English

101 English Trivia Question To Stump Thee, Quoth The Quizmaster

Back in high school, you either loved English class or you hated it. Class periods were spent reading The Great Gatsby, diagramming sentences, or writing essays. They were a mix of linguistics and pop culture; after all, you probably weren’t reading Shakespeare on your own. Or maybe you were, you are on this page after all. How will you fair with our English trivia questions and answers?

Whether you loved it or hated it, how much of what you learned do you still remember? Can you confidently recite the differences between lie and lay? Can you tell me what a gerund is? Do you remember what object symbolizes power in Lord of the Flies? If you answered ‘yes’ to all of these questions, you’re probably also the sort of person who does Mad Libs for fun and earned an endless supply of personal pan pizzas in elementary school. 

While no one is giving you free personal pan pizzas for completing your reading list anymore, you can still earn a little rush of dopamine from answering these English trivia questions. Want more? Try our Grammar or Spelling trivia.

What is the name of the monster in the epic poem ‘Beowulf’?

Minotaur

Grendel

Barghest

Gytrash

The dark streets of Victorian London in ‘Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’ most echo which theme?

Contentment

Immorality

Morality

Fulfilment

Which of the words in this sentence is the verb? She looked out of the window onto the beach.

She

Looked

Beach

Window

What would a reader expect from a novel set during World War Two?

A Piece of Science Fiction

A Moving Story

A Joyful Tale

An Amusing Story

Which is the correct use of an apostrophe for omission?

She Doesn’t Have a Coat

She Doesnt’ Have a Coat

She Doesn’ Have a Coat

She Does Not Have a Coat

Which type of word is love?

Abstract Noun

Adjective

Noun

Verb

Which literary figure’s home is this in Haworth, Yorkshire?

Jane Austen

Christina Rossetti

George Elliot

Charlotte Bronte

Complete the following sentence ‘ … touch the hot pan!’

Don’t

Don’t

Dont’

Donnt

Complete the sentence: You’re not that good at singing, … yourself!

Get Out

Get Over

Get Rid Of

Get Lost

Identify the subject in the following ‘active voice’ sentence. A while ago, a little girl took her sheep up a hill.

Sheep

Girl

Hill

Ago

Who wrote ‘The Great Gatsby’?

Ernest Hemingway

J. Scott Fitzgerald

John Steinbeck

F. Scott Fitzgerald

What is the name of the main character in ‘The Worst Witch’?

Mildred Hubble

Milly Hubble

Martha Hubble

Matilda Hubble

Which street does W.H. Auden include in his poem ‘As I Walked Out One Evening’ ?

Regent’s Street

Bristol Street

Carnaby Street

Baker Street

Which aspect of setting is most often used as pathetic fallacy?

The Season

The Location

The Weather

The Time of Day

What in the adverb in the sentence? She laughed loudly at her sister’s joke.

Sister’s

Loudly

Laughed

Joke

What does Rapunzel let down from the tower?

Ladder

Rope

Her Dress

Her Hair

Which children’s author is this who wrote ‘Matilda’ and ‘The BFG’?

Ronald McDonald

Enid Blyton

J.K Rowling

Roald Dahl

Which poem did Emily Dickinson not write?

My Life Had Stood a Ball and Chain

My Life Had Stood a Loaded Gun

Because I could not stop for Death

Wild Nights – Wild Nights!

Which of these is a demonstrative adjective?

I Need a Glass of Water

Give me a Glass of Water

Give me that Glass of Water

I want a Glass of Water

Which of these is a synonym for fast?

Leisurely

Swift

Languid

Sedate

Which word contains a suffix?

Grass

Flowers

Gardening

Garden

Which of the following word is an alternative for ‘walk’?

Strut

Muse

Ponder

Decide

Which of the words in the adverb? Unfortunately, she wasn’t going to make the train.

Train

Make

She

Unfortunately

Which is the correct use of an apostrophe for possession?

Zoe’ Toothbrush

Zoes Toothbrush

Zoes’ Toothbrush

Zoe’s Toothbrush

Which sentence has the correct punctuation?

I had so much fun!

Will you play with me!

What is your name!

Where is the ball!

What is the name of the main character in Jules Verne’s novel who travelled around the work in 80 days?

James Forster of London

Clement Parr of London

Phileas Fogg of London

Phileas Gerrard of London

Which one of these words is an homonym?

Microphone

Singer

Guitar

Band

Who wrote ‘The Iliad’?

Ovid

Plato

Homer

Virgil

Complete the sentence: If … a man on the moon, why can’t the trains run on time?

We Are Landing

We Had Landed

They Were Able to Land

They Had Landed

Which word contains a prefix?

Do up

Undone

Done

Do

Which pig is based on Joseph Stalin in ‘Animal Farm’?

Snowball

Napoleon

Boxer

Old Major

Complete the following sentence ‘The beach in the evening was a heavenly…’.

Cite

Cight

Sight

Site

What is the complete title of Mary Shelley’s ‘Frankenstein’?

Frankenstein; or the Modern Satan

Frankenstein; or the Ancient Prometheus

Frankenstein; or the Modern Genius

Frankenstein; or the Modern Prometheus

Who is the current Poet Laureate of England as of 2020?

Simon Armitage

Ted Hughes

Carol Ann Duffy

Joyce Carol Oates

Which of these is an example of an intensifier?

It’s Hot on Safari

I Found it Hot on Safari

It’s Extremely on Safari

I Don’t Like Going on Safari

Which one of these is an example of a portmanteau?

Car

Hotel

Motel

Motorway

Complete the sentence: Remind me again, what … tea tonight?

You Want To Have For

Did You Want For

Do You Want

Do You Like For

Who wrote ‘A Clockwork Orange’?

Anthony Burgess

Joseph Heller

Stanley Kubrick

Malcolm McDowell

Change this sentence to be in the second person. We got given an ice cream today for our good behaviour.

You got given an ice cream today for your good behaviour

They got given an ice cream today for our good behaviour

They got given an ice cream today for their good behaviour

You got given an ice cream today for our good behaviour

Which city is ‘Romeo and Juliet’ set in?

Florence

Rome

Verona

Athens

Which word is in the past tense?

Walked

Walking

Run

Walk

Which of these is an example of a quantifiers?

The People at the Concert were Having Fun

The Concert was Packed and Lively

There were a lot of People at the Concert

The Concert was Packed

Which century was John Milton’s ‘Paradise Lost’ written in?

16th

17th

18th

15th

What is the name of Don Quixote’s horse?

Giovanni

Piero

Rocinante

Matilda

Which of these is not an example of a compound sentence?

It was Raining so we Stayed Inside

It was Raining, we Stayed Inside

It was Raining but we went Outside

It was Raining and we Stayed Inside

Which of these is not a synonym for clever?

Intelligent

Smart

Accurate

Wise

Change this sentence to be in the second person. She needs to open the letter.

They need to open the letter

She needs to open the letter

We need to open the letter

You need to open the letter

Which of the words in this sentence is the verb? He listened very carefully to everything.

Very

Carefully

Listened

Everything

How many syllables are in the word blueberry?

2

3

1

6

Who’s porridge and bed does Goldilocks’ like best?

Mummy Bear

Baby Bear

Daddy Bear

Grandma Bear

Which of the following includes a silent letter?

Pencil

Write

Diary

Book

Which of these is not a synonym for happy?

Cheerful

Chipper

Virtuous

Joyful

Which of the following sentences contains a modal verb?

We should go horse riding

We are going horse-riding

We need to go horse-riding

We went horse-riding

Which of these is an example of a rhetorical question?

Who Wouldn’t Want to be a Millionaire?

Is he a Millionaire?

I Wouldn’t Want to be a Millionaire

Who is a Millionaire?

Which Victorian author is this who wrote ‘Sense and Sensibility’ and ‘Emma’?

Anne Bronte

Jane Austen

Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Emily Bronte

What is the name of the prince in ‘Cinderella’?

Prince Lovely

Prince Handsome

Prince Kind

Prince Charming

What is the purpose of a film review?

For the film critic to convey their opinion and perused the reader to watch the film

For the film critic to convey their opinion and reveal the ending of the film

For the film critic to convey their opinion and highlight key parts of the film

For the film critic to give a positive opinion and the film

Which Charles Dickens’ book about an orphan does this picture depict?

Great Expectations

Oliver Twist

David Copperfield

Hard Times

Who wrote the poem ‘A Poison Tree’?

Lord Byron

William Wordsworth

William Blake

John Keats

Mr Rochester finally marries who in Charlotte Bronte’s novel?

Jane Dashwood

Jane Austen

Jane Eyre

Catherine Earnshaw

Which John Spyri novel is about a girl who lives in the Alps?

Mia

Heidi

Layla

Emilie

Which of the words in this sentence is the adjective? I have a really good idea of what to paint.

Really

Paint

Good

Idea

Who wrote the poem ‘To a Skylark’?

Percy Shelley

William Wordsworth

John Keats

Lord Byron

What in the adverb in the sentence? Although she tried hard, she did not score a goal.

Tried

Goal

Although

Hard

What was George Orwell’s name at birth?

Eric Blair

Timothy Owen

Timothy Blair

Eric Mayer

Which of these is an example of onomatopoeia?

Fur

Tail

Cat

Meow

Which word is the article in the following sentence? Martha went to the florist to get a bouquet of flowers.

Florist

Martha

A

Bouquet

Which of Shakespeare’s play is set in Venice?

Hamlet

The Merchant of Venice

Romeo and Juliet

Macbeth

Which one of these is an idiom?

He was a Record on Repeat

You should put this on record

Just for the Record

He was like a Record on Repeat

Which of these is an example of pathetic fallacy?

The Weather is Dark Outside

The Weather is Miserable Outside

The Weather is Very Windy

The Weather is Very Rainy

Complete the title of the children’s book by Lewis Caroll, ‘Alice’s Adventures in…’.

The Looking Glass

The Rabbit Hole

Oz

Wonderland

What is a main theme of ‘Lord of the Flies’, a book about a group of school boys stranded on an island?

Gaining New Skills

Love

Loss of Innocence

Death

Which word is the article in the following sentence? Maria bought a cat for her birthday.

Cat

Birthday

Maria

A

Which of these is an example of linking words? Finally they arrived at the house after a slow journey.

Arrived

Finally

House

They

In which country is ‘Macbeth’ set?

Ireland

England

Scotland

Wales

Which of these is a metaphor?

She was like Sunshine

She made him feel like Sunshine

She was a Bright as Sunshine

She was Sunshine

Complete the title of the children’s book by E. B. White, ‘… Web’.

Elliot’s

Anne’s

Max’s

Charlotte’s

Who wrote the poem ‘Ode to a Nightingale’?

William Wordsworth

William Blake

John Keats

Lord Byron

Who wrote the poem ‘Ode on a Grecian Urn’?

John Keats

Lord Byron

William Wordsworth

William Blake

From which Shakespeare comes the line ‘To be or not to be’?

Macbeth

Romeo and Juliet

Hamlet

Richard III

Which of the words in this sentence is the adjective? Playing with the kitten made her so happy.

Happy

Her

Playing

Kitten

Which of the words in this sentence is the verb? Suddenly, she fell from the roof.

Roof

Suddenly

Fell

She

Who wrote the poem ‘War Photographer’?

Simon Armitage

Carol Ann Duffy

Ted Hughes

Caryl Churchill

If you were describing an upbeat birthday party, which word would be most effective to use?

Creepy

Bubbly

Soothing

Sweet

What is Macbeth’s original title in the play?

Thane of Glackle

Thane of Glamis

Thane of Cawdor

Thane of Caldon

Which of these is a simile?

She Wanted to be Brave Lion

She had a Brave Lion

She was Brave as a Lion

She was a Brave Lion

How many syllables are in the word vase?

3

2

1

4

What is the name of the doctor who can speak to animals in a novel by Hugh Lofting?

Doctor Dosmall

Doctor Domuch

Doctor Dobig

Doctor Dolittle

How many syllables are in the word speaker?

1

3

4

2

What in the adverb in the sentence? The doctor spoke softly while the nurse unwound the bandage carelessly.

Carelessly

Nurse

Spoke

Softly

Complete the following sentence ‘ … is only one type of cereal she eats’.

Theres

Theres’

There’s

They’re

Complete the title of the children’s book by Roald Dahl, ‘…and the Giant Peach’.

Tom

James

Harry

Oliver

How many syllables are in the word heavily?

2

6

4

3

What is the name of the horse who narrates the novel by Anna Sewell?

Pink Beauty

Green Beauty

Black Beauty

Red Beauty

Which word is the article in the following sentence? Sophia loves going swimming in the sea.

Swimming

Sophia

Sea

The

What is the name of the lion in ‘The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe’?

Aslan

Simba

Leo

Cecil

Who wrote the lyric poem ‘I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud’?

Lord Byron

William Wordsworth

John Keats

William Blake

What is the name of the main horse in Michael Morpurgo ‘War Horse’?

James

Joey

John

Jack

What animal does Little Red Riding Hood find in her grandma’s bed?

Bear

Lion

Dog

Wolf

How many syllables are in the word absolutely?

5

3

4

2

Which of the words in this sentence is the noun? Summer was very nice and hot.

Was

Hot

Very

Summer

You can do better

Not bad

Great!

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