English Language and Comprehension
English Language and Comprehension checks reading accuracy, grammar control and vocabulary in context. Reading comprehension carries the most weight; grammar and vocabulary questions are quick when the underlying rule is known.
Core rules and concepts
- Reading comprehension: read the question first, then locate the relevant lines. Correct answers paraphrase the passage; wrong answers import outside facts or overstate the claim.
- Subject–verb agreement: “one of + plural noun” takes a singular verb. Collective nouns take a singular verb when acting as one unit.
- Modifiers: an opening participial phrase modifies the subject of the main clause, not the nearest noun.
- Tenses: use present perfect for a past action with present relevance; use past perfect for the earlier of two past actions.
- Para jumbles: find the opening sentence, then follow pronoun links, connectors and chronology.
- Vocabulary: use word roots and elimination; a synonym must fit the sentence's tone and register.
Worked example
“One of the boys were absent.” The subject is “one”, which is singular; “of the boys” is a prepositional phrase and does not control the verb. Correct sentence: “One of the boys was absent.”
Traps that cost marks
- Choosing an RC option because it is true in general but not stated in the passage.
- Extreme words such as all, never or only in an RC option, which usually signal a wrong answer.
- Confusing since and for, between and among, less and fewer.
- Double negatives that reverse the intended meaning.
- Leaving a dangling modifier at the start of a sentence.
- Using “comprise of”, which is non-standard.
For cloze tests, read the whole sentence before choosing; the missing word often depends on a later clue.