UOB English Placement flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Signpost word

A discourse marker such as however, actually, or instead that signals a contrast or correction, usually introducing the final and correct answer in a listening passage.

Distractor number

An incorrect figure spoken before the correct one in a listening item; the speaker often revises it later using a correction phrase like 'sorry, I mean'.

Inference in listening

A conclusion the listener draws from tone, stress, and implication rather than from an explicitly stated fact, such as a speaker's true opinion or intention.

Negative phrasing trap

A statement using not, hardly, or rather than that reverses expected meaning; misreading which element is negated produces the wrong answer choice.

Sequencing in directions

Order of movement verbs (turn, pass, continue) that establishes the route; the destination follows the last landmark mentioned in the sequence.

Main idea

The central claim covering an entire passage; an option supported by only one paragraph is a supporting detail, not the main idea.

Detail question strategy

Locate the keyword in the passage, then read the sentence containing it plus the sentences immediately before and after to confirm the answer.

Vocabulary in context

A word-meaning item solved by substituting each option into the original sentence and checking which one preserves the passage's logic.

EXCEPT question

An item where three options are supported by the passage and one is not; the answer is the unsupported outlier, often a plausible but unstated claim.

Pronoun reference

Resolving a pronoun such as it or they by matching its number and gender to the nearest preceding noun that fits logically in the sentence.

Author's purpose

The writer's aim, signaled by verbs like explain, argue, compare, or criticize; the answer must match the passage's overall function, not a single sentence.

Subject-verb agreement rule

The verb agrees with the head noun of the subject, ignoring intervening prepositional phrases, so 'the box of tools is' takes a singular verb.

Indefinite pronoun agreement

Pronouns such as everyone, each, nobody, and either take singular verbs, while both, few, and several take plural verbs.

Gerund after preposition

A verb following a preposition, including despite and in spite of, must appear as a gerund or noun, never as a bare infinitive.

Second conditional form

A hypothetical present pattern: if plus past simple in the clause, and would plus base verb in the result, as in 'If I knew, I would tell you.'

Third conditional form

An unreal past pattern: if plus had plus past participle, with would have plus past participle in the result clause, expressing regret about the past.

Reported speech backshift

When reporting speech, the tense moves back one step and time or place words adjust, so 'now' becomes 'then' and 'here' becomes 'there'.

Relative pronoun choice

Use who for people, which for things, and whose for possession; the object pronoun may be omitted only in defining relative clauses.

Collective noun agreement

Nouns like team or committee take singular verbs in American usage unless the members are described acting individually, which permits a plural verb.

Collocation

A conventional word pairing native speakers expect, such as make a decision, take a risk, or pay attention; literal logic does not determine the pairing.

Register

The formality level of word choice; kids is informal, children neutral, and offspring technical, so the context determines which is appropriate.

Raise versus rise

Raise is transitive and requires an object, as in raise prices; rise is intransitive and takes no object, as in prices rise.

Prefix meaning set

Common prefixes carry fixed meanings: un-, in-, and dis- negate; re- means again; pre- means before; mis- means wrongly; over- means excessively.

Suffix part of speech

Endings predict word class: -tion, -ment, and -ness form nouns; -ful, -ous, and -ive form adjectives; -ize and -ify form verbs; -ly forms adverbs.

Phrasal verb particle

The particle changes the verb's meaning, so give up means quit, give in means surrender, and give out means distribute; particles are not interchangeable.

Context clue types

Signals inside a sentence that reveal an unfamiliar word: definition (means), contrast (but, unlike), example (such as), and cause-effect (therefore).

Affect versus effect

Affect is usually a verb meaning to influence, while effect is usually a noun meaning a result; part of speech in the sentence decides which is correct.

Topic sentence

The first sentence of a paragraph stating its controlling idea, which the supporting sentences then develop with evidence and detail.

Cohesion devices

Linking tools that connect sentences: reference words like this, substitution like do so, and transitions matched to the logical relationship between ideas.

Comma splice

Two independent clauses joined only by a comma; repair with a period, a semicolon, or a coordinating conjunction.

Transition by relation

Choosing a connector to match logic: moreover for addition, however for contrast, therefore for cause, for instance for example, subsequently for sequence.

Thesis statement

A single sentence in the introduction stating the essay's central claim, which every body paragraph then supports with one controlling idea each.