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Nainital Bank Clerk practice questions

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Question 1English Language

In the sentence 'The clerk submitted the form before the branch closed', the word 'before' functions as which part of speech?

  1. Preposition
  2. Adjective
  3. Adverb
  4. Conjunction Correct answer.

Explanation

'Before' introduces the dependent clause 'before the branch closed', joining it to the main clause, so it works as a subordinating conjunction. A preposition would need a noun phrase rather than a full clause after it.

Question 2English Language

Choose the option that correctly fills the blank: 'Neither the manager nor the cashiers ____ available during the audit.'

  1. is
  2. was
  3. has been
  4. were Correct answer.

Explanation

With 'neither...nor', the verb agrees with the subject nearest to it. The nearest subject is the plural 'cashiers', so the plural verb 'were' is required.

Question 3English Language

Which word is closest in meaning to 'remittance' as used in banking correspondence?

  1. Payment Correct answer.
  2. Ledger
  3. Deduction
  4. Receipt

Explanation

A remittance is money sent as payment, typically by a customer to settle an account or obligation. The other options name accounting actions or records rather than the transferred funds themselves.

Question 4English Language

Identify the sentence that contains no grammatical error.

  1. The bank have decided to revise its interest rates.
  2. The board has approved the new lending policy. Correct answer.
  3. Each of the applicants were interviewed separately.
  4. Neither of the clerks have submitted the report.

Explanation

'The board' is a collective noun treated as a single unit, so the singular verb 'has approved' is correct. The other sentences pair singular subjects with plural verbs.

Question 5English Language

In the word 'irregular', the prefix 'ir-' conveys which meaning?

  1. Again
  2. Before
  3. Not Correct answer.
  4. Together

Explanation

The prefix 'ir-' is a variant of 'in-' meaning 'not', used before words beginning with 'r'. Thus 'irregular' means 'not regular'.

Question 6English Language

Choose the correct word: 'The branch manager was ____ to approve loans above the sanctioned limit.'

  1. authorisation
  2. authorising
  3. authorised Correct answer.
  4. authorise

Explanation

After the verb 'was', a past participle is needed to form the passive voice, so the adjective/participle 'authorised' fits. The other forms are a base verb and a noun, which cannot complete this passive construction.

Question 7English Language

Which sentence correctly uses the article 'an'?

  1. She is an honest officer. Correct answer.
  2. He filed an loan application.
  3. They opened an new account.
  4. It was an useful seminar.

Explanation

'An' is used before a vowel sound, not merely a vowel letter. 'Honest' begins with a silent 'h', producing a vowel sound, so 'an honest officer' is correct.

Question 8English Language

Which option best replaces the underlined phrase to make the sentence formal: 'The customer said he will pay the dues soon.'

  1. said that he pays
  2. said he would pay Correct answer.
  3. has said he pays
  4. says he will pay

Explanation

In reported speech after a past reporting verb, the future 'will' shifts to 'would'. 'Said he would pay' correctly preserves the future-in-the-past meaning in formal register.

Question 9English Language

Select the correct passive form of: 'The auditor is examining the records.'

  1. The records are examined by the auditor.
  2. The records are being examined by the auditor. Correct answer.
  3. The records have been examined by the auditor.
  4. The records were examined by the auditor.

Explanation

The present continuous active 'is examining' becomes 'are being examined' in the passive, with the object 'records' becoming the subject. The other options shift the tense to perfect, past, or simple present.

Question 10English Language

Choose the option that correctly completes the conditional: 'If the bank ____ the interest rate last quarter, deposits would have risen.'

  1. reduced
  2. reduces
  3. would reduce
  4. had reduced Correct answer.

Explanation

This is a third conditional sentence describing an unreal past situation, so the if-clause takes the past perfect 'had reduced' and the main clause takes 'would have risen'. The time marker 'last quarter' confirms the past reference.

Question 11English Language

In the sentence 'Having verified the signatures, the officer cleared the cheque', the underlined participle phrase modifies which element?

  1. the signatures
  2. cleared
  3. the cheque
  4. the officer Correct answer.

Explanation

A participial phrase at the start of a sentence modifies the subject of the main clause. The subject 'the officer' is the one who verified the signatures, so the phrase attaches to it.

Question 12English Language

Which word is the antonym of 'surplus' in an accounting context?

  1. Margin
  2. Excess
  3. Deficit Correct answer.
  4. Reserve

Explanation

A surplus is an amount by which income exceeds expenditure, while a deficit is the shortfall when expenditure exceeds income. They are direct opposites in financial usage.

Question 13English Language

Choose the option that best expresses the meaning of the idiom 'to be in the red'.

  1. To be in debt Correct answer.
  2. To be newly promoted
  3. To be under audit
  4. To be operating at a profit

Explanation

'In the red' refers to negative balances, traditionally recorded in red ink, meaning the account is overdrawn or the business is running at a loss. Its opposite is 'in the black'.

Question 14English Language

Fill in the blank with the most appropriate preposition: 'The borrower was held liable ____ the outstanding dues.'

  1. for Correct answer.
  2. to
  3. with
  4. at

Explanation

The adjective 'liable' is followed by 'for' when naming the obligation or debt one is responsible for. 'Liable to' is used for persons or penalties, not for the amount owed.

Question 15English Language

Which sentence uses the semicolon correctly?

  1. The audit was completed; the report was delayed. Correct answer.
  2. The audit; was completed and the report was delayed.
  3. The audit was completed; and the report was delayed.
  4. The audit was completed; but the report was delayed.

Explanation

A semicolon joins two independent clauses that are closely related and not already linked by a coordinating conjunction. 'The audit was completed' and 'the report was delayed' are both independent, so the semicolon alone is correct.

Question 16English Language

Identify the figure of speech in: 'The new policy is a lifeline for small traders.'

  1. Metaphor Correct answer.
  2. Simile
  3. Personification
  4. Hyperbole

Explanation

The sentence states that the policy is a lifeline without using 'like' or 'as', directly equating two unlike things. That direct comparison is a metaphor.

Question 17English Language

Choose the correct order of words: 'The manager asked ____.'

  1. where the clerk had kept the register Correct answer.
  2. where did the clerk kept the register
  3. where had the clerk kept the register
  4. where the clerk had kept the register?

Explanation

In an embedded question after a reporting verb, the word order is subject before verb, with no auxiliary inversion and no question mark. Thus 'where the clerk had kept the register' is correct.

Question 18English Language

Which option correctly completes: 'Hardly ____ the meeting begun when the power failed.'

  1. did
  2. had Correct answer.
  3. has
  4. was

Explanation

'Hardly' at the start of a clause triggers inversion and pairs with the past perfect to show one event immediately preceding another. The correct form is 'Hardly had the meeting begun when...'.

Question 19English Language

Choose the option that best replaces 'in view of the fact that' to make the sentence concise: 'In view of the fact that the branch was closed, the transfer was delayed.'

  1. Although
  2. Unless
  3. Because Correct answer.
  4. Despite

Explanation

'In view of the fact that' is a wordy way of saying 'because', and the sentence gives a reason for the delay. 'Because the branch was closed' preserves the causal link concisely.

Question 20English Language

Read the sentence and choose the option that best restates it: 'No sooner had the circular been issued than the staff raised objections.'

  1. The staff raised objections immediately after the circular was issued. Correct answer.
  2. The staff raised objections long before the circular was issued.
  3. The staff never raised objections to the circular.
  4. The circular was issued because the staff raised objections.

Explanation

'No sooner...than' means one event happened immediately after another. The circular was issued first, and objections followed at once.

Question 21English Language

In the sentence 'The committee, which met on Monday, approved the proposal', the clause 'which met on Monday' is:

  1. an adverbial clause of time
  2. a non-defining relative clause Correct answer.
  3. a noun clause
  4. a defining relative clause

Explanation

The clause is set off by commas and adds extra information about an already identified noun, so it is non-defining. Removing it would not change the identity of 'the committee'.

Question 22English Language

Choose the sentence that uses 'lie' and 'lay' correctly.

  1. The files lie on the desk after the clerk lay them there yesterday.
  2. The files lay on the desk after the clerk lied them there.
  3. The files laid on the desk after the clerk lay them there.
  4. The files lay on the desk after the clerk laid them there. Correct answer.

Explanation

'Lie' is intransitive and its past form is 'lay', while 'lay' is transitive with past form 'laid'. The files rest on the desk (lay) because the clerk placed them (laid).

Question 23English Language

Identify the error in: 'Scarcely had the auditor left than the manager called an emergency meeting.'

  1. 'than' should be 'when' Correct answer.
  2. 'had left' should be 'has left'
  3. 'called' should be 'had called'
  4. 'Scarcely' should be 'Scarcely when'

Explanation

'Scarcely' and 'hardly' pair with 'when', whereas 'no sooner' pairs with 'than'. Since the sentence opens with 'scarcely', the correct conjunction is 'when'.

Question 24English Language

Which option best completes the sentence with correct parallelism: 'The new policy aims to reduce paperwork, to speed up sanctions, and ____.'

  1. to improve customer service Correct answer.
  2. improving customer service
  3. customer service improved
  4. improvement of customer service

Explanation

Items in a series joined by 'and' must share the same grammatical form. The first two items are infinitive phrases ('to reduce', 'to speed up'), so the third must also be an infinitive phrase.

Question 25English Language

Choose the option that corrects the dangling modifier: 'While reviewing the loan file, several discrepancies were noticed by the officer.'

  1. While reviewing the loan file, the officer noticed several discrepancies. Correct answer.
  2. Reviewing the loan file, discrepancies were noticed by several officers.
  3. While reviewing the loan file, several discrepancies were noticed.
  4. While the loan file was reviewed, several discrepancies were noticed by the officer.

Explanation

An introductory participial phrase must refer to the subject of the main clause. In the original, the discrepancies appear to be doing the reviewing; making 'the officer' the subject removes the dangling modifier.

Question 26English Language

In the sentence 'The clerk who processed the withdrawal was praised by the manager', the underlined clause 'who processed the withdrawal' is best described as:

  1. a noun clause acting as subject
  2. a defining relative clause modifying 'clerk' Correct answer.
  3. an adverbial clause of reason
  4. a non-defining relative clause modifying 'manager'

Explanation

A clause introduced by 'who' immediately after a noun and without commas is a defining (restrictive) relative clause that identifies which clerk is meant. Here it modifies 'clerk', the subject of the main verb 'was praised'.

Question 27English Language

Choose the option that correctly completes the sentence: 'The bank has not yet ____ the revised KYC guidelines to all branches.'

  1. circulated Correct answer.
  2. circulation
  3. circulate
  4. circulating

Explanation

After the auxiliary 'has' a past participle is required to form the present perfect tense. 'Circulated' is the past participle, so 'has not yet circulated' is correct.

Question 28English Language

In banking correspondence, which word is the antonym of 'credit' when it refers to an entry in an account?

  1. debit Correct answer.
  2. balance
  3. deposit
  4. receipt

Explanation

In account keeping, a credit entry adds to a liability or income account while a debit entry is its opposite movement. 'Debit' is therefore the standard antonym of 'credit' in this technical sense.

Question 29English Language

Choose the option that best expresses the meaning of the idiom 'to cook the books' as used in a report on branch audits.

  1. to prepare accounts in a hurry
  2. to falsify financial records deliberately Correct answer.
  3. to simplify the bookkeeping method
  4. to publish the annual accounts

Explanation

The idiom 'to cook the books' means to alter or falsify accounts dishonestly, usually to hide a shortfall or inflate profits. It carries a strong sense of deliberate fraud, which fits an audit context.

Question 30English Language

Fill in the blank with the most appropriate preposition: 'The branch complied ____ the RBI directive on customer identification.'

  1. to
  2. with Correct answer.
  3. for
  4. by

Explanation

The verb 'comply' is followed by the fixed preposition 'with', giving the pattern 'comply with a rule or directive'. This collocation must be memorised because other prepositions do not fit.

Question 31English Language

Choose the option that correctly completes the sentence: 'Each of the loan applications ____ verified before disbursement.'

  1. have been
  2. were
  3. was Correct answer.
  4. are

Explanation

The subject 'each' is singular, and the phrase 'of the loan applications' does not change the number of the verb. A singular verb 'was' is therefore required.

Question 32English Language

Choose the sentence that uses the apostrophe correctly in a banking context.

  1. The borrowers' signatures were verified by the officer.
  2. The borrower's signatures were verified by the officer. Correct answer.
  3. The borrowers signatures were verified by the officer.
  4. The borrowers signatures' were verified by the officer.

Explanation

When one borrower owns plural signatures, the apostrophe comes before the -s of the singular possessor: 'borrower's signatures'. The other options either misplace the apostrophe or omit it altogether.

Question 33English Language

Choose the option that best replaces the underlined part to make the sentence concise: 'The bank returned the cheque for the reason that the signature did not match.'

  1. owing to the fact of a signature mismatch
  2. due to the reason that the signature did not match
  3. because the signature did not match Correct answer.
  4. for the reason of the signature not matching

Explanation

The wordy phrase 'for the reason that' can be reduced to the single conjunction 'because', which expresses cause concisely. The resulting clause is grammatically complete and clear.

Question 34English Language

In the sentence 'The circular, which was issued on Monday, applies to all rural branches', the clause 'which was issued on Monday' is:

  1. an adverbial clause of time
  2. a clause acting as the object of 'applies'
  3. defining and essential to identify the circular
  4. non-defining and therefore set off by commas Correct answer.

Explanation

A relative clause enclosed in commas is non-defining: it adds extra information about an already identified noun. Removing it leaves a complete sentence, which confirms its parenthetical role.

Question 35English Language

Choose the correct passive form of: 'The bank will issue new debit cards next week.'

  1. New debit cards are being issued by the bank next week.
  2. New debit cards will be issued by the bank next week. Correct answer.
  3. New debit cards will have issued by the bank next week.
  4. New debit cards will issued by the bank next week.

Explanation

The passive of 'will issue' is 'will be issued', formed with will + be + past participle. The object 'new debit cards' becomes the subject of the passive sentence.

Question 36English Language

Choose the option that correctly completes the sentence: 'If the branch ____ the discrepancy earlier, the fraud would have been prevented.'

  1. would detect
  2. has detected
  3. detected
  4. had detected Correct answer.

Explanation

This is a third conditional sentence about an unreal past situation, so the if-clause takes the past perfect 'had detected'. The main clause 'would have been prevented' confirms the third-conditional pattern.

Question 37English Language

Choose the option that best completes the sentence with correct parallelism: 'The new branch policy aims to reduce waiting time, to simplify forms and ____.'

  1. improving customer satisfaction
  2. to improve customer satisfaction Correct answer.
  3. for the improvement of customer satisfaction
  4. customer satisfaction is improved

Explanation

The list already uses two 'to + verb' infinitives, so the third item must match that pattern. 'To improve customer satisfaction' preserves the parallel structure.

Question 38English Language

Choose the option that corrects the dangling modifier: 'While checking the ledger, an error was found by the accountant.'

  1. While checking the ledger, an error was found.
  2. While checking the ledger, the accountant found an error. Correct answer.
  3. While being checked, the accountant found an error in the ledger.
  4. An error, while checking the ledger, was found by the accountant.

Explanation

A participial phrase at the start of a sentence must describe the subject of the main clause. Since the accountant does the checking, 'the accountant' must be the subject, as in the first option.

Question 39English Language

Identify the error in: 'Hardly had the counter opened when the customers began to queue.'

  1. 'began' should be 'begun'.
  2. 'when' should be replaced by 'than'.
  3. 'Hardly' should be replaced by 'Hard'.
  4. No error; the sentence is correct. Correct answer.

Explanation

With the negative adverb 'hardly' at the start, inversion 'had the counter opened' is correct, and the paired conjunction is 'hardly ... when'. The past simple 'began' is also correct after 'when'.

Question 40English Language

Choose the option that correctly completes the sentence: 'The manager asked the cashier ____ the register before closing.'

  1. that he tally
  2. to tally Correct answer.
  3. tallying
  4. for tallying

Explanation

The verb 'ask' in reported commands takes the pattern 'ask someone to do something'. The infinitive 'to tally' is therefore required after the object 'the cashier'.

Question 41English Language

Which sentence uses 'lie' and 'lay' correctly?

  1. The file lied on the manager's desk all morning.
  2. The file lay on the manager's desk all morning. Correct answer.
  3. The file lay down on the manager's desk by the clerk.
  4. The file laid on the manager's desk all morning.

Explanation

'Lie' is intransitive and its past tense is 'lay', so a file resting on a desk 'lay' there. 'Lay' is transitive and needs an object, as in 'the clerk laid the file on the desk'.

Question 42English Language

Choose the option that best restates the sentence: 'No sooner had the circular been issued than the staff raised objections.'

  1. The staff raised objections long before the circular was issued.
  2. The staff raised objections immediately after the circular was issued. Correct answer.
  3. The staff raised objections only because the circular was issued.
  4. The staff refused to raise objections after the circular was issued.

Explanation

'No sooner ... than' means that the second event happened immediately after the first. The restatement must therefore show objections following the issue of the circular with no delay.

Question 43English Language

Choose the option that best completes the sentence: 'The auditor insisted that the vouchers ____ preserved for eight years.'

  1. are
  2. were
  3. be Correct answer.
  4. will be

Explanation

Verbs of demand such as 'insist that' take the mandative subjunctive, which uses the base form 'be' regardless of the subject. This is standard in formal and legal-style writing.

Question 44English Language

In the sentence 'The committee, which met on Monday, approved the proposal', the function of the commas is to:

  1. join two independent clauses
  2. mark off a non-essential relative clause Correct answer.
  3. introduce direct speech
  4. separate items in a list

Explanation

The commas enclose a relative clause that supplies additional, non-essential information about 'the committee'. Removing it still leaves a complete sentence, which is the test for a non-defining clause.

Question 45English Language

Choose the option that best completes the sentence: 'Neither the branch manager nor the cashiers ____ willing to comment on the audit.'

  1. was
  2. is
  3. were Correct answer.
  4. has been

Explanation

With 'neither ... nor', the verb agrees with the nearer subject, which here is the plural 'cashiers'. The plural past 'were' is therefore correct.

Question 46English Language

Choose the option that best replaces the underlined phrase to make the sentence formal: 'The customer said he will pay the dues so the account can be regularised.'

  1. stated that he would pay the dues so that the account could be regularised Correct answer.
  2. said that he will pay the dues so the account can be regularised
  3. stated he will pay dues so the account could regularise
  4. told that he would pay the dues so that the account can be regularised

Explanation

In formal reported speech after a past reporting verb, will becomes would and can becomes could, and 'stated that' is more formal than 'said'. The first option applies both shifts consistently.

Question 47English Language

Identify the option that contains a misplaced modifier:

  1. Quickly, the officer filed the report about the missing cheque.
  2. The officer filed the report quickly about the missing cheque. Correct answer.
  3. The officer filed the report about the missing cheque quickly.
  4. The officer quickly filed the report about the missing cheque.

Explanation

An adverb should sit close to the word it modifies. In the last option, 'quickly' is placed after 'report', so it appears to describe the report rather than the act of filing.

Question 48English Language

Choose the option that correctly completes the sentence: 'Scarcely ____ entered the vault when the alarm went off.'

  1. did the guard have
  2. had the guard Correct answer.
  3. has the guard
  4. the guard had

Explanation

When a negative adverb such as 'scarcely' opens the sentence, subject-auxiliary inversion is required: 'had the guard entered'. The past perfect also matches the past event in the main clause.

Question 49English Language

Choose the option that best completes the sentence: 'The board recommended that the proposal ____ before the annual general meeting.'

  1. be reviewed Correct answer.
  2. reviews
  3. will be reviewed
  4. is reviewed

Explanation

After verbs of recommendation such as 'recommend that', formal English uses the mandative subjunctive 'be reviewed'. The passive form is appropriate because the proposal receives the review.

Question 50English Language

Choose the option that best restates the sentence without changing its meaning: 'But for the timely intervention of the RBI, the cooperative bank would have collapsed.'

  1. The cooperative bank would have survived without any RBI intervention.
  2. The cooperative bank collapsed despite the RBI's timely intervention.
  3. The cooperative bank survived only because the RBI intervened in time. Correct answer.
  4. The RBI intervened in time, although the bank collapsed.

Explanation

'But for X, Y would have happened' means that X prevented Y. Here the RBI's timely intervention prevented the collapse, so the bank survived because of it.