English Language and Comprehension
English Language and Comprehension tests standard written English: grammar and usage, error spotting, sentence improvement, synonyms and antonyms, idioms, cloze, rearrangement, and reading comprehension. The passages are usually factual, so answers must be traceable to the text.
Core rules
- Subject-verb agreement: one of the + plural noun takes a singular verb; with either/or and neither/nor, the verb agrees with the nearer subject.
- Tenses: use present perfect with since and for; do not use past perfect without a later past event.
- Articles: a or an depends on sound (an hour, a university).
- Prepositions and collocations: discuss (no about), comprise (no of), superior to, prefer to.
- Parallelism: items in a list must share the same grammatical form.
- Reading comprehension: read the question first, then locate the line; do not import outside facts.
- Vocabulary: use context; idioms are fixed (at the eleventh hour means at the last moment).
Worked example
Sentence: One of the supervisors have submitted the report. Reasoning: the subject is one, not supervisors; the phrase of the supervisors is a modifier. A singular subject takes has. Correct: One of the supervisors has submitted the report.
Traps
Being fooled by the nearest noun in one of and each of constructions; using since with a point of time but a present tense; double comparatives (more better); redundancy (return back, discuss about); and choosing a comprehension option that is true in general but not stated in the passage.