English: Grammar, Comprehension and Expression
What the paper tests
Seafaring English rewards precision. You must handle parts of speech, subject–verb agreement, tense consistency, articles and prepositions, voice, direct and indirect speech, and sentence correction. Comprehension passages test whether you can find the main idea, infer tone, and identify the referent of a pronoun. Vocabulary items ask for synonyms, antonyms, and one-word substitutions. Expect a short writing task: a letter, notice, or paragraph of six to ten sentences.
Traps to watch
- Collective nouns: "The crew is ready" (unit) versus "The crew are wearing different caps" (individuals).
- Either/neither/none: singular in formal writing - "Neither of the boats was damaged."
- Dangling modifiers: "Having checked the charts, the officer set course" - not "the course was set."
- Preposition pairs: comply with, differ from, consist of, superior to, capable of.
- False friends in options: a word that sounds right but changes the sentence's meaning.
- Comprehension: an option that is true in general but not stated in the passage is wrong. Answer only from the text.
Rule of thumb
Before choosing an answer, read the sentence aloud and ask: who does what? Find the verb, then find its subject, then check that they match in number and person. In comprehension, underline the exact line supporting your choice; if you cannot underline it, the option is probably a distractor.
Worked example
"Each of the cadets ___ responsible for their locker." Options: are / were / is / have been. The subject is Each, which is singular, so the verb must be singular: is. The plural noun cadets sits inside a prepositional phrase and never controls the verb.