SQU English Placement flashcards

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

Main idea

The central claim the whole passage supports. It is broader than any single paragraph and is usually stated in the introduction or restated in the conclusion.

Supporting detail

A fact, example, or statistic that explains or proves the main idea. Detail questions ask what the passage says, not what it implies.

Valid inference

A conclusion that must follow from stated evidence. If a choice is merely plausible in real life but not required by the text, it is incorrect.

Author's tone

The writer's attitude toward the subject, revealed by word choice. Options range from approving and objective to critical and skeptical, never extreme unless the text is extreme.

Pronoun reference

The noun a pronoun replaces. The antecedent must agree in number and person and must make logical sense in the sentence, not simply be the closest noun.

Subject-verb agreement

The verb matches its subject in number. Prepositional phrases between them do not change the verb: 'The box of tools is heavy.'

Neither...nor agreement

With paired correlatives, the verb agrees with the nearer subject: 'Neither the manager nor the employees were informed.'

Present perfect use

Have or has plus past participle for past actions with present relevance or unstated time: 'I have lost my keys.' Simple past takes finished time markers.

Third conditional

If plus past perfect, then would have plus past participle, describing an unreal past situation: 'If she had studied, she would have passed.'

Passive restriction

Only transitive verbs can be passive. Intransitive verbs such as happen, occur, arrive, and sleep have no passive form.

Dangling modifier

An opening participial phrase must describe the subject of the main clause. 'Walking home, I saw rain' is correct; 'Walking home, the rain began' is not.

Parallel structure

Items joined by and, or, or but take the same grammatical form: 'to plan, to write, and to revise' rather than mixing infinitives and gerunds.

Modal of deduction

Must have plus past participle means certain in the past; might have means possible; can't have means impossible; should have means unfulfilled obligation.

Academic collocation

Words that conventionally co-occur in academic English: conduct research, draw a conclusion, meet a deadline, raise awareness, pose a threat.

Noun suffix signals

Endings -tion, -ment, -ness, -ity, and -ance usually mark nouns, so a blank after an article or possessive typically requires one.

Economic vs economical

Economic relates to the economy or the field of economics; economical means money-saving or efficient. They are not interchangeable.

Sensible vs sensitive

Sensible means reasonable or practical; sensitive means easily affected or emotionally responsive. A common false pair for learners.

Connotation pair

Words with the same denotation but different attitude: thrifty versus stingy, confident versus arrogant, childlike versus childish.

Formal register markers

Vocabulary typical of academic prose: furthermore, consequently, approximately, demonstrate, sufficient. Informal equivalents such as 'a lot of' and 'stuff' are avoided.

Prefix meanings

Common prefixes: pre- before, post- after, sub- under, over- excessive, mis- wrongly, re- again, and un- or non- meaning not.

Signpost phrases

Discourse markers in lectures such as 'first', 'moving on', 'to sum up'. They announce structure and usually introduce the answer to main-idea questions.

Self-correction cue

Phrases like 'actually', 'sorry', or 'I mean' signal that the speaker is replacing earlier information. The corrected value is the one tested.

Rejected-option distractor

A choice mentioned and then dismissed by the speaker. The dismissal overrides the mention, so the option is wrong.

Easily confused letters

In spoken spelling, B and V, G and J, M and N, and A, E, I are frequently misheard. Confirm the word against sentence context.

Lecture organization pattern

The structural plan of a talk: problem-solution, cause-effect, comparison-contrast, or chronological. Recognizing it predicts where details appear.

Topic sentence

The sentence stating the paragraph's single controlling idea, usually first. Every other sentence in the paragraph supports or explains it.

Thesis statement

The essay's central argument, placed at the end of the introduction. It names the topic and the writer's position rather than announcing the topic.

Cohesion device

A transition expressing a specific logical relation: however for contrast, therefore for result, for instance for example, moreover for addition.

Run-on sentence

Two independent clauses joined with no conjunction or punctuation. Fix it with a period, a semicolon, or a comma plus coordinating conjunction.

Article errors

Omission or misuse of a, an, and the, a frequent ESL writing error. Singular countable nouns normally require an article or another determiner.

Preposition collocation

Verbs and adjectives take fixed prepositions: depend on, interested in, consist of, responsible for, similar to, capable of.

Formal writing avoidance

Academic prose avoids contractions, general 'you', and vague nouns such as 'things'. Use 'one', 'individuals', and specific terms instead.