LIMIT vs TOP vs FETCH FIRST syntax in SQL - Practice Questions

Challenge - 5 Problems

❓ query_result

intermediate

What does this SQL query return?

Consider a table Employees with columns id and name. What will this query return?

SELECT * FROM Employees LIMIT 3;

SQL

SELECT * FROM Employees LIMIT 3;

A All rows except the first 3

B The last 3 rows from Employees table

C An error because LIMIT is not valid SQL

D The first 3 rows from Employees table

💡 Hint

LIMIT is used to restrict the number of rows returned starting from the top.

LIMIT 3 returns the first 3 rows from the result set.

❓ query_result

intermediate

What is the output of this SQL Server query?

Given the same Employees table, what does this query return?

SELECT TOP 5 * FROM Employees;

SQL

SELECT TOP 5 * FROM Employees;

A The first 5 rows from Employees table

B The last 5 rows from Employees table

C Syntax error because TOP is not supported

D All rows except the first 5

💡 Hint

TOP is used in SQL Server to limit rows returned.

TOP 5 returns the first 5 rows from the Employees table.

📝 Syntax

advanced

Which query uses FETCH FIRST correctly?

Which of these queries correctly limits the result to 4 rows using FETCH FIRST syntax?

A SELECT * FROM Employees FETCH ONLY FIRST 4 ROWS;

B SELECT * FROM Employees FETCH FIRST 4 ROWS ONLY;

C SELECT * FROM Employees FETCH FIRST 4 ROWS;

D SELECT * FROM Employees FETCH 4 ROWS FIRST;

💡 Hint

The correct syntax is FETCH FIRST number ROWS ONLY.

Option B uses the correct standard syntax for FETCH FIRST.

🔧 Debug

advanced

Why does this query cause an error?

This query causes an error:

SELECT TOP FROM Employees;

What is the reason?

SQL

SELECT TOP FROM Employees;

A TOP requires a number to specify how many rows to return

B TOP cannot be used without ORDER BY clause

C TOP is not valid in SQL Server

D The table name is missing

💡 Hint

TOP must be followed by a number.

TOP keyword requires a number to specify the limit of rows.

🧠 Conceptual

expert

Which statement about LIMIT, TOP, and FETCH FIRST is true?

Choose the correct statement about LIMIT, TOP, and FETCH FIRST in SQL:

A FETCH FIRST is only used in MySQL

B LIMIT is standard SQL and works in all databases

C TOP is used mainly in SQL Server and requires a number after it

D All three keywords are interchangeable in any SQL database

💡 Hint

Think about which database uses TOP and what it requires.

TOP is specific to SQL Server and requires a number to limit rows.