WorksheetsEnglish Language Paper 1 Section B - Variation over Time
Total questions: 75
Worksheet time: 38mins
Name
Class
Date
1.
When was Middle English?
a)
1066 - 1450
b)
800–1066
c)
1600–1750
d)
1000–1300
2.
When was Early Modern English?
a)
1450 - 1700
b)
1700–1900
c)
1066–1150
d)
1800–2000
3.
When was Late Modern English?
a)
1700 - 1900
b)
1400–1700
c)
1066–1500
d)
1900–present
4.
When was Modern English?
a)
1900 - present day
b)
1200–1500
c)
1500–1600
d)
1800–1900
5.
What is David Crystal's 'Tide Metaphor'?
a)
Language change is natural and constantly flowing like the tide
b)
Language change is destructive
c)
Language change is a set of strict rules
d)
Language is fixed like a castle
6.
What is Aitchison's 'Crumbling Castle' metaphor?
a)
Belief that English was once perfect and is now deteriorating
b)
Language grows like a tree
c)
Language is naturally chaotic
d)
Language is like a tide
7.
What is Fairclough's 'Informalisation Theory'?
a)
Language is becoming more informal over time
b)
Language is becoming more formal
c)
Grammar rules are being invented
d)
Informality is being eliminated
8.
What does Bex say about language change?
a)
Genres evolve to reflect society's values
b)
Change is always negative
c)
English should resist all borrowing
d)
Old forms are best
9.
What is Halliday's Functional Theory?
a)
Language changes to meet the needs of its users
b)
Language changes due to invasions
c)
Language changes randomly
d)
All change is due to prestige
10.
What is the Substratum Theory?
a)
Language changes due to influence from non-native speakers
b)
Change happens via technological invention only
c)
Language change is government-driven
d)
Grammar rules cause change
11.
In terms of prestige, what did Latin serve as?
a)
a prestige form
b)
An official language in England today
c)
A basis for Anglo-Saxon grammar
d)
The default form of Modern English
12.
When was Caxton's Printing Press invented?
a)
1476.0
b)
1604.0
c)
1348.0
d)
1512.0
13.
What did Caxton's Printing Press mean for language?
a)
Standardisation began to spread
b)
English became obsolete
c)
Latin replaced English
d)
Spoken language declined
14.
When was the Renaissance?
a)
1400 - 1650
b)
1000–1200
c)
1800–1900
d)
1066–1300
15.
What did the Renaissance do for language?
a)
Introduced many Latin and Greek words into English
b)
Eliminated old English grammar
c)
Removed loanwords
d)
Standardised pronunciation fully
16.
What is an example of change due to the Renaissance?
a)
Addition of words like encyclopedia or philosophy
b)
Removal of Norse vocabulary
c)
Loss of all compound words
d)
Use of "u" instead of "v"
17.
When did Newton publish in English and NOT Latin?
a)
1704.0
b)
1476.0
c)
1859.0
d)
1604.0
18.
Why was Newton publishing in English NOT Latin significant?
a)
It showed English was gaining academic prestige
b)
Latin was outlawed
c)
English was losing popularity
d)
It caused a decline in English learning
19.
When was Shakespeare's Golden Age of Literature?
a)
1564 - 1616
b)
1400s
c)
1700s
d)
1800s
20.
What did this Golden Age in Literature see?
a)
Creative expansion and coinage of new words
b)
Loss of grammatical structure
c)
Removal of archaisms
d)
Fixing of punctuation rules
21.
When was the Royal Society formed?
a)
1660.0
b)
1750.0
c)
1320.0
d)
1850.0
22.
Why was the Royal Society important?
a)
Promoted scientific and linguistic precision
b)
Focused on destroying Latin
c)
Removed poetic forms
d)
Outlawed new words
23.
When was the King James Bible published?
a)
1611.0
b)
1500.0
c)
1707.0
d)
1415.0
24.
Why was the King James Bible influential?
a)
Helped standardise English and spread literacy; it also served as a major religious influence within England
b)
It used only Latin
c)
It removed archaic English
d)
It avoided religious influence
25.
When was Johnson's Dictionary published?
a)
1755.0
b)
1611.0
c)
1801.0
d)
1650.0
26.
What did Johnson's Dictionary do?
a)
Helped standardise spelling and word definitions
b)
Created new alphabets
c)
Rejected foreign words
d)
Encouraged phonetic spelling
27.
When was Lowth's Grammar?
a)
1762.0
b)
1801.0
c)
1611.0
d)
1900.0
28.
What did Lowth's Grammar do?
a)
Set rules for 'proper' English grammar
b)
Made grammar optional
c)
Promoted dialectal English
d)
Banned prepositions
29.
When was the Education Act?
a)
1870.0
b)
1662.0
c)
1944.0
d)
1725.0
30.
Why was the Education Act important?
a)
Made elementary education (and thus English) widely accessible
b)
Made education private
c)
Banned regional dialects
d)
Reintroduced Latin only
31.
What is lexical change?
a)
Change in the vocabulary of a language
b)
Change in sound patterns
c)
Change in sentence order
d)
Elimination of tenses
32.
What is a borrowing/loanword?
a)
A word taken from another language
b)
A word made up randomly
c)
A grammatical rule
d)
A new punctuation mark
33.
What is affixation?
a)
Adding prefixes or suffixes to create new words
b)
Swapping vowels
c)
Removing syllables
d)
Combining languages
34.
What is compounding?
a)
Joining two words to form one
b)
Adding suffixes
c)
Shortening a word
d)
Using a word in a new tense
35.
What is blending?
a)
Merging parts of two words
b)
Borrowing from French
c)
Replacing verbs
d)
Slang formation
36.
What is conversion?
a)
Changing a word class without altering form
b)
Creating a new spelling
c)
Adding a prefix
d)
Breaking a word into parts
37.
What is clipping?
a)
Shortening a word
b)
Combining two full words
c)
Borrowing from Latin
d)
Mixing dialects
38.
What is an initialism?
a)
An abbreviation using initial letters, pronounced separately
b)
A blend word
c)
A slang word
d)
A suffix
39.
What is an acronym?
a)
Initial letters pronounced as a word
b)
An old spelling
c)
A compound word
d)
A Latin root
40.
What is an archaism?
a)
A word or form no longer in common use
b)
A new invention
c)
A borrowed word
d)
A technical term
41.
What is semantic change?
a)
Change in a word’s meaning over time
b)
Spelling reform
c)
Sentence restructuring
d)
Accent shift
42.
What is amelioration?
a)
When a word takes on a more positive meaning
b)
When a word becomes obsolete
c)
When a word is borrowed
d)
When a word is shortened
43.
What is pejoration?
a)
When a word takes on a more negative meaning
b)
A form of rhyme
c)
The process of affixation
d)
Word simplification
44.
What is narrowing?
a)
When a word’s meaning becomes more specific over time
b)
When a word becomes more general
c)
When a word loses its meaning
d)
When a word is borrowed
45.
What is broadening?
a)
When a word’s meaning becomes more general over time
b)
When a word becomes more formal
c)
When a word gains multiple syllables
d)
When a word becomes archaic
46.
What is weakening?
a)
When a word loses strength or intensity in meaning
b)
When a word gains new meanings
c)
When a word becomes obsolete
d)
When a word changes pronunciation
47.
By the 1800s, grammar was pretty much what...?
a)
Standardised, with set rules for usage
b)
Completely random
c)
Constantly changing
d)
Fully based on dialects
48.
What is a double negative construction?
a)
A sentence which has two negative elements
b)
A question with no answer
c)
A sentence with multiple clauses
d)
An unusual word order
49.
What is the difference between 'who' and 'whom'?
a)
Who' is subject, 'whom' is object
b)
Who' is formal, 'whom' is informal
c)
Who' is singular, 'whom' is plural
d)
Who' is used for places, 'whom' for people
50.
What archaic form is used when speaking up to someone?
a)
Thou'
b)
Ye'
c)
Thee'
d)
You'
51.
What archaic form is used when speaking down to someone?
a)
You'
b)
Thou'
c)
Ye'
d)
Thy'
52.
What are proclitic contractions?
a)
Shortened forms of words that attach to the following word
b)
Shortened forms at the beginning of words
c)
Words that are always capitalised
d)
Words that change form based on tense
53.
When was the Great Vowel Shift?
a)
1400–1600
b)
1200–1300
c)
1600–1700
d)
1100–1150
54.
What did the Great Vowel Shift do?
a)
Altered the pronunciation of long vowels in English
b)
Eliminated vowels from English
c)
Changed the alphabet
d)
Replaced Latin vowels
55.
What is a long vowel?
a)
A vowel pronounced for a longer duration
b)
A vowel that appears at the start of a word
c)
A vowel followed by a consonant
d)
A vowel with a silent 'e'
56.
What is a short vowel?
a)
A vowel pronounced for a shorter duration
b)
A vowel with a silent 'e'
c)
A vowel at the end of a word
d)
A vowel that changes meaning based on context
57.
What did Labov's New York Department Store Study find about phonology over time?
a)
Speakers often modify their phonology to converge with a higher social status
b)
Pronunciation was consistent across classes
c)
Phonology was largely unchanged over time
d)
Pronunciation followed Latin rules
58.
What did Labov's Martha's Vineyard Study say about phonology over time?
a)
Phonological change is driven due to social identity rather than a desire to be prestigious
b)
All residents spoke the same way
c)
Everyone spoke in a uniform, formal manner
d)
There was no phonological change
59.
What did the Norwich Study find about phonological change?
a)
Speakers from a lower-class background were more likely to use non-standard forms
b)
Older speakers avoided standard forms entirely
c)
All speakers used the same regional accent
d)
Pronunciation was dictated by education levels
60.
What did the Milton Keynes Study find about phonological change?
a)
Phonological change is rapid and is led by the youth groups
b)
Phonology was static across generations
c)
No change in phonology was found
d)
Phonology was completely dictated by class
61.
When was the Oxford Dictionary published?
a)
1884.0
b)
1750.0
c)
1600.0
d)
1900.0
62.
How many words did Shakespeare give the English language?
a)
2k
b)
3k
c)
4k
d)
5k
63.
When was Noah Webster's American Dictionary published?
a)
1828.0
b)
1750.0
c)
1910.0
d)
1801.0
64.
What did John Hart (1551) say about capitalisation?
a)
Capital letters should be used at the beginning of every important noun
b)
Capitalisation was unnecessary
c)
Capital letters should be used for emphasis only
d)
Capitalisation rules should be consistent with French
65.
What does doubling say about orthography?
a)
It indicates a shift toward a more phonetic spelling system
b)
It shows linguistic chaos
c)
It eliminates syllables from words
d)
It forces a stricter grammar system
66.
What does the ampersand, subscript, and superscript function as?
a)
Ink and paper saving devises
b)
Unnecessary elements in language
c)
Parts of compound words
d)
Alternative spellings of words
67.
What are Inkhorn terms?
a)
A coined word often based on Greek or Latin forms, deliberately made to douns prestigious
b)
Slang terms from medieval peasantry
c)
Technical jargon from Germanic tribes
d)
Rhyming pairs in Shakespeare’s sonnets
68.
What was the Inkhorn Controversy?
a)
Debate over use of Latin/Greek words in English
b)
Dispute about printing ink standards
c)
Argument over royal signatures
d)
Controversy over spellings in legal texts
69.
What is minim confusion?
a)
Where the minims of letters became confused
b)
Confusing long and short vowels
c)
Mixing up capital and lowercase letters
d)
Using incorrect punctuation marks
70.
What is u/v interchange?
a)
Using "u" and "v" interchangeably in older texts
b)
Replacing vowels with consonants
c)
Substituting letters for numerals
d)
A switch between uppercase and lowercase letters
71.
Why did u/v interchange occur?
a)
Latin did not distinguis between the 'u' and 'v'
b)
Misunderstanding between dialects
c)
A government language reform
d)
To distinguish poetic meter
72.
Typographically, what is the thorn?
a)
A letter (Þ/þ) representing the 'th' sound
b)
A flourish used in calligraphy
c)
A decorative punctuation mark
d)
A substitute for the letter "y" in numbers
73.
What is a 'long s' and why was it orthographically important?
a)
An old form of "s" used in print, often mid-word
b)
A double "s" for stress
c)
An extended vowel symbol
d)
A formatting rule for biblical texts
74.
In terms of orthography, what is doubling and singling?
a)
Repetition or reduction of consonants to signal vowel sounds
b)
Capitalising verbs and nouns
c)
Writing a word in full vs. shorthand
d)
Making words rhyme visually
75.
Orthographically, what is the importance of the archaic 'final -e'?
a)
It demonstrated the lack of orthographical standardisation; however, it could also have changed the pronunciation of the word
b)
Marked a past-tense verb
c)
Signalled a question
d)
Denoted gender of nouns
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