Vocabulary and Grammar in Context
What this domain tests
This domain uses cloze passages and single sentences to test word choice, tense, prepositions, conjunctions, comparatives, relative pronouns, passive voice, and verb patterns. In cloze passages, the missing word often depends on a clue in the next sentence, so context matters as much as the blank itself.
Core rules
- Read the whole sentence or short passage before choosing.
- Identify the grammar target: time expression → tense; two clauses → conjunction; noun + verb → agreement.
- Check collocations such as make a decision and take a bus, and check word class: noun, adjective, or adverb.
- Recall common verb frames: enjoy -ing, want to do, be made to do.
- Check countability and articles in noun phrases.
Worked example
'If it ___ tomorrow, the sports festival will be put off.' Options: rains / rain / will rain / rained. Correct: rains. Reasoning: a first-conditional sentence uses present tense in the if-clause and will in the main clause. 'Tomorrow' confirms a future real condition, not past.
Traps that cost marks
- Translating from Japanese word by word instead of using English sentence structure.
- Choosing a similar word with the wrong grammar, such as interesting vs. interested.
- Missing subject–verb agreement after a long subject.
- Forgetting that a preposition can change meaning: look after vs. look for.