Language in Use (Grammar and Vocabulary)
Language in Use tests your control of form and meaning at sentence level. Typical tasks are cloze passages, editing or omission (one wrong or missing word per line), sentence completion, and transformation. Marks depend on exact grammar, not on approximate sense.
High-yield grammar
- Concord: a singular subject takes a singular verb. With "either... or" and "neither... nor", the verb agrees with the nearer subject. "One of the + plural noun" takes a singular verb.
- Tense and aspect: use present perfect with "since" and "for"; use past perfect for the earlier of two past actions.
- Articles: "a/an" for one of many, "the" for something already specified or unique, zero article for general plurals and abstract nouns.
- Prepositions and phrasal verbs: depend on, consist of, look forward to + -ing, prevent from + -ing.
- Modals: "must" for strong deduction, "can't" for impossibility, "needn't" for absence of obligation, "mustn't" for prohibition.
- Word formation: check whether the gap needs a noun, verb, adjective, or adverb, then apply the correct prefix or suffix and spelling change.
Worked example
"Neither the coach nor the players ___ satisfied with the result." (was / were) Answer: were. Under the proximity rule, the verb agrees with "players", the subject nearer to it. If the sentence read "Neither the players nor the coach", the answer would be "was".
Traps that cost marks
- "One of my friend" instead of "one of my friends".
- "Since three years" instead of "for three years".
- "Discuss about", "comprise of", "return back", "married with".
- Uncountable plurals: informations, advices, furnitures.
- In editing tasks, changing a correct word instead of finding the single error.