Conventions of Language: Spelling, Grammar and Punctuation
What the task asks for
This section tests spelling, grammar and punctuation through short questions and editing tasks. Accuracy matters more than speed, so read each sentence fully before choosing.
Concepts to master
For spelling, learn common patterns: i before e except after c, doubling final consonants before suffixes (running, stopped), dropping silent e before a vowel suffix (hope to hoping), and changing y to i (carry to carried). Watch homophones such as their/there/they're and practice/practise.
For grammar, know subject-verb agreement, correct tense consistency, pronoun case, and the difference between adjectives and adverbs. Recognise sentence fragments and run-on sentences. For punctuation, know where commas separate clauses and lists, when apostrophes show possession versus contraction, and how quotation marks and capital letters work in direct speech.
Traps
- Apostrophes in plain plurals, as in three dog's.
- Its and it's confused.
- A comma splice joining two complete sentences.
- Shifting tense mid-sentence.
- Missing capital letters in proper nouns and sentence starts.
Worked example
Choose the correct sentence: The team of players were late or The team of players was late. The subject is team, a collective noun, so the verb agrees with it: was. The phrase of players does not change the subject.
Rule of thumb
Find the subject, then find the verb, then check they agree. Read the sentence aloud in your head to test punctuation.