General English and Comprehension
General English tests grammar, vocabulary, error spotting, sentence improvement, antonyms and synonyms, idioms, para jumbles, and reading comprehension. Comprehension passages reward locating the author's main claim and the evidence for it rather than matching single words.
Core rules
- Subject-verb agreement: a singular subject takes a singular verb; "neither/either/each/everyone" are grammatically singular.
- "One of the + plural noun" takes a singular verb: "One of the reactors was shut down."
- Keep tense consistent within a sentence unless the meaning requires a shift.
- Use the correct article: a/an by sound, the for definite or unique reference.
- In comprehension, distinguish the main idea from supporting detail and from the author's tone.
- For para jumbles, find the opening sentence and pronoun or conjunction links.
Worked example. Choose the correct verb: "Neither of the two reactors ____ operational." The subject is "neither", which is singular, and "of the two reactors" is a prepositional phrase. The singular verb "was" is correct: "Neither of the two reactors was operational."
Traps. Do not be misled by the nearest noun in "one of the + plural"; do not use a double negative; avoid misplaced modifiers such as "Having finished the test, the pencil was put down"; in comprehension, an option may be true in the passage but not answer the question asked.