Rules on Filling Gaps

1. You need to enhance your vocabulary. Therefore, learn the word meanings, synonyms, antonyms, and, if possible, the root, prefix, and suffix of words from the textbook or any other text as much as you can.

2. You need to learn the necessary grammar and structure.

3. For the cloze test, read the given passage repeatedly to understand its meaning.

4. To fill in the blanks, quickly analyze the sentences in the passage to determine what kind of word should be used, then use words that fit the context.

5. If there is a gap after an article and before a noun, an adjective should be used in the gap.

For example: “There lived a—fox in a forest.” Here, since there is a gap after the article ‘a’ and before the noun “fox,” the sentence becomes, “There lived a clever fox in a forest.” The word “clever” is an adjective. Other adjectives like lazy, wise, cunning, kind, etc., could also be used.

6. If there is an adjective after the article and a gap before the noun, then a past participle or present participle should be used in the gap. For example: “I saw a beautiful—picture hung on the wall.” In this sentence, “a” is followed by the adjective “beautiful,” then a gap, and then the noun “picture.” Therefore, a past participle like “painted” or “colored” would fit the gap, acting as an adjective.

7. If there is a gap after the definite article (the) and followed by a plural verb, an adjective should be used in the gap, which is treated as a plural common noun.
For example: “The—are born to suffer.” Here, the gap will be filled with “poor.” Similarly, “The—are not always happy,” in which “rich” would be used in the gap. Here, both “poor” and “rich” function as plural common nouns.

8. If there is a gap after the definite article (the) and before a noun, a superlative adjective should be used in the gap.
For example: “Mr. Moniruzzaman is the—man in the village.” In this case, words like wisest, richest, strongest, cleverest, tallest, or best can be used in the gap as superlative adjectives.

9. If there is a gap after a preposition and before a noun, an -ing form of a verb should be used in the gap.

For example: “Children are fond of—sweets.” The gap should be filled with “eating” (verb + ing form of “eat”).

10.  If there is a gap after an article and before a verb, a noun should be used in the gap. The verb will indicate whether the noun should be singular or plural.
For example: “The—are catching fish in the river.” In this case, nouns like fishermen, boys, people, villagers can be used in the gap, and since these nouns are plural, the following auxiliary verb is also in plural form.If there is a gap before a relative pronoun in a sentence, a preposition can be used in the gap.
For example: “The school—which Ridwana reads has a good reputation.” In this sentence, “in” should fill the gap.

11. If there is a gap after “One of the,” “Many of them,” or “Most of the,” a plural form of a noun should be used in the gap.
For example: “BMR Rifles College is one of the most famous—in Dhaka.” The gap will be filled with “colleges.”

12. If there is a gap after “Most of the,” a plural countable noun or a singular uncountable noun should be used in the gap.
For example: “Most of the—were present in the meeting.” Here, “members” should be used, which is the plural form of the countable noun “member.”

13. If there is a gap after a be verb (am, is, are, was, were, shall be, will be) and followed by a prepositional phrase, an adjective should be used in the gap.
For example: “The tiger is—of meat.” In this case, “fond” is used in the gap.

14. If there is a gap after a finite verb, a noun, adjective, or adverb should be used in the gap.
For example: “Mr. Mostaq is a—.” Here, nouns like man, shopkeeper, or teacher can be used. “Rana is—” can be filled with adjectives like honest, faithful, dutiful, confident, or lazy.

15. If there is a gap after a transitive verb, a noun or gerund should be used in the gap.
For example: “She learns—.” Here, a noun like “English” fits. “She learns—” can also be filled with gerunds like swimming, riding, or playing, which function as both verbs and nouns.

16. If there is a gap after an intransitive verb, an adverb should be used in the gap.
For example: “The baby cries—.” In this gap, “loudly” (an adverb) would be appropriate.

17. If there is a gap after verbs like look, seem, grow, turn, become, keep, an adjective is usually used.
For example: “The girl looks—.” This gap could be filled with adjectives like nice, beautiful, smart, pretty, ugly, sad, gloomy, grave, or attractive.

18. If there is a gap after “so,” an adjective should be used in the gap.
For example: “She is so—that she cannot walk.” This gap could be filled with weak, tired, ill, sick, impatient, afraid, or hungry as appropriate adjectives.

19. If there is a gap after “too” and followed by “to + verb,” an adjective should be used in the gap.
For example: “Altaf is too—to walk.” In this gap, adjectives like weak, tired, sick, ill, afraid, hungry, or small can be used.

20. If there is a gap after a be verb and followed by an adjective, an adverb should be used in the gap.
For example: “Her idea was—right.” Adverbs like fully, totally, absolutely, undoubtedly, or certainly can fill the gap.

21. If a sentence starts with “No sooner,” then “than” is used in the gap before the principal clause.
For example: “No sooner had the thief seen the police—he ran away.” The gap should be filled with “than.”

22. If there is a gap at the beginning of a sentence and followed by a noun or pronoun, and later “but also” with a noun or pronoun, “not only” should be used in the gap.
For example: “Not only Ridwana but also Roksana attended the party.”

23. If a sentence starts with “Not only,” then “but also” is used in the gap.
For example: “Mr. Monir is not only the principal but also the well-wisher of our college.”