English Proficiency: grammar in use plus vocabulary
The English section of PTET tests grammar applied in sentences and everyday vocabulary, usually through fill-in-the-blank, error spotting, sentence improvement, synonyms/antonyms, idioms, one-word substitution and a short comprehension passage.
Grammar rules that decide marks
- Subject–verb agreement: each, every, either, neither, one of, nobody, everyone take a singular verb. Pattern: "one of the + plural noun + singular verb".
- Tenses: since/for go with present perfect ("has worked here since 2019"); time clauses use present for future ("when he comes").
- Articles: a/an by sound - an hour, a university; the for unique objects and superlatives.
- Prepositions: good at, married to, capable of, prefer X to Y, superior to; discuss, reach and resemble take no preposition.
- Conditionals: If + present → will; If + past → would; If + past perfect → would have.
- Reported speech: shift the tense back one step and change pronouns and time words (now → then, today → that day).
Worked example
Improve: "He is one of the best player in the team." Reasoning: "one of the" selects one member from a set, so the noun after it must be plural - players. The verb stays singular because the subject is "He". Correct version: "He is one of the best players in the team." Options that also change "is" are wrong, because only the noun phrase is faulty.
Traps
- Idioms are tested against their literal meaning: "let the cat out of the bag" = reveal a secret.
- Sound-alikes: affect (verb) vs effect (noun); principal (head) vs principle (rule); stationary vs stationery.
- In comprehension, answer from the passage, not from general knowledge.
- The right option usually paraphrases the passage; exact copying is often a distractor.
- In error spotting, the error is usually in one word or preposition, not in the whole clause.