Grammar Notes
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English Grammar Notes

English in placement assessments is usually rule-based. Focus on common errors.

Subject-verb agreement

Singular subject takes singular verb.

  • Correct: He writes.
  • Wrong: He write.

Plural subject takes plural verb.

  • Correct: They write.
  • Wrong: They writes.

Trap: words between subject and verb

Correct:

The list of items is ready.

Subject is list, not items.

Since vs For

  • Since: point of time
  • For: duration

Correct:

  • I have lived here since 2020.
  • I have lived here for 3 years.

Wrong:

  • I have lived here for 2020.
  • I have lived here since 3 years.

Tenses

Present perfect

Use for past action connected to present:

I have completed the task.

Past perfect

Use when one past action happened before another:

She had left before I arrived.

Future

I will complete it tomorrow.

Articles

  • a: before consonant sound
  • an: before vowel sound
  • the: specific item

Examples:

  • a university, because sound is “yu”
  • an hour, because h is silent
  • the Sun, the Earth

Prepositions

Common pairs:

  • good at
  • interested in
  • depend on
  • prefer X to Y
  • superior to
  • different from
  • capable of
  • fond of
  • angry with a person
  • angry at a thing/situation

Active and passive voice

Active:

The manager approved the request.

Passive:

The request was approved by the manager.

Pattern:

object + helping verb + past participle + by + subject

Direct and indirect speech

Direct:

He said, “I am tired.”

Indirect:

He said that he was tired.

Common backshift:

  • am/is → was
  • are → were
  • have → had
  • will → would
  • can → could

Para-jumbles

Method:

  1. Find opening sentence: introduces topic, no pronoun dependency.
  2. Find pronoun links: he, she, it, this, they.
  3. Find connector links: however, therefore, moreover.
  4. Find conclusion sentence.

Reading comprehension

Method:

  1. Read question first.
  2. Scan passage for keywords.
  3. Answer only from passage.
  4. Avoid outside knowledge.

Vocabulary shortcuts

When unsure:

  • Use prefix/suffix meaning.
  • Check tone: positive, negative, neutral.
  • Remove options with opposite tone.

Common roots:

  • bene = good
  • mal = bad
  • bio = life
  • geo = earth
  • tele = far
  • micro = small
  • macro = large