English Language and Comprehension
English Language and Comprehension in the FMRDA Medicine Admission exam checks reading accuracy, grammar and usage, vocabulary in context, and sentence correction. Comprehension passages reward evidence-based answers: every inference should be traceable to a phrase in the text, not to general knowledge.
Comprehension strategy
Identify the passage's main idea, the author's tone, and the function of each paragraph. Distinguish fact from inference: a fact is stated; an inference is logically supported but unstated. For vocabulary-in-context items, substitute each option into the original sentence and check whether the surrounding logic still works.
Grammar and usage
Subject–verb agreement: with “either … or” and “neither … nor”, the verb agrees with the nearer subject. A modifier should sit next to the word it describes; otherwise it dangles. Use “who” for people and “which” for things in non-defining clauses. Correlative conjunctions must be parallel: “not only … but also”, “either … or”, “both … and”.
Sentence correction
Compare the original with each option for grammar, meaning, and concision. Do not choose an option merely because it sounds formal. Eliminate options that change the intended meaning, create ambiguity, or introduce agreement errors.
Worked example
Consider: “Neither the nurses nor the doctor ___ available.” The subject nearest the verb is “doctor”, singular, so the correct form is “was”. The plural “nurses” does not control the verb because “nor” follows the nearer-subject rule. If the sentence read “Neither the doctor nor the nurses ___ available”, the correct form would be “were”.
Traps that cost marks
- Choosing an answer that is true in real life but not supported by the passage.
- Confusing “inference” with “assumption”: an inference follows from evidence; an assumption is unstated and needed for an argument.
- Missing misplaced modifiers, especially introductory phrases.
- Treating “which” and “that” as interchangeable in restrictive clauses.
- Overlooking changes in meaning caused by a grammatically correct option.