English Language
What the section tests
English Language at JSA level is practical grammar plus comprehension: a reading passage, cloze test, error spotting, sentence improvement, synonyms and antonyms, one-word substitution, idioms, and active–passive or direct–indirect conversion.
Grammar anchors
- Subject–verb agreement: "one of + plural noun + singular verb"; each, every, either, neither and everyone take singular verbs; "the number of" is singular while "a number of" is plural.
- Prepositions: between … and; senior, junior, superior and inferior take to; cope with; comprise (never "comprise of"); discuss (never "discuss about").
- Countability: fewer with countable nouns, less with uncountable; many and much follow the same split.
- Tense sequence: a past main clause takes past tense in reported speech; "since" marks a point of time, "for" a duration.
- Voice: object becomes subject + be + past participle + by-agent.
Worked example
One of my friend is coming today. Error: "friend" must be friends. The frame is "one of + plural noun", and the verb stays singular ("is") because the subject is "one". Correct sentence: One of my friends is coming today.
Traps
- Double comparatives ("more better") and double negatives.
- "Between you and I" - a preposition takes the object form "me".
- Confusing affect/effect, principal/principle, advice/advise.
- Answering idioms from literal meaning; "to let the cat out of the bag" means to reveal a secret.
- In cloze tests, a grammatically correct option may not fit the passage's meaning - read the whole sentence before choosing.