Grammar

English Language · Writing: accuracy and style. The idea in plain words, the rules to remember, the mistake to avoid and a worked example, written and checked by Mega Lecture.

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The idea

Grammar questions mostly test three things: the verb must agree with its subject, the tenses must stay consistent, and each sentence must be complete and correctly joined.

To check agreement, find the real subject, not the nearest noun. In ‘The box of photographs has been moved’, the subject is ‘box’, so the verb is singular. For tense, stay in one time unless the time really changes.

A sentence needs a subject and a finite verb (one that shows tense) and must make sense alone. A fragment is only a piece of a sentence. A comma splice is two complete sentences joined by a comma alone. Use a full stop, a semicolon or a joining word.

Rules to remember

‘Each’, ‘every’, ‘everyone’ and ‘one of’ take a singular verb: ‘Each of the players has a kit.’
Words between the subject and the verb do not change the verb: ‘The list of names is long.’
After do, does, did, will, can and must, use the base form: ‘did not go’, ‘does she know’.
‘For’ + a length of time, ‘since’ + a starting point, with ‘have/has’: ‘I have lived here for six years’, ‘since 2020’.
‘A’ before a consonant sound, ‘an’ before a vowel sound: a doctor, a university, an hour, an honest man.
No extra preposition or adverb: discuss the plan, reach the station, enter the room, return home (not ‘return back’).
Comma splice: ‘It was late, we left.’ Correct: ‘It was late, so we left.’

Common mistake

Students make the verb agree with the nearest noun. In ‘One of my cousins lives in Multan’ the subject is ‘one’, so the verb is ‘lives’, not ‘live’.

Worked example

Which is correct? A ‘The rain stopped, we went outside.’ B ‘The rain stopped we went outside.’ C ‘When the rain stopped, we went outside.’ D ‘When the rain stopped. We went outside.’

A joins two complete sentences with only a comma: a comma splice.
B has no punctuation or joining word between the two sentences.
In D, ‘When the rain stopped’ cannot stand alone, so it is a fragment.
C has a subordinate clause, a comma and then a main clause.

Answer: C

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