English Language and Verbal Reasoning
What the section tests
Verbal reasoning questions check whether you can read carefully and use grammar and vocabulary precisely. Expect synonym and antonym items, sentence completion, error identification, cloze passages, and short comprehension extracts. The core concepts are parts of speech, subject-verb agreement, pronoun reference, tense consistency, comparatives, and the difference between literal and figurative meaning.
Traps to watch
Distractor options are usually close in meaning but wrong in register or collocation. A synonym may be too strong ("furious" for "annoyed") or too formal for the sentence. Double negatives and misplaced "only" change meaning. In agreement questions, a long phrase between subject and verb hides the true subject: in "The box of files was moved", the verb follows "box", not "files". Comprehension answers often repeat a word from the passage while stating the opposite, so match meaning, not vocabulary.
Rule of thumb
Cover the options, predict your own answer, then choose the closest match. For agreement, find the head noun first. For vocabulary, test the word in a short sentence of your own. For comprehension, locate the exact line that supports your choice and check that it does not contradict it.
Worked example
"Neither of the officers ___ available." The subject is "neither", which is singular, so the verb is "was". Many candidates choose "were" because "officers" is nearer, which is the classic proximity trap.