General English and Comprehension
What the exam tests
General English and Comprehension tests reading accuracy, grammar, vocabulary and sentence correction. Passages are often technical or administrative, but the grammar is standard.
Core rules
- Comprehension: read the question first, locate the relevant sentence, and choose the answer supported by the passage, not by outside knowledge.
- Subject-verb agreement: the verb agrees with the subject, not the nearest noun. "The list of items is long."
- Tenses: use past perfect for the earlier of two past actions; avoid shifting tense without reason.
- Active to passive: the object becomes the subject; use the correct form of "be" plus the past participle.
- Common errors: its/it's, affect/effect, fewer/less, between/among and since/for.
Worked example
Choose the correct sentence: "Neither the officers nor the driver was injured." The verb agrees with the nearer subject "driver" (singular), so "was" is correct. If the order were reversed, "Neither the driver nor the officers...", the verb would be "were". Reasoning: with neither/nor, the verb follows the nearest subject.
Traps
Answering from general knowledge instead of the passage; being misled by "all of the above"; ignoring negatives; choosing a grammatically correct sentence that changes the meaning; rushing vocabulary in context.