Grammar and Structure
What this section tests
Grammar items check your control of verb forms, agreement, articles, prepositions, pronouns, clause structure, and word order. Questions are often fill-in-the-blank or 'choose the correct sentence.'
Concepts to master
- Subject-verb agreement: find the true subject, ignoring phrases between it and the verb ("The list of items is long").
- Tense and aspect: match the time marker to the form (since + present perfect; yesterday + simple past).
- Conditionals: zero, first, second, and third patterns and their mixed forms.
- Articles and countability: a/an vs. the vs. no article; much/many, few/little.
- Relative and subordinate clauses: who/which/that, and correct connector choice.
Traps to expect
Long interrupting phrases that hide the subject. Collective nouns and indefinite pronouns (everyone, each) that take singular verbs. Prepositions that do not translate directly. Options that are grammatically possible but do not fit the sentence's time frame.
Rule of thumb
For any blank, first identify what the sentence needs (a verb? a noun? a connector?), then eliminate by form before meaning. Read the finished sentence aloud mentally to catch agreement errors.
Worked example
"By the time we arrived, the film ___ ." Options: starts / has started / had started / will start. Reasoning: By the time we arrived sets a past reference point, so the earlier action needs past perfect: had started.