Foreign Language: English
What you must understand
English sections test reading comprehension, grammar, vocabulary, and controlled writing. Know the main tenses and when each is used, subject-verb agreement, articles, prepositions, comparatives, modal verbs, and the difference between active and passive voice. For comprehension, identify main idea, detail, inference, and the writer's attitude. For writing, produce clear short paragraphs with a topic sentence and supporting sentences.
Traps that appear in questions
- Tense consistency: a sentence may begin in the past and shift incorrectly.
- Articles: countable singular nouns usually need an article; some fixed phrases omit it.
- Preposition collocations that differ from the learner's first language.
- Inference questions where an option is plausible but not supported by the text.
Worked example
Choose the correct form: "She ___ to school every day." The time expression "every day" signals the present simple, and the third-person singular subject requires -s: "She goes to school every day." Identify the time marker first, then apply agreement.
Rule of thumb
For grammar items, find the time expression and the subject before reading the options; for comprehension, underline the sentence that supports your choice.