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Quizzes > English & Grammar

Linguistic Intelligence Test: Measure Your Language Skills

Quick, free linguistic IQ test with instant results and question breakdown.

Editorial: Review CompletedCreated By: Mohamed MaarofUpdated Aug 25, 2025
Difficulty: Moderate
2-5mins
Learning OutcomesCheat Sheet
Paper art illustration for linguistic intelligence quiz on dark blue background

This linguistic intelligence test helps you explore how you understand word parts, sentence structure, and sounds, with instant results. Build skills further with our linguistics quiz, check fit for learning new languages with a language aptitude test, or focus on sounds in a quick pronunciation quiz.

Which option contains a minimal pair demonstrating a vowel contrast in English phonology?
walk vs walked
spin vs spinning
cat vs cats
bit vs beet (Explanation: /ɪ/ vs /iː/ contrasts vowel quality and length)
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In English morphology, the -ed in "jumped" is best described as which type of morpheme?
Root morpheme
Infix
Inflectional suffix (Explanation: -ed marks past tense without changing word class)
Derivational prefix
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Subject-verb agreement requires that a singular subject takes a singular verb in Standard English.
False
True
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The words "unhappiness" and "happiness" differ by the presence of which morpheme?
-ly
-ness
un- (Explanation: un- is a derivational prefix reversing or negating meaning)
re-
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The morpheme -er in "teacher" does what in morphology?
Marks tense
Marks plural number
Marks comparative degree
Derives an agent noun (Explanation: -er creates an agent from a verb)
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Syllable structure can be represented as Onset-Nucleus-Coda.
False
True
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English allows complex onsets like /str-/ as in "street".
True
False
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Which option identifies an allomorph set of the English plural morpheme?
/s/, /z/, /ɪz/ (Explanation: cats /s/, dogs /z/, horses /ɪz/)
/f/, /v/, /θ/
/p/, /b/, /m/
/t/, /d/, /ɪd/
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In the sentence "The child gave the dog a bone," the NPs "the dog" and "a bone" are the two complements required by the ditransitive verb "gave."
True (correct)
False
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Which phonological process turns "handbag" into [ˈhæmbæg] for many speakers?
Metathesis
Assimilation (Explanation: /ndb/ cluster assimilates to [mb])
Devoicing
Epenthesis
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In English phonology, the sounds [p] and [pʰ] are allophones of the same phoneme.
True
False
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Which sentence contains a garden-path effect due to syntactic ambiguity?
The horse raced past the barn fell. (Explanation: Initial parse misleads; reduced relative clause)
She will eat dinner at six.
I like blue and green shirts.
They sang loudly in the hall.
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Which option correctly counts the morphemes in "reclassification"?
4 (re- + class + -ify + -ation) (Explanation: one prefix, two derivational suffixes, one root)
2
5
3
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Which example shows reduplication as a morphological process?
Spanish "hablar" -> "hablo"
German "Haus" -> "Häuser"
English "walk" -> "walked"
Tagalog "bili" -> "bibili" (buy -> will buy) (Explanation: partial reduplication marks future)
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Which option contains a bound root in English?
blue
dog
-ceive (as in receive, conceive) (Explanation: bound root that cannot stand alone)
run
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In English phonotactics, no word-initial /ŋ/ (engma) occurs in native words.
False
True
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Which sentence demonstrates control versus raising with "seem"?
It tried John to be tired.
To be tired seems John.
John seems to be tired. (Explanation: subject raises from embedded clause; "seem" does not assign a theta role)
John tried to be tired.
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Which affix is an infix in Tagalog morphology?
-um- in "s-um-ulat" (Explanation: -um- inserted within the root)
-ness
pre-
re-
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Tone sandhi refers to tonal changes conditioned by context in tone languages.
False
True
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Which process best explains "next day" pronounced as [nɛgz deɪ]?
Assimilation and voicing (Explanation: /kst d/ -> [gz d] through regressive assimilation)
Epenthesis of schwa
Metathesis of segments
Fortition of stops
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Study Outcomes

  1. Understand core linguistic concepts -

    Identify and describe fundamental elements like morphology, syntax, and phonology through engaging linguistic intelligence examples.

  2. Analyze phonological patterns -

    Examine sound structures and phonemes to assess how well you recognize and process phonological features in the linguistic IQ quiz.

  3. Differentiate syntactic structures -

    Distinguish between various sentence patterns and phrase structures to deepen your understanding of syntax in the language skills quiz.

  4. Apply morphological rules -

    Use knowledge of word formation processes, such as affixation and compounding, to solve real-world examples in the linguistic intelligence examples quiz.

  5. Interpret quiz feedback -

    Analyze your test results to pinpoint strengths and identify areas for growth in your linguistic intelligence test performance.

  6. Evaluate your linguistic intelligence -

    Assess your overall linguistic IQ and gain insight into how your mind processes words and structures based on the quiz outcomes.

Cheat Sheet

  1. Understanding Morphemes -

    Morphemes, the smallest units of meaning, underpin morphological analysis in a linguistic intelligence test (MIT OpenCourseWare). Distinguish free morphemes (e.g., "book") from bound morphemes (e.g., "-ed") with the mnemonic "Morphemes Make Meaning." Practice by segmenting words like "unhappiness" into un + happy + ness.

  2. Mastering Syntax Rules -

    Syntax involves the arrangement of words into well-formed sentences, often captured by phrase structure rules such as S → NP VP (University of Cambridge). Diagram sentences to reinforce how noun phrases and verb phrases interact, and recall the handy mnemonic "Nouns Then Verbs, Structure Preserves" to boost your accuracy.

  3. Phonological Awareness -

    Phonology studies how sounds function, so recognizing minimal pairs (e.g., "bat" vs. "pat") is key in a language skills quiz (Journal of Phonetics). Enhance auditory discrimination by practicing with flashcards and the "Phone Before Word" trick to sharpen your phoneme recognition.

  4. Exploring Semantics & Pragmatics -

    Semantics focuses on word meanings, while pragmatics examines context-driven usage (Oxford University Press). Real-world linguistic intelligence examples include interpreting homonyms like "bat" (animal) vs. "bat" (sports) and using contextual cues - think "Meaning Meets Moment" when tackling semantic questions.

  5. Applying Metalinguistic Strategies -

    Metalinguistic awareness lets you reflect on language rules during a linguistic IQ quiz, improving problem-solving (Journal of Educational Psychology). Use self-questioning techniques like "What rule governs this?" to decode patterns, and reinforce memory with brief written summaries after each practice session.

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