English Language and Comprehension
English Language and Comprehension tests grammar, vocabulary and reading ability. Typical items include error detection, sentence improvement, fill in the blanks, synonyms and antonyms, idioms, one-word substitutions, spelling, cloze tests and reading comprehension.
Grammar core
- Subject-verb agreement: the verb agrees with the subject, not with a noun next to it.
- Tenses: use the present perfect for an action linked to the present, and the past perfect for the earlier of two past actions.
- Articles and prepositions: learn fixed combinations such as “comply with”, “capable of” and “superior to”.
- Modifiers: place an adjective or phrase next to the word it describes.
- Parallelism: items in a list must share the same grammatical form.
Worked example
“One of the boys ___ absent.” The subject is “one”, which is singular; “of the boys” is a prepositional phrase. The correct verb is “is”, not “are”. The same pattern appears in “Each of the students has submitted the form.”
Comprehension method
Read the passage once for the main idea, then locate the line or paragraph that supports each answer. For inference questions, choose the option that follows logically from the passage, not the one that merely sounds true in general.
Traps
- Collective nouns can take a singular or plural verb depending on whether the group acts as one unit or as individuals.
- Do not confuse “fewer” with “less”, “affect” with “effect”, or “since” with “for”.
- Avoid double negatives.
- In idiom questions, do not choose the literal meaning.
- In RC, avoid options that are too broad or too narrow.