ICAO English Grammar Questions

S-PST-01

Choose the correct narration: "While we ___ through flight level 180, the cabin altitude warning sounded."

• were climbingCorrect
• climbed
• climb
• have climbed

Past continuous (were climbing) sets the background action in progress; past simple (sounded) is the event that interrupts it. This background-plus-event pattern is the backbone of every incident story.

S-PST-02

Choose the correct sentence about an earlier event in the story: "By the time we reached the gate, the fire service ___ the brakes."

• had already inspectedCorrect
• already inspected
• have already inspected
• already inspects

Past perfect (had inspected) marks an action completed BEFORE another past moment (reaching the gate). Use it whenever your story steps further back in time; otherwise the listener loses the order of events.

S-PST-03

Complete with the past simple of "strike": "A large bird ___ the left engine just after rotation."

Answer struck

Strike is irregular: strike, struck, struck. Bird strike reports use it constantly, so the past form is worth memorising. "Striked" is a common Level 3 error that raters notice immediately.

S-PST-04

Which question about your experience needs the present perfect rather than the past simple?

• Have you ever diverted because of weather?Correct
• Did you divert to Vienna last Tuesday?
• When did you land yesterday?
• What happened on your last flight?

Present perfect (have you ever...) asks about life experience with no fixed time. Once a specific past time appears (last Tuesday, yesterday), English switches to past simple. Interviews use both, one after the other.

S-PST-05

Complete with the past simple of "shut": "We ran the checklist and ___ down the affected engine."

Answer shut

Shut is irregular but unchanging: shut, shut, shut. "Shutted" does not exist. Other unchanging verbs useful in reports: cut (the fuel), set (the QNH), put (the gear down).

S-PST-06

Pick the sentence with the events in a clearly ordered narrative:

• We levelled off, ran the drill, and then declared PAN PANCorrect
• We declared PAN PAN before we had levelled off after running the drill
• Running the drill, PAN PAN was declared by levelling off
• We had declared PAN PAN, we level off, we ran the drill

Simple past verbs in the order things happened, joined by and then, is the clearest incident narration. Sequencing words (first, then, after that, finally) do more for your fluency rating than complex tenses used badly.

S-PST-07

Choose the correct form: "When the smoke appeared, the cabin crew ___ the passengers to the front of the cabin."

• movedCorrect
• were moving
• had been moving
• move

The smoke appearing triggers the action, so both verbs take the past simple: appeared, moved. Past continuous would wrongly suggest the crew were already moving passengers before the smoke appeared.

S-PST-08

Complete with the correct past form of "begin": "Shortly after top of descent, the aircraft ___ to vibrate."

Answer began

Begin is irregular: begin, began, begun. Began is the past simple used in narration; begun only follows have or had. "The vibration had begun earlier" versus "the vibration began at FL200".

S-PST-09

An examiner asks: "Tell me about a time the weather surprised you." Which opening handles the task best?

• It happened two winters ago, when we were flying a night sector into a coastal airportCorrect
• Weather is often surprising to many pilots in aviation generally
• I will now list the types of weather that exist
• Surprise weather is when the forecast is wrong

A story needs a time frame and a scene, set in past tenses, within the first sentence. Generic present-tense statements dodge the task, and raters mark the dodge, not the grammar inside it.

S-PST-10

Choose the correct negative: "The first officer ___ the leak during the walkaround."

• did not noticeCorrect
• did not noticed
• has not notice
• not noticed

After did (the past auxiliary), the main verb returns to its base form: did not notice. Keeping the -ed on the main verb (did not noticed) is one of the most common structure errors at Level 3.

S-CON-01

Choose the correct real-future conditional: "If the visibility ___ below our minima, we will divert to the alternate."

• dropsCorrect
• will drop
• would drop
• dropped

First conditional: if + present simple, then will + verb. English never puts will inside the if-clause, even though the meaning is future. "If it will drop" is the classic trap.

S-CON-02

Choose the correct unreal-present conditional: "If we ___ more fuel, we would hold for another twenty minutes."

• hadCorrect
• have
• would have
• will have

Second conditional (imagining a different present): if + past simple, would + verb. We do NOT have the fuel; the past form had signals that unreality, not past time.

S-CON-03

Complete the third conditional with the correct form of "divert": "If the crew had noticed the leak earlier, they ___ ___ to the coast." (two words: modal + past participle pattern, write both words)

Answer would have diverted (also accepted: would've diverted)

Third conditional (a past that did not happen): if + past perfect, would have + past participle. It is the natural grammar of incident analysis: what WOULD HAVE happened if something had been different.

S-CON-04

Which sentence states a general rule that is always true?

• If the temperature falls below zero, water on the wings freezesCorrect
• If the temperature fell below zero, water would froze
• If the temperature will fall below zero, water will freezing
• If the temperature had fallen, water freezes

Zero conditional for laws of nature and procedures: if + present simple, present simple. Both halves stay in the present because the rule holds every time, not on one occasion.

S-CON-05

An examiner asks you to speculate: "What would you do if a passenger opened a door armed slide on the ground?" The grammatically matching answer starts:

• I would stop the boarding and call the ground engineerCorrect
• I will stop the boarding and call the ground engineer
• I stopped the boarding and called the ground engineer
• I am stopping the boarding to call the ground engineer

A would-question invites a would-answer: hypothetical question, hypothetical answer. Sliding into will (real future) or past simple breaks the register the examiner set, and the structure rater hears it at once.

S-CON-06

Complete the first conditional: "If ATC ___ us a shortcut, we will make up the delay." (verb: give, correct form)

Answer gives

Third person singular keeps its -s inside the if-clause: if ATC gives. Losing the -s (if ATC give) is a small slip, but structure raters count exactly these basic patterns under time pressure.

S-CON-07

Choose the polite conditional used for requests: "___ you extend the runway lights, we would appreciate it."

• IfCorrect
• Unless
• Although
• Because

If introduces the condition; unless means "if not" and would reverse the meaning. Conditional politeness ("if you could...", "we would appreciate...") is the natural register for non-standard requests to ATC.

S-CON-08

Which sentence uses "unless" correctly?

• We will hold at the fix unless you approve a direct routingCorrect
• We will hold at the fix unless you do not approve a direct routing
• Unless we will hold, you approve the routing
• We will hold unless yes

Unless already contains the negative (it means "if... not"), so it never combines with another not in the same clause. "Unless you do not approve" accidentally flips the meaning back again.

S-CON-09

Pick the correct mixed speculation about a past event with a present result:

• If we had taken more fuel in Madrid, we would not be diverting nowCorrect
• If we took more fuel in Madrid, we had not diverted now
• If we would have taken more fuel, we will not divert now
• If we take more fuel in Madrid, we would not have diverted now

Mixed conditional: past condition (had taken) with a present result (would not be diverting now). It sounds advanced, and it is: using it correctly is solid evidence of Level 5 structure range.

S-PAS-01

Choose the correct passive: "The runway ___ after the hydraulic fluid spill."

• was inspectedCorrect
• inspected
• was inspecting
• is inspect

Passive = be + past participle: was inspected. The passive is natural here because the inspector's identity does not matter; the runway is the topic. "Was inspecting" would mean the runway did the inspecting.

S-PAS-02

Choose the correct present perfect passive: "All passengers ___ from the aircraft."

• have been evacuatedCorrect
• have evacuated been
• are been evacuated
• have being evacuated

Present perfect passive: have/has + been + past participle. It reports a completed action with present relevance, perfect for status reports: "The slides have been deployed, everyone has been evacuated."

S-PAS-03

Complete the modal passive with the correct form of "de-ice": "The aircraft must ___ ___ before departure." (two words)

Answer be deiced (also accepted: be de-iced, be de iced)

Modal passive: modal + be + past participle (must be de-iced). Procedures and rules live in this pattern: must be checked, may be delayed, cannot be dispatched.

S-PAS-04

When is the passive the BETTER choice in a report?

• When the action matters more than who performed itCorrect
• When you want to emphasise who did the action
• Whenever the sentence needs to sound longer
• Only in questions

Use the passive when the doer is unknown, obvious or unimportant: "The bags were offloaded." When the doer matters ("the captain made the decision"), the active voice is clearer and stronger.

S-PAS-05

Choose the correct past passive with an agent: "The blocked pitot tube ___ the maintenance team during the night check."

• was found byCorrect
• was found from
• found by
• was finding by

The agent in a passive sentence is introduced with by, not from: was found by the team. Choosing the wrong preposition after a correct passive is a very common near miss.

S-PAS-06

Turn the fact into a passive status report with the verb "cancel": "The flight ___ ___ because of the strike." (two words: past simple passive)

Answer was cancelled (also accepted: was canceled, got cancelled, got canceled)

Past simple passive: was cancelled. Both the British (cancelled) and American (canceled) spellings are accepted when typed; in speech there is no difference, which is why the test cares about the structure, not the spelling.

S-PAS-07

Choose the correct passive future: "You ___ by the marshaller onto stand 42."

• will be guidedCorrect
• will guide
• will being guided
• are guide

Future passive: will + be + past participle. "You will guide" flips who does what, a meaning error rather than a small grammar slip, and meaning errors are what push a structure rating down.

S-PAS-08

Which report correctly mixes active and passive for the clearest picture?

• We rejected the take-off; the runway was then inspected and reopenedCorrect
• The take-off was rejected by us doing it; we inspected and are reopened
• We were rejected the take-off; the runway inspected
• The take-off rejected; we was inspected the runway

Use active for your own decisions (we rejected) and passive for what services did to things (the runway was inspected). Mixing the two voices deliberately, one per purpose, reads as high-level control of structure.

S-PAS-09

Complete the present passive describing a rule: "Smoking ___ ___ on all commercial flights." (two words: be + past participle of "prohibit")

Answer is prohibited

Present simple passive states permanent rules: is prohibited, is required, is not permitted. Signs and announcements live in this pattern, so it is high-frequency language for cabin and safety topics.

S-PRE-01

Choose the correct preposition: "We are currently ___ flight level 350."

• atCorrect
• in
• on
• by

Levels, altitudes and speeds take at: at FL350, at 250 knots, at 4000 feet. In and on collect other jobs (in the hold, on the approach), which is why prepositions need learning phrase by phrase.

S-PRE-02

Choose the correct preposition: "The traffic is two miles ___ of you, same level."

• aheadCorrect
• in front at
• before at
• forward

Ahead of you places traffic in front along your track; behind you is its opposite. Abeam means level with your side. These relative-position words are the raw material of traffic information.

S-PRE-03

Complete with one preposition: "Report when you are ___ the outer marker." (directly above it)

Answer over (also accepted: overhead)

Over (or overhead) a point means vertically above it. Compare: at the marker (reaching it), past the marker (beyond it), abeam the marker (level with it to one side). Each preposition draws a different picture.

S-PRE-04

Choose the correct phrase: "We are descending ___ the cloud layer and expect to be clear of it in two minutes."

• throughCorrect
• across
• along
• against

Through describes movement inside a volume and out the other side: through cloud, through turbulence, through the layer. Across is for surfaces (across the runway), along for lines (along the coast).

S-PRE-05

Choose the correct pair: "We are slightly ___ the glide path and correcting ___ it."

• below / back toCorrect
• under / at
• down / for
• beneath / until

Below and above the glide path are the standard vertical references; you correct back to the path. Under and beneath are physically true but not the aviation register.

S-PRE-06

Complete with one preposition: "Taxi ___ holding point A1 and hold short." (movement toward and reaching)

Answer to (also accepted: towards, toward)

To marks movement that reaches the destination: taxi to A1, proceed to the fix. Towards is direction without necessarily arriving; here both are accepted when typed, but to is the standard clearance wording.

S-PRE-07

Choose the correct phrase for wind: "We prefer runway 27 because we would be taking off ___ wind."

• intoCorrect
• with the
• under the
• by

Into wind means facing the wind, the direction aircraft prefer for take-off and landing. Downwind (with the wind behind) is its opposite. "Into wind" is a fixed expression; no article is needed.

S-PRE-08

Choose the correct sentence describing a position on the airfield:

• We are on taxiway B, between the two runwaysCorrect
• We are in taxiway B, among the two runways
• We are at inside taxiway B, in the middle of two runway
• We are over taxiway B, between runway

Aircraft are ON a taxiway or runway (a surface), and between works for exactly two things. Among needs three or more. Small words, but position reports collapse without them.

S-PRE-09

Complete with one preposition: "After the missed approach, we climbed straight ahead and then turned ___ the south." (direction word pattern: to/towards accepted)

Answer to (also accepted: towards, toward)

You turn to (or towards) a direction or heading: turned to the south, turning to heading 180. Turn AT is the trap; at marks a location where the turn happens, not the direction of the turn.

S-CMP-01

Choose the correct comparison: "Runway 09L is ___ than runway 09R."

• longerCorrect
• more long
• longest
• most long

Short adjectives take -er for comparing two things: longer, wider, higher. More belongs with longer adjectives (more turbulent). Mixing the two systems (more long) is a classic slip under time pressure.

S-CMP-02

Choose the correct superlative: "Of the four alternates, Munich has ___ weather."

• the bestCorrect
• the better
• the goodest
• most good

Good is irregular: good, better, best. Two things compare with better; three or more take the best. "The better weather of the four" quietly miscounts the options, which a careful listener hears.

S-CMP-03

Complete the equality comparison: "The visibility is not ___ good ___ it was an hour ago." (same small word twice)

Answer as

As + adjective + as compares equal (or, with not, unequal) things: not as good as before. The pattern so...as also exists after not, but as...as is always safe.

S-CMP-04

Choose the correct sentence about a worsening trend:

• The turbulence is getting worse and worseCorrect
• The turbulence is getting worser
• The turbulence gets more worse
• The turbulence is worsest now

Bad is irregular: bad, worse, worst; and repetition (worse and worse) expresses a developing trend. Worser and more worse double-mark the comparative, a give-away error at Level 3.

S-CMP-05

Choose the correct linked comparison: "___ we descend, ___ the turbulence becomes."

• The lower / the strongerCorrect
• Lower / stronger
• The lowest / the strongest
• More low / more strong

The + comparative, the + comparative links two changing quantities: the lower we descend, the stronger it gets. It is compact, natural and a favourite of examiners describing trends.

S-CMP-06

Choose the natural way to soften a comparison: "The ride at FL380 is ___ smoother than at FL340."

• slightlyCorrect
• very more
• much more
• a lot of

Quantifiers grade a comparative: slightly smoother, much smoother, far smoother. Very cannot modify a comparative (very smoother is impossible); very goes with the base form (very smooth).

S-CMP-07

Complete with the comparative of "far": "The second alternate is ___ from our route than the first." (one word)

Answer farther (also accepted: further)

Far has two comparatives: farther and further; both are correct for distance. Further also means additional (further information), which farther cannot do.

S-CMP-08

Which sentence compares fuel options correctly?

• Taking extra fuel is safer than arriving with the minimumCorrect
• Taking extra fuel is more safe that arriving with minimum
• Taking extra fuel is safest than arriving
• To take extra fuel is safer as arriving

Comparatives pair with than, never that or as: safer than. Choosing than correctly matters because comparisons carry real operational decisions: safer than, shorter than, closer than.

S-QST-01

Choose the correctly formed question to a controller:

• How long is the delay expected to be?Correct
• How long the delay is expected to be?
• How long expected is the delay to be?
• The delay is how long expected?

Direct wh-questions invert subject and auxiliary: how long IS the delay expected...? Losing the inversion (how long the delay is...) is among the most frequent structure errors in real R/T recordings.

S-QST-02

Choose the correct embedded question: "Could you tell me ___ for our slot?"

• what time we should expectCorrect
• what time should we expect
• when should we expecting
• what time do we expect it is

Inside a polite frame (could you tell me...), the question reverts to statement order: what time we should expect. Keeping the inversion inside (what time should we...) is the near miss nearly everyone makes.

S-QST-03

Complete the question with one auxiliary verb: "___ the runway been inspected after the previous landing?"

Answer has

Present perfect passive questions start with has or have: Has the runway been inspected? The auxiliary carries the question; the participle (been inspected) never changes.

S-QST-04

Which question politely checks a doubtful instruction?

• Confirm you want us to cross runway 24 at this intersection?Correct
• You really mean the runway crossing, yes or what?
• Cross there, is it true?
• Why you tell us cross runway?

Confirm + the exact content is the professional pattern for checking. The wrong options are all understandable but drop the auxiliary or the register; interactions raters listen for exactly this repair skill.

S-QST-05

Choose the correct negative question expressing surprise:

• Wasn't the de-icing supposed to be finished by now?Correct
• Was not supposed the de-icing finish now?
• Didn't the de-icing supposed to finish?
• Isn't it that de-icing finished being now?

Negative questions (wasn't...?) express surprise that an expectation failed. The pattern is auxiliary + n't + subject: Wasn't the truck coming? Didn't they call us? Useful for polite pushback on delays.

S-QST-06

Complete the question tag: "The fuel truck is on its way, ___ it?" (two words, negative tag)

Answer isn't (also accepted: isnt, is not)

A positive statement takes a negative tag with the same auxiliary: is... isn't it? Tags invite confirmation, softening the exchange. Getting them right is a small but audible marker of natural English.

S-QST-07

Choose the correct subject question (asking WHO did something):

• Who approved the overweight landing?Correct
• Who did approve the overweight landing?
• Who was approve the landing overweight?
• Whom approved the landing?

When who is the subject, no extra auxiliary appears: Who approved...? Adding did (who did approve) shifts to emphatic or contrastive meaning, and whom is only ever an object.

S-QST-08

You did not hear a number clearly. The clearest question is:

• Say again the QNH, was it one zero zero eight?Correct
• What?
• The number, again, how?
• Repeat everything you have said today

Best practice narrows the question: name the item (the QNH) and offer what you think you heard for confirmation. "What?" forces the controller to repeat everything and reads as weak interaction management.

S-QST-09

Choose the correct indirect question in a request to the company:

• We need to know whether the spare part has arrived in AthensCorrect
• We need to know has the spare part arrived in Athens
• We need to know did the spare part arrive to Athens
• We need to know the spare part arrived whether

Yes-or-no questions embed with whether (or if) plus statement order: whether the part has arrived. Bringing the question order inside (has the part arrived) is the same trap as with wh-questions, in a different costume.

S-REP-01

The controller said: "You can expect a direct routing after the next sector." Later you report this to the captain:

• The controller said we could expect a direct routing after the next sectorCorrect
• The controller said we can to expect direct routing
• The controller said you will expecting a direct
• The controller says we could expected a direct routing

Reported speech usually shifts the tense one step back: can becomes could. The pronoun also changes (you becomes we) because the reporter's point of view changes. Both shifts together make the report accurate.

S-REP-02

ATC instructed: "Hold at the fix, maintain FL200." The correct reported version is:

• They instructed us to hold at the fix and maintain FL200Correct
• They instructed us that hold the fix and maintaining FL200
• They instructed to us holding at fix, FL200 maintained
• They instructed we must to hold at the fix

Commands report with the to-infinitive: instructed us to hold, told us to descend, asked us to report. No that-clause is needed; instruct/tell/ask plus object plus to-verb is the whole pattern.

S-REP-03

Report the question "Do you have the latest ATIS?" starting with: "They asked ___ we had the latest ATIS." (one word)

Answer whether (also accepted: if)

Reported yes-or-no questions use whether or if plus statement order: asked whether we had. The original auxiliary do disappears; its work is done by the past form had.

S-REP-04

The engineer said: "I found metal particles in the oil filter yesterday." Reported a day later, the most careful version is:

• He said he had found metal particles in the oil filter the day beforeCorrect
• He said he finds metal particles in the filter yesterday
• He said he has found metal particles tomorrow
• He said metal particles find themselves in the filter

Past simple reports as past perfect (found becomes had found), and time words shift too: yesterday becomes the day before. The time-word shift is the part most learners forget.

S-REP-05

Which report of a controller's denial is accurate and neutral?

• ATC advised that a higher level was not available due to trafficCorrect
• ATC shouted that never we get higher levels
• ATC told a higher level is not never available
• ATC said us that no higher level for us

Advise/say take a that-clause (advised that...), while tell needs a person first (told US that...). "Said us" and "told a level" swap those patterns, one of the most persistent B1-level habits to unlearn.

S-REP-06

Complete the reported command with the correct two-word form of "reduce": "Approach asked us ___ ___ speed to one eight zero knots."

Answer to reduce

Ask/instruct/tell + object + TO + base verb: asked us to reduce. Dropping the to (asked us reduce) or adding -ing (asked us reducing) both break the reporting frame.

S-REP-07

The purser reports: "A passenger refuses to sit down." Five minutes later you brief the ground staff. Which version keeps the meaning honestly current?

• The purser reported that a passenger was still refusing to sit downCorrect
• The purser reported that a passenger had once refused sitting
• The purser says a passenger refused forever to sit
• The purser said a passenger will refused to sit down

When the situation continues, report with the past continuous (was still refusing) to keep it live. Over-shifting into completed forms (had refused) quietly tells the listener the problem is over, which is a meaning error, not a style choice.

S-REP-08

Which verb best reports a strong ATC warning: "They ___ us that the airfield would close at midnight."

• warnedCorrect
• said
• spoke
• talked

Warn carries the alerting force that say lacks: warned us that... Speak and talk never take a that-clause with content. Choosing reporting verbs precisely (warn, advise, confirm, deny, request) is high-value vocabulary for narration.

S-REP-09

You must relay to ATC exactly what the doctor on board said: "The passenger must not fly longer than necessary." The best relay is:

• The doctor on board says the passenger must not fly longer than necessaryCorrect
• The doctor said must not the passenger flying long
• A doctor tells not fly the passenger longer
• The doctor on board is said the passenger not fly

When the statement is still true and urgent, English often keeps the present (says) and the original modal (must not). Relaying medical advice accurately is a real operational task, and the grammar is what protects the meaning in transit.