Communication Ability - Vocabulary and Grammar: Synonyms, Idioms, Correction and Blanks
Vocabulary
Synonym and antonym items test precise meaning, not loose association. Learn words in families with their opposites: candid, frank and guileless against evasive; frugal and thrifty against extravagant. Idioms must be learnt as fixed units - to bite the bullet means to endure something painful, to let the cat out of the bag means to reveal a secret, a wild goose chase is a futile search. Phrasal verbs change meaning with the particle: give in (surrender), give up (quit), give away (donate).
Grammar
Sentence correction rewards four checks: subject–verb agreement, parallelism in lists and comparisons, correct tense sequence, and placement of modifiers, since a modifying phrase must touch the noun it describes. Prepositions are idiomatic - insist on, comply with, prefer to, superior to.
Fill in the blanks: read the whole sentence for the logical connector (although, because, therefore) before choosing a word; collocation decides between make a decision and give a decision.
Worked example
'Neither the manager nor the clerks ___ present at the audit.' The subject nearer the verb is clerks, which is plural, so the verb is were. Choosing was by matching the first subject is the classic error.
Traps
- Picking a synonym that suits the topic but not the sentence's tone.
- Confusing affect (verb) with effect (noun).
- Dangling modifiers: 'Walking down the road, the tower was visible' wrongly makes the tower walk.
- Double negatives and redundant comparatives such as more better.