How to Improve Reading Comprehension

The purpose of reading is to connect the ideas on the page to what you already know. If you don't know anything about a subject, then pouring words of text into your mind is like pouring water into your hand. You don't retain much. For example, try reading these numbers: 7516324 This is hard to read and remember. 751-6324 This is easier because of chunking. 123-4567 This is easy to read because of prior knowledge and structure. Similarly, if you like sports, then reading the sports page is easy. You have a framework in your mind for reading, understanding and storing information. Improving Comprehension. Reading comprehension requires motivation, mental frameworks for holding ideas, concentration and good study techniques. Here are some suggestions. Develop a broad background. Broaden your background knowledge by reading newspapers, magazines and books. Become interested in world events. Know the structure of paragraphs. Good writers construct paragraphs that have a beginning, middle and end. Often, the first sentence will give an overview that helps provide a framework for adding details. Also, look for transitional words, phrases or paragraphs that change the topic. Identify the type of reasoning. Does the author use cause and effect reasoning, hypothesis, model building, induction or deduction, systems thinking. Anticipate and predict. Really smart readers try to anticipate the author and predict future ideas and questions. If you're right, this reinforces your understanding. If you're wrong, you make adjustments quicker. Look for the method of organization. Is the material organized chronologically, serially, logically, functionally, spatially or hierarchical? See section 10 for more examples on organization. Create motivation and interest. Preview material, ask questions, discuss ideas with classmates. The stronger your interest, the greater your comprehension. Pay attention to supporting cues. Study pictures, graphs and headings. Read the first and last paragraph in a chapter, or the first sentence in each section. Highlight, summarize and review. Just reading a book once is not enough. To develop a deeper understanding, you have to highlight, summarize and review important ideas. Build a good vocabulary. For most educated people, this is a lifetime project. The best way to improve your vocabulary is to use a dictionary regularly. You might carry around a pocket dictionary and use it to look up new words. Or, you can keep a list of words to look up at the end of the day. Concentrate on roots, prefixes and endings. Going through word-of-the-day of CAT4MBA will definitely help you in this regard. Use a systematic reading technique like SQR3. Develop a systematic reading style, like the SQR3 method and make adjustments to it, depending on priorities and purpose. The SQR3 steps include Survey, Question, Read, Recite and Review. Monitor effectiveness. Good readers monitor their attention, concentration and effectiveness. They quickly recognize if they've missed an idea and backup to reread it. Should You Vocalize Words? Yes, although it is faster to form words in your mind rather than on your lips or throat. Eye motion is also important. Frequent backtracking slows you down considerably

CAT RCII

THE QUESTIONS

The key to performing well on the passages is not the particular reading technique you use (so long as it's neither speed reading nor pre-reading the questions). Rather the key is to become completely familiar with the question types—always less than 6/7 and most of the time its ¾ --so that you can anticipate the questions that might be asked as you read the passage and answer those that are asked more quickly and efficiently. As you become familiar with the questions types, you will gain an intuitive sense for the places from which questions are likely to be drawn. This will give you the same advantage as that claimed by the "pre-reading-the-questions" technique, without the confusion and waste of time. Note, the order in which the questions are asked roughly corresponds to the order in which the main issues are presented in the passage. Early questions should correspond to information given early in the passage, and so on.

The following passage and accompanying questions illustrate the question types.

There are two major systems of criminal procedure in the modern world--the adversarial and the inquisitorial. The former is associated with common law tradition and the latter with civil law tradition. Both systems were historically preceded by the system of private vengeance in which the victim of a crime fashioned his own remedy and administered it privately, either personally or through an agent. The vengeance system was a system of self-help, the essence of which was captured in the slogan "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth." The modern adversarial system is only one historical step removed from the private vengeance system and still retains some of its characteristic features. Thus, for example, even though the right to institute criminal action has now been extended to all members of society and even though the police department has taken over the pretrial investigative functions on behalf of the prosecution, the adversarial system still leaves the defendant to conduct his own pretrial investigation. The trial is still viewed as a duel between two adversaries, refereed by a judge who, at the beginning of the trial has no knowledge of the investigative background of the case. In the final analysis the adversarial system of criminal procedure symbolizes and regularizes the punitive combat.

By contrast, the inquisitorial system begins historically where the adversarial system stopped its development. It is two historical steps removed from the system of private vengeance. Therefore, from the standpoint of legal anthropology, it is historically superior to the adversarial system. Under the inquisitorial system the public investigator has the duty to investigate not just on behalf of the prosecutor but also on behalf of the defendant. Additionally, the public prosecutor has the duty to present to the court not only evidence that may lead to the conviction of the defendant but also evidence that may lead to his exoneration. This system mandates that both parties permit full pretrial discovery of the evidence in their possession. Finally, in an effort to make the trial less like a duel between two adversaries, the inquisitorial system mandates that the judge take an active part in the conduct of the trial, with a role that is both directive and protective.

Fact-finding is at the heart of the inquisitorial system. This system operates on the philosophical premise that in a criminal case the crucial factor is not the legal rule but the facts of the case and that the goal of the entire procedure is to experimentally recreate for the court the commission of the alleged crime.

MAIN IDEA QUESTIONS

The main idea is usually stated in the last--occasionally the first--sentence of the first paragraph. If it's not there, it will probably be the last sentence of the entire passage.

Because main idea questions are relatively easy, the CAT writers try to obscure the correct answer by surrounding it with close answer-choices ("detractors") that either overstate or understate the author's main point. Answer-choices that stress specifics tend to understate the main idea; choices that go beyond the scope of the passage tend to overstate the main idea.

The answer to a main idea question will summarize the author's argument, yet be neither too specific nor too broad.

Example: (Refer to the first passage.)

The primary purpose of the passage is to

(A) Explain why the inquisitorial system is the best system of criminal justice
(B) explain how the adversarial and the inquisitorial systems of criminal justice both evolved from the system of private vengeance
(C) show how the adversarial and inquisitorial systems of criminal justice can both complement and hinder each other's development
(D) show how the adversarial and inquisitorial systems of criminal justice are being combined into a new and better system
(E) analyze two systems of criminal justice and deduce which one is better

The answer to a main idea question will summarize the passage without going beyond it. (A) Violates these criteria by overstating the scope of the passage. The comparison in the passage is between two specific systems, not between all systems. (A) Would be a good answer if "best" were replaced with "better." Beware of extreme words. (B) Violates the criteria by understating the scope of the passage. Although the evolution of both the adversarial and the inquisitorial systems is discussed in the passage, it is done to show why one is superior to the other. As to (C) and (D), both can be quickly dismissed since neither is mentioned in the passage. Finally, the passage does two things: it presents two systems of criminal justice and shows why one is better than the other. (E) aptly summarizes this, so it is the best answer.

Description Questions

Description questions, as with main idea questions, refer to a point made by the author. However, description questions refer to a minor point or to incidental information, not to the author's main point.

The answer to a description question must refer directly to a statement in the passage, not to something implied by it. However, the correct answer will paraphrase a statement in the passage, not give an exact quote. In fact, exact quotes ("Same language" traps) are often used to bait wrong answers.

Caution: When answering a description question, you must find the point in the passage from which the question is drawn. Don't rely on memory--too many obfuscating tactics are used with these questions.

Not only must the correct answer refer directly to a statement in the passage, it must refer to the relevant statement. The correct answer will be surrounded by wrong choices which refer directly to the passage but don't address the question. These choices can be tempting because they tend to be quite close to the actual answer.

Once you spot the sentence to which the question refers, you still must read a few sentences before and after it, to put the question in context. If a question refers to line 20, the information needed to answer it can occur anywhere from line 15 to 25. Even if you have spotted the answer in line 20, you should still read a couple more lines to make certain you have the proper perspective.

Example: (Refer to the first passage.)

According to the passage, the inquisitorial system differs from the adversarial system in that

(A) it does not make the defendant solely responsible for gathering evidence for his case
(B) it does not require the police department to work on behalf of the prosecution
(C) it does not allow the victim the satisfaction of private vengeance
(D) it requires the prosecution to drop a weak case
(E) a defendant who is innocent would prefer to be tried under the inquisitorial system

This is a description question, so the information needed to answer it must be stated in the passage--though not in the same language as in the answer. The needed information is contained in the fourth sentence of Paragraph 3, which states that the public prosecutor has to investigate on behalf of both society and the defendant. Thus, the defendant is not solely responsible for investigating his case. Furthermore, the paragraph's opening implies that this feature is not found in the adversarial system. This illustrates why you must determine the context of the situation before you can safely answer the question. The answer is (A).

CAT RCIII

Writing Technique Questions

All coherent writing has a superstructure or blueprint. When writing, we don't just randomly jot down our thoughts; we organize our ideas and present them in a logical manner. For instance, we may present evidence that builds up to a conclusion but intentionally leave the conclusion unstated, or we may present a position and then contrast it with an opposing position, or we may draw an extended analogy.

There is an endless number of writing techniques that authors use to present their ideas, so we cannot classify every method. However, some techniques are very common to the type of explanatory or opinionated writing found in CAT passages.

A. Compare and contrast two positions.

This technique has a number of variations, but the most common and direct is to develop two ideas or systems (comparing) and then point out why one is better than the other (contrasting).

Writing-technique questions are similar to main idea questions; except that they ask about how the author presents his ideas, not about the ideas themselves. Generally, you will be given only two writing methods to choose from, but each method will have two or more variations.

Example: (Refer to the first passage.)

Which one of the following best describes the organization of the passage?

(A) Two systems of criminal justice are compared and contrasted, and one is deemed to be better than the other.
(B) One system of criminal justice is presented as better than another. Then evidence is offered to support that claim.
(C) Two systems of criminal justice are analyzed, and one specific example is examined in detail.
(D) A set of examples is furnished. Then a conclusion is drawn from them.
(E) The inner workings of the criminal justice system are illustrated by using two systems.

Clearly the author is comparing and contrasting two criminal justice systems. Indeed, the opening to paragraph two makes this explicit. The author uses a mixed form of comparison and contrast. He opens the passage by developing (comparing) both systems and then shifts to developing just the adversarial system. He opens the second paragraph by contrasting the two criminal justice systems and then further develops just the inquisitorial system. Finally, he closes by again contrasting the two systems and implying that the inquisitorial system is superior.

Only two answer-choices, (A) and (B), have any real merit. They say essentially the same thing--though in different order. Notice in the passage that the author does not indicate which system is better until the end of paragraph one, and he does not make that certain until paragraph two. This contradicts the order given by (B). Hence the answer is (A). (Note: In (A) the order is not specified and therefore is harder to attack, whereas in (B) the order is definite and therefore is easier to attack. Remember that a measured response is harder to attack and therefore is more likely to be the answer.)

B. Show cause and effect.

In this technique, the author typically shows how a particular cause leads to a certain result or set of results. It is not uncommon for this method to introduce a sequence of causes and effects. A causes B, which causes C, which causes D, and so on. Hence B is both the effect of A and the cause of C.

Example: (Mini-passage)

Thirdly, I worry about the private automobile. It is a dirty, noisy, wasteful, and lonely means of travel. It pollutes the air, ruins the safety and sociability of the street, and exercises upon the individual a discipline which takes away far more freedom than it gives him. It causes an enormous amount of land to be unnecessarily abstracted from nature and from plant life and to become devoid of any natural function. It explodes cities, grievously impairs the whole institution of neighborliness, fragmentizes and destroys communities. It has already spelled the end of our cities as real cultural and social communities, and has made impossible the construction of any others in their place. Together with the airplane, it has crowded out other, more civilized and more convenient means of transport, leaving older people, infirm people, poor people and children in a worse situation than they were a hundred years ago. It continues to lend a terrible element of fragility to our civilization, placing us in a situation where our life would break down completely if anything ever interfered with the oil supply.

George F. Kennan

Which of the following best describes the organization of the passage?

(A) A problem is presented and then a possible solution is discussed.
(B) The benefits and demerits of the automobile are compared and contrasted.
(C) A topic is presented and a number of its effects are discussed.
(D) A set of examples is furnished to support a conclusion.

This passage is laden with effects. Kennan introduces the cause, the automobile, in the opening sentence and from there on presents a series of effects--the automobile pollutes, enslaves, and so on. Hence the answer is (C). Note: (D) is the second-best choice; it is disqualified by two flaws. First, in this context, "examples" is not as precise as "effects." Second, the order is wrong: the conclusion, "I worry about the private automobile" is presented first and then the examples: it pollutes, it enslaves, etc.

C. State a position and then give supporting evidence.

This technique is common with opinionated passages. Equally common is the reverse order. That is, the supporting evidence is presented and then the position or conclusion is stated. And sometimes the evidence will be structured to build up to a conclusion which is then left unstated. If this is done skillfully the reader will be more likely to arrive at the same conclusion as the author.

Extension Questions

Extension questions are the most common. They require you to go beyond what is stated in the passage, asking you to draw an inference from the passage, to make a conclusion based on the passage, or to identify one of the author's tacit assumptions.

Since extension questions require you to go beyond the passage, the correct answer must say more than what is said in the passage. Beware of same language traps with these questions: the correct answers will often both paraphrase and extend a statement in the passage, but it will not directly quote it.

"Same Language" traps: For extension questions, any answer-choice that explicitly refers to or repeats a statement in the passage will probably be wrong.

The correct answer to an extension question will not require a quantum leap in thought, but it will add significantly to the ideas presented in the passage.

Example: (Refer to the first passage.)

The author views the prosecution's role in the inquisitorial system as being

(A) an advocate for both society and the defendant
(B) solely responsible for starting a trial
(C) a protector of the legal rule
(D) an investigator only
(E) an aggressive but fair investigator

This is an extension question. So the answer will not be explicitly stated in the passage, but it will be strongly supported by it.

The author states that the prosecutor is duty bound to present any evidence that may prove the defendant innocent and that he must disclose all pretrial evidence (i.e., have no tricks up his sleeve). This is the essence of fair play. The answer is (E).

Application Questions

Application questions differ from extension questions only in degree. Extension questions ask you to apply what you have learned from the passage to derive new information about the same subject, whereas application questions go one step further, asking you to apply what you have learned from the passage to a different or hypothetical situation.

To answer an application question, take the author's perspective. Ask yourself: what am I arguing for? what might make my argument stronger? what might make it weaker?

Example: (Refer to the first passage.)

Based on the information in the passage, it can be inferred that which one of the following would most logically begin a paragraph immediately following the passage?

(A) Because of the inquisitorial system's thoroughness in conducting its pretrial investigation, it can be concluded that a defendant who is innocent would prefer to be tried under the inquisitorial system, whereas a defendant who is guilty would prefer to be tried under the adversarial system.

(B) As the preceding analysis shows, the legal system is in a constant state of flux. For now the inquisitorial system is ascendant, but it will probably be soon replaced by another system.

(C) The accusatorial system begins where the inquisitorial system ends. So it is three steps removed from the system of private vengeance, and therefore historically superior to it.

(D) Because in the inquisitorial system the judge must take an active role in the conduct of the trial, his competency and expertise have become critical.

(E) The criminal justice system has evolved to the point that it no longer seems to be derivative of the system of private vengeance. Modern systems of criminal justice empower all of society with the right to instigate a legal action, and the need for vengeance is satisfied through a surrogate--the public prosecutor.

The author has rather thoroughly presented his position, so the next paragraph would be a natural place for him to summarize it. The passage compares and contrasts two systems of criminal justice, implying that the inquisitorial system is superior. We expect the concluding paragraph to sum up this position. Now all legal theory aside, the system of justice under which an innocent person would choose to be judged would, as a practical matter, pretty much sum up the situation. Hence the answer is (A).

Tone Questions

Tone questions ask you to identify the writer's attitude or perspective. Is the writer's feeling toward the subject positive, negative, or neutral? Does the writer give his own opinion, or does he objectively present the opinions of others?

Before you read the answer-choices, decide whether the writer's tone is positive, negative, or neutral. It is best to do this without referring to the passage.

However, if you did not get a feel for the writer's attitude on the first reading, check the adjectives that he chooses. Adjectives and, to a lesser extent, adverbs express our feelings toward subjects. For instance, if we agree with a person who holds strong feelings about a subject, we may describe his opinions as impassioned. On the other hand, if we disagree with him, we may describe his opinions as excitable, which has the same meaning as "impassioned" but carries a negative connotation.

Example: (Refer to the first passage.)

The author's attitude toward the adversarial system can best be described as

(A) Encouraged that it is far removed from the system of private vengeance
(B) concerned that it does not allow all members of society to instigate legal action
(C) pleased that it does not require the defendant to conduct his own pretrial investigation
(D) hopeful that it will be replaced by the inquisitorial system
(E) doubtful that it is the best vehicle for justice

The author does not reveal his feelings toward the adversarial system until the end of paragraph one. Clearly the clause "the adversarial system of criminal procedure symbolizes and regularizes the punitive combat" indicates that he has a negative attitude toward the system. This is confirmed in the second paragraph when he states that the inquisitorial system is historically superior to the adversarial system. So he feels that the adversarial system is deficient.

The "two-out-of-five" rule is at work here: only choices (D) and (E) have any real merit. Both are good answers. But which one is better? Intuitively, choice (E) is more likely to be the answer because it is more measured. To decide between two choices attack each: the one that survives is the answer. Now a tone question should be answered from what is directly stated in the passage--not from what it implies. Although the author has reservations toward the adversarial system, at no point does he say that he hopes the inquisitorial system will replace it, he may prefer a third system over both. This eliminates (D); the answer therefore is (E).

PIVOTAL WORDS

As mentioned before, each passage contains 200 to 600 words and only four to seven questions, so you will not be tested on most of the material in the passage. Your best reading strategy, therefore, is to identify the places from which questions will most likely be drawn and concentrate your attention there.

Pivotal words can help in this regard. Following are the most common pivotal words.

Pivotal Words

As you may have noticed, these words indicate contrast. Pivotal words warn that the author is about to either make a U-turn or introduce a counter-premise (concession to a minor point that weakens the argument).

Example: (Counter-premise)

I submit that the strikers should accept the management's offer. Admittedly, it is less than what was demanded. But it does resolve the main grievance--inadequate health care. Furthermore, an independent study shows that a wage increase greater than 5% would leave the company unable to compete against Japan and Germany, forcing it into bankruptcy.

The conclusion, "the strikers should accept the management's offer," is stated in the first sentence. Then "Admittedly" introduces a concession (counter-premise); namely, that the offer was less than what was demanded. This weakens the speaker's case, but it addresses a potential criticism of his position before it can be made. The last two sentences of the argument present more compelling reasons to accept the offer and form the gist of the argument.

Pivotal words mark natural places for questions to be drawn. At a pivotal word, the author changes direction. The CAT writers form questions at these junctures to test whether you turned with the author or you continued to go straight. Rarely do the CAT writers let a pivotal word pass without drawing a question from its sentence.

Adjectives

An adjective modifies a noun. It describes the quality, state or action that a noun refers to.

The good news is that the form of adjectives does not change, it does not matter if the noun being modified is male or female, singular or plural, subject or object.

Some adjectives give us factual information about the noun - age, size colour etc (fact adjectives - can't be argued with). Some adjectives show what somebody thinks about something or somebody - nice, horrid, beautiful etc (opinion adjectives - not everyone may agree).

ADJECTIVE RULES:

i) Adjectives can come before nouns: a new car

ii) Adjectives can come after verbs such as be, become, seem, look, etc.: that car looks fast

iii) They can be modified by adverbs: a very expensive car

iv) They can be used as complements to a noun: the extras make the car expensive

Opinion

Adjectives can be used to give your opinion about something.

good, pretty, right, wrong, funny, light, happy, sad, full, soft, hard etc.

For example:

He was a silly boy.

Size

Adjectives can be used to describe size.

big, small, little, long, tall, short, same as, etc.

For example:

• "The big man." or "The big woman".

Age

Adjectives can be used to describe age.

For example:

• "He was an old man." or "She was an old woman."

Shape

Adjectives can be used to describe shape.

round, circular, triangular, rectangular, square, oval, etc.

For example:

• "It was a square box." or "They were square boxes."

Colour

Adjectives can be used to describe c o l o u r .

blue, red, green, brown, yellow, black, white, etc.

For example:

• "The blue bag." or "The blue bags".

Origin

Adjectives can be used to describe origin.

For example:-

• "It was a German flag." or "They were German flags."

Material

Adjectives can be used to describe material.

• "It was a cotton cushion." or "They were cotton cushions."

Distance

Adjectives can be used to describe distance. l -- o -- n -- g / short

long, short, far, around, start, high, low, etc.

For example:

• "She went for a long walk." or "She went for lots of long walks."

Temperature

Adjectives can be used to describe temperature.

cold, warm, hot, cool, etc.

For example:

• "It day was hot." or "They days were hot."

Time

Adjectives can be used to describe time.

late, early, bed, nap, dinner, lunch, day, morning, night, etc.

For example:

• "She had an early start."

Purpose

Adjectives can be used to describe purpose. (These adjectives often end with "-ing".)

For example:

• "She gave them a sleeping bag." or "She gave them sleeping bags."

!Note - In each case the adjective stays the same, whether it is describing a maculine, feminine, singular or plural noun.

When using more than one adjective to modify a noun, the adjectives may be separated by a conjunction (and) or by commas (,).

For example:

• "Her hair was long and blonde." or "She had long, blonde hair."

More examples:

List Of Adjectives

bad, jittery , purple, tan , better, jolly , quaint , tender

beautiful, kind, quiet, testy ,big ,long, quick, tricky,

black ,lazy, quickest, tough ,blue,bright, magnificent magenta, rainy

rare ,ugly, ugliest ,clumsy , many, ratty ,vast ,

crazy, mighty, red, watery ,dizzy ,mushy, roasted, wasteful

dull, nasty, robust, wide-eyed ,fat, new, round, wonderful

frail, nice, sad, yellow ,friendly ,nosy ,scary ,yummy

funny ,nutty, scrawny, zany ,great, nutritious, short

green ,odd ,silly ,gigantic, orange ,stingy ,gorgeous ,

ordinary ,strange ,grumpy, pretty ,striped ,

handsome, precious, spotty ,happy, prickly, tart,

horrible , tall ,itchy , tame

Adverbs

ADVERBS

Adverbs are words that modify everything but nouns and pronouns. They modify adjectives, verbs, and other adverbs. A word is an adverb if it answers how, when, or where.

The only adverbs that cause grammatical problems are those that answer the question how, so we will focus on these. Examples He speaks slowly.
Answers the question how.

He speaks very slowly.
Answers the question how slowly.

Rule 1. Generally, if a word answers the question how, it is an adverb. If it can have an ly added to it, place it there. Examples She thinks slow/slowly.
She thinks how slowly.

She is a slow/slowly thinker.
Slow does not answer how so no ly is attached. Slow is an adjective here.

She thinks fast/fastly.
Fast answers the question how, so it is an adverb. But fast never has an ly attached to it.

We performed bad/badly.
Badly describes how we performed.

Rule 2. A special ly rule applies when four of the sensestaste, smell, look, feelare the verbs. Do not ask if these senses answer the question how to determine if ly should be attached. Instead, ask if the sense verb is being used actively. If so, use the ly. Examples Roses smell sweet/sweetly.
Do the roses actively smell with noses No, so no ly.

The woman looked angry/angrily.
Did the woman actively look with eyes or are we describing her appearance
We are only describing appearance, so no ly.

The woman looked angry/angrily at the paint splotches.
Here the woman did actively look with eyes so the ly was added.

She feels bad/badly about the news.
She is not feeling with fingers, so no ly.

Rule 3. The word good is an adjective while well is an adverb. Examples You did a good job.
Good describes the job.

You did the job well.
Well answers how.

You smell good today.
Describes your odor, not how you smell with your nose, so follow with the adjective.

You smell well for someone with a cold.
You are actively smelling with a nose here so follow with the adverb.

Rule 4. When referring to health, always use well. Examples I do not feel well.

You do not look well today.

Rule 5. A common error in using adjectives and adverbs arises from using the wrong form for comparison. For instance, to describe one thing we would say poor, as in, "She is poor." To compare two things, we should say poorer, as in, "She is the poorer of the two women." To compare more than two things, we should say poorest, as in, "She is the poorest of them all." Examples

*Usually with words of three or more syllables, don't add -er or -est. Use more or most in front of the words.

Rule 6. Never drop the ly from an adverb when using the comparison form. Correct She spoke quickly.
She spoke more quickly than he did. Incorrect She spoke quicker than he did. Correct Talk quietly.
Talk more quietly. Incorrect Talk quieter.

Rule 7. When this, that, these, and those are followed by nouns, they are adjectives. When they appear without a noun following them, they are pronouns. Examples This house is for sale.
This is an adjective here.

This is for sale.
This is a pronoun here.

Rule 8. This and that are singular, whether they are being used as adjectives or as pronouns. This points to something nearby while that points to something "over there." Examples This dog is mine.

That dog is hers.

This is mine.

That is hers.

Rule 9. These and those are plural, whether they are being used as adjectives or as pronouns. These points to something nearby while those points to something "over there." Examples These babies have been smiling for a long time.

These are mine.

Those babies have been crying for hours.

Those are yours.

Rule 10. Use than to show comparison. Use then to answer the question when. Examples I would rather go skiing than rock climbing.

First we went skiing; then we went rock climbing

How to recognize an adverb

Many adverbs end with the suffix -LY. Most of these are created by adding -LY to the end of an adjective, like this:

However, this is NOT a reliable way to find out whether a word is an adverb or not, for two reasons: many adverbs do NOT end in -LY (some are the same as the adjective form), and many words which are NOT adverbs DO end in -LY (such as kindly, friendly, elderly and lonely, which are adjectives). Here are some examples of adverbs which are the same as adjectives:

The best way to tell if a word is an adverb is to try making a question, for which the answer is the word. If the question uses how, where or when, then the word is probably an adverb. Here is an example:

Making adverbs from adjectives

Adverbs are usually made from adjectives, by adding -LY. However, there are some exceptions. These are the rules:

However, there are some important exceptions:

Avoiding Common Errors

Bad or Badly

When you want to describe how you feel, you should use an adjective (Why Feel is a sense verb;see rule #3 above). So you'd say, "I feel bad." Saying you feel badly would be like saying you play football badly. It would mean that you are unable to feel, as though your hands were partially numb.

Good or Well

Good is an adjective, so you do not do good or live good, but you do well and live well. Remember, though, that an adjective follows sense-verbs and be-verbs, so you also feel good, look good, smell good, are good, have been good, etc. (Refer to rule #3 above for more information about sense verbs and verbs of appearance.)

Confusion can occur because well can function either as an adverb or an adjective. When well is used as an adjective, it means "not sick" or "in good health." For this specific sense of well, it's OK to say you feel well or are well -- for example, after recovering from an illness. When not used in this health-related sense, however, well functions as an adverb; for example, "I did well on my exam."

Double-negatives

Scarcely and hardly are already negative adverbs. To add another negative term is redundant, because in English only one negative is ever used at a time

They found scarcely any animals on the island. (not scarcely no...)
Hardly anyone came to the party. (not hardly no one...)

Sure or Surely?

Sure is an adjective, and surely is an adverb. Sure is also used in the idiomatic expression sure to be. Surely can be used as a sentence-adverb. Here are some examples that show different uses of sure and surely. Light blue arrows indicate adjectives and green arrows indicate adverbs.

Here sure is an adjective that modifies the pronoun I.

Here surely is an adverb that modifies the adjective ready.

Here sure to be is an idiomatic phrase that functions as an adjective that modifies the pronoun she.

Articles

There are only three articles in English: a , an and the .

There are two types of articles indefinite a and an or definite the .

Their proper use is complex especially when you get into the advanced use of English. Quite often you have to work by what sounds right, which can be frustrating for a learner.

We usually use no article to talk about things in general - the doesn't mean all.

Indefinite articles - a and an (determiners)

A and an are the indefinite articles. They refer to something not specifically known to the person you are communicating with.

A and an are used before nouns that introduce something or someone you have not mentioned before:-

A and an are also used when talking about your profession

Definite Article - the (determiners)

You use the when you know that the listener knows or can work out what particular person/thing you are talking about.

You should also use the when you have already mentioned the thing you are talking about.

We use the to talk about geographical points on the globe.

We use the to talk about rivers, oceans and seas

We also use the before certain nouns when we know there is only one of a particular thing.

However if you want to describe a particular instance of these you should use a/an.

The is also used to say that a particular person or thing being mentioned is the best, most famous, etc. In this use, 'the' is usually given strong pronunciation:

Do not use the before:

· names of countries (Italy, Mexico, Bolivia) except the Netherlands and the US

· names of cities, towns, or states (Seoul, Manitoba, Miami)

· names of streets (

Washington Blvd.

,

Main St

.)

· names of lakes and bays (Lake Titicaca, Lake Erie) except with a group of lakes like the Great Lakes

· names of mountains (Mount Everest, Mount Fuji) except with ranges of mountains like the Andes or the Rockies or unusual names like the Matterhorn

· names of continents (Asia, Europe)

· names of islands (Easter Island, Maui, Key West) except with island chains like the Aleutians, the Hebrides, or the Canary Islands

Do use the before:

· names of rivers, oceans and seas (the Nile, the Pacific)

· points on the globe (the Equator, the North Pole)

· geographical areas (the Middle East, the West)

· deserts, forests, gulfs, and peninsulas (the Sahara, the Persian Gulf, the Black Forest, the Iberian Peninsula)

No article

You do not use an article before nouns when talking in general terms.

You do not use an article when talking about sports.

You do not use an article before uncountable nouns when talking about them generally.

You do not use an article before the names of countries except where they contain the words (state(s), kindom, republic, union). Kingdom, state, republic and union are nouns, so they needs an article.

Nouns

NOUN

A noun is the word that refers to a person, thing or abstract idea. A noun can tell you who or what.

There are several different types of noun:-

• There are common nouns such as dog, car, chair etc.
• Nouns that refer to things which can be counted (can be singular or plural) are countable nouns.
• Nouns that refer to some groups of countable nouns, substances, feelings and types of activity (can only be singular) are uncountable nouns.
• Nouns that refer to a group of people or things are collective nouns.
• Nouns that refer to people, organizations or places are proper nouns, only proper nouns are capitalized.
• Nouns that are made up of two or more words are called compound nouns.
• Nouns that are formed from a verb by adding

Use capital letters in the following ways:

The first words of a sentence

example: When he tells a joke, he sometimes forgets the punch line.

The pronoun "I" examples:
The Patels have moved to the Southwest. Jim's house is two miles north of Otterbein. example: One of Ringo?s favorite books is The Catcher in the Rye.

Preposition Usage

Preposition usage is an important part of the English Language, or any language for that matter. So just what is proper preposition usage

Prepositions are generally used to show the relationship between its object and other words in the sentence.

The following show preposition usage and the relationships of prepositions with the other words in the sentences they are in.

Remembering relationships will help you remember which preposition to use.

• Place (in, on, under, over, near, beside, etc.)

Your book is on the table.

• Direction (to, toward, into, through, etc.)

The football player ran through the stadium to the other end.

• Time (in, on, at, etc.)

We can meet at five oclock.

• Agent (by)

This book was written by a famous author.

• Instrument (by, with)

I heard the news by television. (Communication)

She came by bus. (Transportation)

He opened the door with a key.(Instrument or tool)

TIP:

We use by + no article for communication and transportation.

Examples : by phone, by radio, and by bus, by car

• Accompaniment (with)

I like spaghetti with white sauce.

Mrs. Vajiona went to Thassos Island with her husband Georgios.

• Purpose (for)

He went to the store for milk and bread.

TIP:

Never, Never use for + verb + ing to express the purpose of the verb.

Example : He went to the store for buying milk and bread. This is wrong usage and a common mistake!

• Partition / Possession (of)

?They painted the front of the building white and green.

?He broke the top of the table with his fist.

• Measure (by, of)

We buy our olive oil by the 16 kilo container.

Please buy a quart of milk from the market.

• Similarity (like)
• Mary walks like her mother.
• Capacity (as)

Bill worked as a fireman until a year ago.

Preposition Definition

Preposition Definition

Learning a preposition definition is as important as learning the definition of any word. The following lists will help you know and recognize the preposition definition used in context with other words.

Remember, it's best to learn prepositions in combination with other words as they often follow set patterns.

Place (in, on, under, over, near, beside, etc.)

Your book is on the table. Direction (to, toward, into, through, etc.)

The football player ran through the stadium to the other end.

Time (in, on, at, etc.) We can meet at five o'clock.

Agent (by) This book was written by a famous author.

Instrument (by, with) I heard the news by television. (Communication)

She came by bus. (Transportation)

He opened the door with a key. (Instrument or tool)

TIP:

We use by + no article for communication and transportation.

Examples: by phone, by radio, and by bus, by car

Accompaniment (with)

I like spaghetti with white sauce.

Mrs. Vajiona went to Thassos Island with her husband Georgios.

Purpose (for) He went to the store for milk and bread.

TIP:

Never use for + verb + ing to express the purpose of the verb.

Example: He went to the store for buying milk and bread. This is wrong usage and a common mistake!

Partition / Possession (of) They painted the front of the building white and green.

He broke the top ofthe table with his fist.

Measure (by, of) We buy our olive oil by the 16 kilo container.

Please buy a quart of milk from the market. Similarity (like)

Mary walks like her mother.

Capacity (as) Bill worked as a fireman until a year ago.

The following lists contain verbs that are followed by full infinitives, objects plus full infinitives, gerunds and/or that clauses. The importance of knowing them can't be stressed enough.

I've included them here specifically to help those who need to improve their preposition definition understanding.

• Verbs or verb expressions followed by a full infinitive

*can also be followed by a that clause

• Verbs followed by an object + full infinitive

*can also be followed by a that clause

• Verbs and verb expressions followed by a gerund

*can also be followed by a that clause

Preposition Combinations

Preposition combinations

Preposition combinations appear frequently and must be learned by heart. There is no rule or reason why these words go together they just do.

In fact, word collocations and preposition combinations are extremely important at the proficiency level of the language. I always emphasize the importance of collocations and combinations at the proficiency level.

• Again, learning preposition combinations is important!

Learning them will help you in all sections of the exam. The following verb preposition combinations always appear together. It's a good idea to know them.

• Verb - Preposition Combinations

• Some verb preposition combinations take two objects.

• Adjective - preposition combinations with to be.

• Prepositions in fixed phrases.

Correct Word Usage 1

Affect / Effect

Amount / Number

Complimentary / Complementary

Different from / Different than

Enough

Every so often / Ever so often

First / Former

From / Since / For

Lie / Lay

A Few / A little

Passed / Past

Raise / Rise

A lot or Alot

Accept or Except

Acronyms and initialisms

Correct Word Usage 2

Say / Tell

Sit / Set

Speak / Speech

Than / Then

Watch / See

Accept / Except / Expect

Advice / Advise

All ready / Already

Altogether / All Together

Besides / Beside

Cloth / Clothes

Desert / Dessert

Differ from / Differ with

Emigrate / Immigrate

Farther / Further

Formally / Formerly

Healthful / Healthy

Illusion / Allusion

Imply / Infer

Its / It's

Leave / Let

Loose / Lose

Most / Almost

Plane / Plain

Principal / Principle

Quiet / Quite

Respectfully / Respectively

So / So that

Stationary / Stationery

Their / There / They're

To / Too / Two

Weather / Whether

Who's / Whose