Reading Comprehension
What this section tests
Reading tasks range from short notices and messages to descriptive or narrative passages of a few paragraphs. You must locate explicit information, understand the main idea, follow sequence, and infer tone or purpose. The texts use standard written Mongolian with full case suffixes and connected sentences.
Concepts to master
- Case suffixes as signposts: -д/т (dative-locative), -ыг/-ийг (accusative), -аас/-ээс (ablative), -ын/-ийн (genitive), -аар/-ээр (instrumental). They tell you who does what to whom.
- Word order: predicate normally at the end; modifiers precede the noun. Find the final verb to anchor the sentence.
- Converbs and clause links: -ж/-ч (and/then), -ад/-эд, -вал/-вэл (if), -бал, -хлаар.
- Reference words: энэ, тэр, түүний, and zero pronouns - Mongolian often omits the subject.
- Connectors: гэхдээ (but), учир нь (because), тиймээс (therefore), мөн (also).
Traps
- Subject omission - the doer is implied from context or the previous sentence; guessing wrong reverses meaning.
- Scope of negation - -гүй attaches to a stem; check which element is negated.
- Almost-right options - they reuse passage vocabulary but change one relation (time, agent, quantity).
- Title vs. detail questions - a main-idea question is not answered by a single true detail.
Worked example
Sentence: Бат маргааш Улаанбаатар руу явахгүй гэж хэлсэн. Find the final verb: хэлсэн (said). What was said? явахгүй (will not go). Who? Бат. Where? Улаанбаатар руу. When? маргааш. So: "Bat said he will not go to Ulaanbaatar tomorrow." The trap option "Bat is going tomorrow" drops the negation.
Rule of thumb
Read the question first, then scan for the sentence containing the key noun; verify agent, time, and negation before choosing.