhage
d.) pursue
e.) None of the above.

Item 07
a.) corollarry-corollary
b.) pneumonia
c.) quandary
d.) sergeant
e.) None of the above.

Item 08
a.) seizure
b.) laboratory
c.) fanning
d.) harrass-harass
e.) None of the above.

Item 09
a.) anthropoid
b.) anecdote
c.) hienous-heinous
d.) foresee
e.) None of the above.

Item 10
a.) envigorate-invigorate
b.) medieval
c.) receive
d.) solely
e.) None of the above.
Civil Service Reviewer Prepositions of Place
The use of preposition of place is one of the most confusing grammar rules, but they are
actually quite simple if you know the rules. The most commonly confused preposition of
place are in, on and at. Remember the following general rules.
1.) In is usually used to refer to an enclosed place. For example, in a box, in the room, in
Japan. Notice that enclosed can mean a very small or very large place.
2.) On is usually used to refer to a surface. Use on when you referring to a thing attached to
something. For example on a table, on the board, on the chair.
3.) At is used to refer to a particular point or place. For example, at the bank, at
the entrance, at my girl friend’s house. Again, notice that the “point” can be enclosed or not.
There are many prepositions, but these three are the most confusing.
Grammar Quiz – Preposition of Place

Choose the preposition of place that completes each sentence. You can see the correct
answer by clicking the + button after the choices. Good luck.

1. I have a picture of my grandma ___ my wall, so I would always remember her.

a.) in
b.) on-
c.) at
d.) to
2. I think I might have lost my mobile phone ____ the time I took a taxi and snack time.

a.) from
b.) between-
c.) to
d.)
into
3. There was an accident earlier. A rider fell ___ a motor bike.

a.) out
b.) down
c.) off-
d.) for
4. After going to church, grandma would usually sit ___ the park and read newspapers.

a.) on
b.) in
c.) at-
d.) to
5. The bus is returning ___ school because of heavy flood. Camping is cancelled.

a.) at
b.) in
c.) to-
d.) for
6. During weekends, when I have nothing to buy, I usually stay ___ home.

a.) at-
b.) in
c.) to
d.) by
7. Carl, don’t forget to put the juice ___ the fridge.

a.) on
b.) at
c.) to
d.) in-
8. My office is just 500 meters away, so I just walk __ work everyday.

a.) to-
b.) at
c.) for
d.) in

9. The boss is in a good mood after coming back ___ a 2-week holiday.
a.) to
b.) from-
c.) in
d.) to
10. There was a party last night ___ the end of ours street. It was very noisy.

a.) on
b.) at-
c.) in
d.) to

Civil Service Reviewer Prepositions of time

After learning about prepositions of place, let us now review the correct usage of prepositions
of time. The most commonly used prepositions of time are surprisingly the same as
propositions of place: at, on, and in. They are used as follows.
1.) At is usually used at precise time: at 7:00 o’clock, at midnight, at bed time, at Christmas,
at the end of the week.
2.) In is used for longer periods of time such as months, years, seasons, part of the day and
duration. For example, in May, in 2015, in summer, in the evening.
3.) On is used with days and dates. For example, on Monday, on June 21.
Notice that on is usually more precise than in such as “in Friday” and “on Friday evening.”

Please take note also of the other prepositions such as from, between, to, within, during,
etc. which are mostly self explanatory.

Grammar Quiz on Prepositions of Time

Choose the preposition of time that completes each sentence. You can see the correct
answer by clicking the + button after the choices. Happy learning!

1. My birthday is __ December.

a.) in
b.) on-
c.) at
d.) to
2. I am going to see a movie ___ Wednesday.

a.) at
b.) in
c.) on-
d.) during
3. I usually wake up early ___ the morning.

a.) in-
b.) on
c.) at
d.) during
4. I leave for school ___ 8:00 am.

a.) on
b.) in
c.) at-
d.) to
5. Go ahead. I’ll see you ___ 15 minutes.

a.) at
b.) in-
c.) to
d.) on
6. We will have dinner with grandma __ Tuesday evening.

a.) at
b.) in
c.) to
d.) on-
7. __ December, I am going to buy a bike!

a.) In-
b.) On
c.) At
d.) To
8. Bye Anna. I’m going to see you tomorrow ___ breakfast.

a.) to
b.) at-
c.) on
d.) in
9. My boss is currently on vacation. She will be back ___ Friday.
a.) to
b.) from
c.) in
d.) on-

10. My brother and I usually watch TV __ Saturday night.

a.) on-
b.) at
c.) in
d.) to

Grammar Quiz on Conjunctions

Choose the best conjunction that completes each sentence. You can see the correct
answer by clicking the + button after the choices. Good luck.
Grammar Quiz – Conjunctions

1. Mina watched the basketball match _____ her school’s team was playing.

a.) but
b.) so
c.) because
d.) whereas

Answer
c. because

2. In my room, I can see the garden, ___ in my sister’s room, she has a view of the road.
a.) so
b.) whereas
c.) that’s why
d.) because
Answer
b. whereas
3. Jimmy wrote his poem very quickly _____ it was very good.

a.) and
b.) but
c.) so
d.) that’s why

Answer
b. but

4. Its holiday today. ______ there are so many people in the park.

a.) because
b.) whereas
c.) that’s why
d.) so

Answer
c. that’s why

5. Jasmine is only 10 years old ___ she isn’t allowed to enter a PG 13 cinema.

a.) so
b.) although
c.) because
d.) but

Answer
a. so

6. Kara did not drink beer in the party ____ she was very tempted.

a.) whereas
b.) although
c.) because
d.) so

Answer b. although
7. Mike has three bicycles _____ Jonathan has 4.

a.) whereas
b.) so
c.) because
d.) that’s why

Answer
a. whereas

8. Here’s my proposition: Leo can now get the laptop so we can watch movies ___ we can
just play video games.

a.) and
b.) or
c.) whereas
d.) so

Answer
b. or

9. ____ the examination was hard, 90 percent of the class got marks higher than 95%.
a.) because
b.) although
c.) whereas
d.) that’s why

Answer
b. although

10. _____ the team won the game, the coach took them to dinner in a fine restaurant.

a.) although
b.) because
c.) even if
d.) before
Answer
b. because