Grammar and Vocabulary in Context
This domain tests grammar and vocabulary in context through sentence completion, word ordering, and sentence transformation. The aim is not to label grammar but to choose the form that makes the sentence correct and natural. Items often target tense and aspect, subject–verb agreement, participles, comparatives, relative pronouns, indirect questions, prepositions, and common collocations.
Core rules and concepts
- Find the subject before checking the verb; phrases between them do not change agreement.
- Match tense to time expressions and to the surrounding narrative.
- In indirect questions, use statement order: 'Do you know where he is?' not 'where is he'.
- After prepositions and certain verbs, use a gerund; after 'too ... to', use the base verb.
- In transformations, keep the original meaning and check that the new sentence is grammatical, not just a word swap.
Worked example
Order the words: the / book / written / by / was / a / student. Reasoning: The logical subject is 'the book', and 'written by a student' describes it. The passive pattern is be + past participle: 'was written'. The agent takes 'by'. The result is 'The book was written by a student.' Transformation: 'Ken is too young to drive.' becomes 'Ken is not old enough to drive.' Reasoning: 'too + adjective + to' means 'not + opposite adjective + enough + to'. 'Young' becomes 'old', and the meaning is preserved.
Traps that cost marks
- Using question order after 'Do you know ...'.
- Missing a third-person -s or using a plural verb with a singular subject.
- Choosing 'written' where an active verb is needed, or 'wrote' after 'was'.
- Changing the meaning in a transformation by dropping a negative or a comparison.
- Ignoring collocation: 'make a mistake', not 'do a mistake'; 'interested in', not 'interested for'.