English Language
English tests grammar, vocabulary, comprehension and usage at a practical level: articles, prepositions, subject–verb agreement, tenses, idioms, synonyms/antonyms and error spotting.
Core rules
- Subject–verb agreement: a singular subject takes a singular verb; “each/every/either/neither” is singular.
- Articles: “a” before consonant sounds, “an” before vowel sounds; “the” for specific nouns.
- Prepositions: depend on, married to, good at, afraid of.
- Tenses: present perfect for a past action with present relevance.
- Idioms: “once in a blue moon” = very rarely; “bite the bullet” = face a hard situation.
Worked example
Question: “Choose the correct sentence: (a) Each of the boys were present. (b) Each of the boys was present.” The subject is “each”, which is singular, so the verb must be “was”. Answer: (b).
Traps
- Matching the verb to the nearest noun instead of the subject.
- Confusing “its” and “it’s”; “their”, “there” and “they’re”.
- Using “an” before “university” - it is “a university” because the sound is “yoo”.
- Choosing a synonym with the wrong register or part of speech.
- Ignoring the context in comprehension passages.