English Language
English Language in OICL AO checks control of grammar and your ability to read a passage without importing outside facts. Question types include reading comprehension, cloze test, error detection, sentence rearrangement (para jumbles), fillers, synonyms and antonyms, and phrase replacement.
Core rules
- Subject-verb agreement: the verb agrees with the nearest subject after either-or, neither-nor, and not only-but also.
- Parallelism: items joined by and or or must share the same grammatical form.
- Modifiers: a participial phrase at the start modifies the subject of the main clause, not the nearest noun.
- RC answers must be supported by the passage; inference is a small step, not a guess.
Worked example
Sentence: Neither the underwriter nor the claims officers was available at the branch. Reasoning: with neither-nor, the verb follows the nearer subject, claims officers (plural), so was is wrong. Correct: Neither the underwriter nor the claims officers were available at the branch.
Traps
Choosing an RC option because it is true in general rather than stated; missing a singular or plural noun inside a long phrase; in para jumbles, following pronoun links without checking the opening sentence; in cloze, ignoring collocation such as pay a premium, not do a premium.