English: Grammar, Vocabulary, and Comprehension
Core areas
The English portion usually contains fill-in-the-blank grammar, sentence correction, synonyms and antonyms, one-word substitutions, prepositions, articles, and a short comprehension passage. Grammar carries the most marks, so master it first.
Grammar points that decide marks
- Subject–verb agreement: a singular subject takes a singular verb. "The list of names is long" - the prepositional phrase does not change the subject.
- Tense consistency: a sentence should not drift between past and present without reason.
- Articles: a before consonant sounds, an before vowel sounds - it is the sound, not the letter, so "an hour" and "a university".
- Prepositions: learn fixed pairs - depend on, afraid of, good at, married to, consist of.
- Degrees of comparison: use than with the comparative, the with the superlative, and never double them ("more better" is wrong).
Vocabulary strategy
Do not memorise isolated words. Learn a word with one synonym, one antonym, and one sentence. For one-word substitution, group by theme: people (optimist, pessimist, bachelor), places, and qualities.
Comprehension method
Read the questions first, then the passage. Answer only from the passage, not from personal opinion. For "the writer implies", look for the idea supported by the text rather than a stated fact.
Worked example
Choose the correct option: "Neither of the boys ___ present." The subject neither is singular, so the verb is was, not were. The phrase "of the boys" is a distractor.
Habit
Keep a notebook of every grammar error you make and revise it weekly; repeated errors are what cost marks.