GCE A/L General English flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Main idea vs supporting detail

The main idea is the single claim the whole passage makes; supporting details are facts or examples that back it. A detail question asks what is stated, an idea question asks what the passage asserts overall.

Inference in comprehension

A conclusion the text forces but does not state outright. The correct option follows necessarily from the evidence given; a wrong option needs an extra assumption or outside knowledge.

Pronoun reference tracking

To resolve it, this, they or such, move back to the nearest preceding noun phrase that agrees in number and fits the meaning. Distractors sit nearby but produce nonsense when substituted.

Discourse markers

Words such as however, therefore, in contrast and for example that signal the logical relation between sentences. Locating them usually reveals where the answer to a comprehension question lies.

Collocation

The habitual partnership between words, as in heavy rain, strong wind, make a decision and do a favour. In vocabulary items, natural partnership decides the answer more often than bare synonymy.

Connotation

The attitude a word carries beyond its literal sense. Thrifty is approving, economical is neutral, stingy is disapproving, though all describe being careful with money.

Affect vs effect

Affect is normally a verb meaning to influence; effect is normally a noun meaning a result. Effect as a verb means to bring about, as in effect a change.

Phrasal verb meaning

The particle changes the sense: put off means postpone, put out means extinguish, put up with means tolerate. The meaning cannot be predicted from the base verb alone.

Noun-forming suffixes

Suffixes such as -tion, -ment, -ness, -ity and -ance turn bases into nouns: decide becomes decision, happy becomes happiness, possible becomes possibility. They are used when syntax requires a noun.

Negative prefix assimilation

The prefix in- changes form before certain letters: im- before b, m and p (impossible, immature), il- before l, ir- before r, and in- elsewhere (invisible, incorrect).

Fixed idiom prepositions

Idioms keep their exact wording: in charge of, on behalf of, by means of, in accordance with, make up one's mind. Changing the preposition breaks the idiom.

Irregular classical plurals

Loanwords keep source-language plurals: criterion becomes criteria, phenomenon becomes phenomena, datum becomes data, analysis becomes analyses. Compound nouns pluralise the head: mothers-in-law, passers-by.

Subject-verb agreement with phrases

The verb agrees with the head noun, not a noun in an intervening phrase: the list of items is long; one of the boys was absent. Beware of, along with and as well as.

Present perfect time restriction

The present perfect links past to present and rejects finished-time markers: say I saw him yesterday, not I have seen him yesterday. With since or for it marks duration up to now.

Defining vs non-defining clauses

A defining relative clause identifies the noun, takes no commas and allows that. A non-defining clause adds extra information, takes commas and never uses that.

Third conditional form

If plus past perfect in the condition, would have plus past participle in the result: If I had known, I would have come. It describes an unreal past situation.

Reported speech backshift

After a past reporting verb, tenses move back one step: present to past, will to would, can to could. Pronouns, time and place words also shift, as in now to then.

Article with unique reference

Use the for something unique or shared by both parties, including superlatives and ordinals: the sun, the best answer, the first time. Use a or an for first mention of one of a class.

Cloze slot analysis

Identify the word class the gap needs from its position: article or adjective before a noun, adverb between subject and verb, auxiliary or modal before a main verb. This eliminates most options immediately.

Uncountable noun errors

Information, advice, furniture, luggage, equipment and news take no plural -s and no a or an. Use some advice, a piece of information, two items of luggage.

Redundancy in error correction

Some pairs repeat the same meaning and must be reduced: discuss about, return back, more better, very unique, repeat again. One word already carries the sense.

Parallel structure

Items joined by and, or or but must share grammatical form: to swim and to run, not to swim and running. Faulty parallelism is a common error-correction target.

Formal letter salutation pairing

Dear Sir or Madam pairs with Yours faithfully; Dear Mr Silva pairs with Yours sincerely. Using the wrong partner is a standard penalty in functional writing.

Notice content essentials

A notice states who is involved, what is happening, when and where it happens, and whom to contact. It uses impersonal style, headings and short lines rather than continuous prose.

Report structure

A report runs title, terms of reference, procedure, findings, conclusion and recommendations. Findings report facts; recommendations propose action, often with modal hedging such as should or could.

Email register control

The subject line, greeting and sign-off set the tone. Formal email avoids contractions and slang and states its purpose in the first sentence; informal email may use contractions and direct address.

Topic sentence

The sentence that announces a paragraph's controlling idea, usually placed first. The rest of the paragraph develops it with evidence or example and closes with a link to the next point.

Essay introduction function

An introduction supplies context on the issue and states the thesis, the position the essay will defend. It should not begin the argument or list every point in detail.

Question directive words

Directives fix structure: discuss presents both sides, argue takes one position, describe is factual, compare names similarities and differences. Ignoring the directive loses relevance marks however good the English.

Comma splice

Two independent clauses joined only by a comma, as in The rain stopped, we went out. Repair it with a full stop, a semicolon or a coordinating conjunction such as so or and.

Apostrophe: its vs it's

Its is the possessive form with no apostrophe; it's is the contraction of it is or it has. The same no-apostrophe rule applies to possessive yours, hers and theirs.

Semicolon and colon uses

A semicolon joins two closely related independent clauses. A colon introduces a list, an explanation or a quotation, and must follow a complete clause.