English: Reading, Grammar, and Vocabulary in Context
What the section tests
English items assess reading comprehension, sentence-level grammar, and vocabulary in context. Passages may be informational or argumentative, and grammar items test subject-verb agreement, tense consistency, pronoun reference, modifier placement, and transitions.
Concepts to master
- Main idea and inference: locate the thesis, then judge which conclusion the text supports without overreaching.
- Agreement: a verb agrees with its true subject, not with a phrase between them (e.g., The list of items is long).
- Tense consistency: keep tenses aligned with time markers (since, by the time, currently).
- Modifier placement: a descriptive phrase must sit next to the noun it modifies; dangling modifiers are a frequent error.
- Transitions: however signals contrast, therefore signals result, for example signals illustration.
- Vocabulary in context: choose the meaning that fits the sentence, not the most common dictionary sense.
Common traps
- Distractor answers that are plausible but not stated in the passage.
- Collective or intervening phrases misleading agreement (The box of pens is…).
- Its/it's, their/there, and affect/effect confusions.
- Choosing a transition that sounds formal but reverses the logic.
Worked example
The report, along with its appendices, (was/were) submitted late. The subject is report (singular); along with its appendices is an interrupting phrase. Correct verb: was. Rule of thumb: cross out prepositional and parenthetical phrases, then check agreement with what remains.
Strategy
Predict your own answer before reading options, and reread the full sentence after substituting a choice to confirm it sounds and functions correctly.