Verbal Literacy - Language Norms, Grammar and Vocabulary
Language Norms, Grammar and Vocabulary tests Standard Written English: agreement, pronoun reference, modifier placement, punctuation, tense consistency, parallel structure and precise word choice.
Core rules
- Subject–verb agreement: find the true subject, ignoring prepositional phrases. 'The list of items is long.' Indefinite pronouns (each, everyone, neither) are singular.
- Pronoun reference: a pronoun must have one clear antecedent. 'When the manager met the clerk, she was late' is ambiguous.
- Modifiers: place a modifier next to what it describes. 'Walking to the station, the rain began' is a dangling modifier.
- Punctuation: a comma splice joins two independent clauses with only a comma; use a period, semicolon or conjunction. Colons introduce lists or explanations.
- Tense: keep a consistent timeline unless the meaning requires a shift.
- Parallel structure: items in a list or comparison must share grammatical form.
- Vocabulary: affect (verb) vs effect (noun); imply (speaker) vs infer (listener); fewer for countable nouns, less for uncountable.
Worked example
Choose the correct sentence: 'Each of the students has submitted their assignment' or 'Each of the students has submitted his or her assignment.' 'Each' is singular, so the verb 'has' is correct in both. The pronoun must also be singular: 'his or her' is formally consistent; 'their' is widely used but is the less precise choice in a strict norms test. The subject is 'each', not 'students'.
Traps
- Matching the verb to the nearest noun rather than to the subject.
- Treating 'none' and 'either' as automatically plural.
- Using a semicolon before a fragment.
- Confusing 'its' and 'it's'; 'who's' and 'whose'.