Vocabulary and Grammar in Context
Vocabulary and grammar in context
This section tests control of English form inside real sentences: tense and aspect, modality, conditionals, relative and participle clauses, agreement, prepositions, collocations, phrasal verbs, and word formation. The context decides the answer, not a memorised rule alone.
Core rules
- Read the whole sentence before choosing; the decisive clue is often after the blank.
- Identify the grammatical slot: finite verb, participle, noun, adjective, or connector.
- Check agreement with the real subject, including inverted and delayed subjects.
- For conditionals, match the time frame: past unreal → had + past participle, would have + past participle.
- For vocabulary, prefer the word that collocates naturally (make a decision, take responsibility).
Worked example
"Had the committee ___ the report earlier, the error would have been caught." Options: reviews / reviewed / submit / submitting. Reasoning: "Had the committee..." is inversion of "If the committee had...", a past unreal conditional. The main clause "would have been caught" confirms the past unreal frame. The past participle is needed: reviewed. Submit fails on both form and agreement with the singular subject.
Traps
- Choosing by sound rather than by grammatical slot.
- Translating a Japanese expression word for word into an unnatural collocation.
- Missing a negative or a plural subject in a long phrase.
- Ignoring parallel structure after and, or, not only.
- Confusing used to with be used to.