Grammar and usage in context
Grammar and usage in context
This domain tests grammar inside connected sentences, not isolated labels. WBCHSE-style items commonly ask you to fill blanks, correct errors, change voice or narration, join clauses, and choose the form that fits the context.
Core rules
- Find the subject before choosing the verb; watch for inverted order, collective nouns, and 'one of the'.
- Let context decide tense: time markers such as 'since', 'by the time', 'already' constrain the choice.
- In reported speech, shift tense, pronouns, and time/place words only when the reporting verb is past.
- Use passive voice when the doer is unknown, unimportant, or deliberately suppressed.
- Check parallel structure after 'and', 'or', 'not only... but also'.
- For articles, decide whether the noun is specific, countable, or unique.
Worked example
'Neither the teachers nor the principal ___ (was/were) informed.' Reasoning: With 'neither... nor', the verb agrees with the nearer subject. 'Principal' is singular, so 'was' is correct. If the order were reversed - 'Neither the principal nor the teachers' - 'were' would be correct. This is proximity agreement, not a matter of politeness or importance.
Traps
- Matching the verb to the nearest noun in every construction; proximity applies to 'either/or' and 'neither/nor', not to 'one of the'.
- Changing tense unnecessarily in reported speech.
- Creating a dangling modifier: 'Walking home, the rain started' wrongly makes the rain walk.
- Using a double negative in formal writing.
- Forgetting that 'news', 'mathematics', and 'furniture' behave differently in number.