Grammar and Sentence Structure
Grammar and Sentence Structure checks whether you can spot errors, choose the correct form, and combine or reorder clauses. Items in this exam commonly test tense and aspect, agreement, relative and participial clauses, conditionals, and inversion.
Find the grammatical subject
Agreement errors often hide behind prepositional phrases. In 'The number of applicants have risen', the subject is 'the number', not 'applicants', so the verb should be 'has'. Compare 'A number of applicants have applied', where 'a number of' means 'several' and takes a plural verb.
Keep tense and aspect consistent
Use past perfect for an event earlier than another past event: 'The train had left when we arrived.' Use present perfect for a past event with present relevance: 'She has lived here since 2019.' Do not shift to past simple without a time anchor.
Worked example
Sentence: 'Having finished the report, the manager sent it to the client.' Question: Is the participle correct? Reasoning: The implied subject of 'having finished' must match the main clause subject. Here the manager finished the report, so the sentence is correct. If it read 'Having finished the report, the client received it', the client would appear to have finished it - a dangling modifier. Repair it by naming the agent: 'After the manager finished the report, the client received it.'
Sentence combining
When joining clauses, decide the relationship first: cause, contrast, condition, or sequence. 'Although' signals concession and needs a main clause; 'because' gives reason. Do not join two full sentences with only a comma.
Traps
- 'Hardly ... when', not 'hardly ... than'.
- 'Not until ... did ...' requires inversion.
- 'If I were' is used for hypothetical present situations.
- A singular countable noun usually needs an article.