Grammar and Vocabulary
This domain tests control of grammar in context and vocabulary range. Typical items are tense and aspect, voice, reported speech, conditionals, subject-verb agreement, prepositions, phrasal verbs, articles, synonyms and antonyms, idioms, word formation, and cloze or error correction. Most questions are small, so each carries easy marks if you know the rule.
Core rules
- Tense: use present perfect for a past action with present relevance; use past perfect for the earlier of two past actions.
- Voice: passive = be + past participle; keep the tense of the original.
- Reported speech: shift the tense back one step unless the reporting verb is present; change pronouns and time and place words.
- Subject-verb agreement: ignore intervening phrases; one of + plural noun takes a singular verb.
- Conditionals: Type 1 (if + present, will), Type 2 (if + past, would), Type 3 (if + had + past participle, would have).
Worked example
Change to passive: The teacher gave the students a test. Reasoning: The object the students becomes the subject; gave becomes were given; retain a test. Answer: The students were given a test by the teacher. Alternatively: A test was given to the students.
Traps
- Neither of the boys were should be was.
- He said that he will come should be would come.
- Confusing affect and effect, lie and lay, its and it's.
- Choosing a synonym that fits the dictionary but not the sentence.