Grammar and Vocabulary
Grammar and Vocabulary
The Grammar and Vocabulary domain tests your control of sentence-level grammar and your ability to choose words that fit academic context. Expect subject–verb agreement, tense and aspect, articles, prepositions, conditionals, relative clauses, comparatives, word forms, collocations, synonyms, and easily confused words.
Core rules and concepts
- Subject–verb agreement: find the head noun and ignore prepositional phrases. The number of applicants is singular; a number of applicants is plural. Indefinite pronouns (each, everyone, nobody) take singular verbs.
- Tense and aspect: use time markers. Since 2020 typically takes present perfect; an action before another past action takes past perfect. Keep tense consistent across a sentence unless the meaning requires a shift.
- Articles: a/an for first mention or one of many; the for shared, unique, or previously mentioned nouns; no article for general plurals (Books are expensive).
- Prepositions and collocations: learn whole phrases-depend on, interested in, capable of, despite + noun/-ing, although + clause.
- Word forms: suffixes signal part of speech. Economical means “money-saving”; economic relates to the economy. Sensible means “reasonable”; sensitive means “easily affected.”
- Vocabulary choice: use context and collocation, not a single dictionary sense. A word can be correct in meaning but wrong in grammar or register.
Worked example
“The number of applicants ___ risen sharply since the new policy ___ introduced.”
A) have / was B) has / was C) have / were D) has / were
Answer: B. The number of is the singular subject, so the verb is has. The new policy is singular and receives a past passive verb: was introduced. “Since” also supports the present perfect has risen.
Traps
- Treating a number of as singular; it is plural.
- Using despite before a clause instead of although.
- Confusing economic/economical, sensible/sensitive, affect/effect.
- Choosing a synonym that does not collocate (do a mistake vs. make a mistake).
- Shifting tense without a time signal.