Language Study - Grammar and Vocabulary
Language study tests grammar and vocabulary through 'do as directed' items: tense, voice, reported speech, degrees of comparison, question tags, prepositions, articles, conjunctions, modals, word formation, synonyms and antonyms, idioms, and one-word substitution.
Core rules
- Tense: use time markers such as 'since', 'already', 'yesterday' and 'now' to choose the form.
- Voice: the object becomes the subject; keep the tense; add 'by' only when the agent matters.
- Reported speech: change pronouns, tense, and time/place words; keep the meaning.
- Question tag: use opposite polarity and match the auxiliary.
- Vocabulary: choose the option that fits the sentence, not the rarest word.
Worked example
Active: 'She has completed the assignment.' Passive: 'The assignment has been completed by her.' Reasoning: present perfect active becomes has/have + been + past participle. The object 'the assignment' moves to the front. Keep 'has been', not 'is been'. 'By her' is optional but acceptable here.
Traps
- Breaking subject–verb agreement in the passive or reported form.
- Using a double negative in indirect questions.
- Giving a question tag with the same polarity as the statement.
- Translating an idiom word for word.
- Changing the tense in reported speech when the reporting verb is present.