English Language
English Language tests functional grammar and reading rather than literary knowledge. Expect error spotting, sentence improvement, fill in the blanks, cloze tests, synonyms and antonyms, idioms, one-word substitutions, spelling, sentence rearrangement and a reading comprehension passage. The safe habit is to read the entire sentence before choosing, because the error is often in agreement or preposition use, not in the difficult word.
Grammar points that repeat
- Subject-verb agreement: 'one of the' takes a plural noun but a singular verb; each, every, either and neither are singular.
- Articles: 'an' before a vowel sound, so 'an hour' but 'a university'.
- Prepositions: 'comprise' takes no 'of'; 'discuss' takes no 'about'; one is 'married to'.
- Tense consistency: do not shift from past to present in the middle of a narrative.
- Pronouns: 'between you and me', not 'between you and I'.
Worked example
Spot the error: 'He is one of the best player in the team.'
The phrase 'one of the' must be followed by a plural noun, so 'player' becomes 'players'. The verb stays singular because the subject is 'He', not 'players'. Correct sentence: 'He is one of the best players in the team.' Many candidates change the verb instead of the noun, which is the trap in this pattern.
Traps that cost marks
- Choosing an option that merely sounds right without checking the subject.
- Taking idioms literally, for example reading 'to let the cat out of the bag' as being about cats.
- In comprehension, picking an option that is true in the world but not stated in the passage.
- Missing double negatives, which reverse the intended meaning.
- Confusing spelling pairs such as principal and principle, or stationary and stationery.