Grammar and Language Elements in Context
What the grammar section tests
Grammar is tested in context: fill in the blank, rewrite as directed, combine sentences, correct errors, and choose the right form. The paper favours articles, prepositions, tense, subject–verb concord, degrees of comparison, active/passive, reported speech, question tags, and linkers.
Core rules
- Concord: the verb agrees with the subject, not with the nearest noun. 'One of the boys is...'
- Tense: keep the sequence consistent; after 'if' in a hypothetical, use 'were' with singular subjects.
- Passive: object becomes subject; use the correct form of 'be' + past participle; keep the tense.
- Reported speech: shift tense back one step, change pronouns and time/place words, and use 'asked/told' + object + 'to' for commands.
- Degrees: compare like with like; use 'than' with comparatives and 'the' with superlatives.
- Linkers: choose by function - addition, contrast, cause, result, example.
Worked example
Rewrite in reported speech: She said, 'I will finish the work tomorrow.' Answer: She said that she would finish the work the next day. Reasoning: 'will' shifts to 'would'; 'I' shifts to 'she'; 'tomorrow' shifts to 'the next day'; the reporting verb 'said' does not need an object here.
Traps
- Changing the tense in the passive when the time reference stays the same.
- Using 'said me' instead of 'told me'.
- Forgetting to change 'this' to 'that' in reported speech.
- Choosing a linker by sound rather than by meaning.