English Grammar and Usage: Forms That Carry Meaning
What is tested
English Grammar and Usage checks control of tense and aspect, agreement, articles, prepositions, modality, and relative clauses in connected sentences. The exam favors forms that change meaning, so ask what time relationship or attitude the sentence requires.
Core rules
- Make the verb agree with its grammatical head, not the nearest noun: 'The number of students ... has risen.'
- Use present perfect for a past action with present relevance; use simple past for a finished time.
- A relative clause modifies the noun immediately before it; decide whether the clause is defining (no commas) or extra information (commas).
- Modal + base verb: 'must submit', not 'must to submit'; 'should have submitted' means the action did not happen.
- Articles signal shared knowledge: 'a' introduces, 'the' refers to something already specified.
Worked example
'The number of students who take the ferry each morning ___ increased since April.' Options: have / has / having / is. Reasoning: The subject of the main clause is 'The number', singular, so the main verb is 'has increased'. 'Who take' is plural because 'who' refers to 'students'; that plural does not control the main verb. 'Having increased' would leave no finite verb; 'is increased' changes the meaning to a passive action.
Traps
- Proximity agreement: letting 'students' attract 'have'.
- Choosing a tense because it sounds natural rather than because a time marker requires it.
- Dropping the auxiliary in perfect forms ('has went').
- Using 'the' for a first mention when no shared identification exists.