Grammar and Vocabulary in Context
Grammar and vocabulary in context appears as fill-in-the-blank items and sentence completion. It checks tense and aspect, subject–verb agreement, articles, prepositions, conjunctions, comparatives, infinitives and gerunds, relative pronouns, modals, and basic collocations. The right answer must fit both grammar and meaning.
Work from the sentence frame
First find the subject and verb. Then look for time signals: every day, yesterday, tomorrow, since, for. Check whether the blank is a verb, noun, adjective, or connector. Only then compare options. Two options may be grammatically possible; the surrounding meaning decides.
High-value patterns
- If + present, will + verb: “If it rains, we will cancel the picnic.”
- look forward to + -ing; enjoy + -ing; want + to + verb.
- one of the + plural noun + singular verb.
- comparative: much + comparative; as … as.
- relative: the person who, the book which/that.
Worked example
“If it ( ) tomorrow, we will cancel the picnic.” Options: rains / rain / rained / will rain. Reasoning: this is a real future condition. English uses the present simple in the if-clause, not will. The subject “it” takes “rains.” Answer: rains. “Will rain” is the classic trap because the meaning is future.
Traps
Direct translation from Japanese; ignoring singular and plural; using “will” in an if-clause; confusing “because” and “so”; choosing a word that fits the blank’s part of speech but not the sentence meaning; missing a required preposition in a set phrase.