What the question looks like
A part of the sentence is highlighted (shown here in [square brackets]). You choose the option that should replace it to make the sentence grammatically correct, or No replacement required if it is already correct. Mains papers sometimes give three alternatives (I, II, III) and ask which of them can replace the phrase.
Step-by-step approach
- Read the full sentence, not just the bracket. The error often depends on a word outside the bracket: the subject, a time marker (since, for ten years, by the time) or a conditional clause.
- Identify the rule the bracketed phrase tests: tense, agreement, verb pattern, comparison, preposition or idiom.
- Eliminate options that create a new error. Many options fix one problem and introduce another.
- If the bracket is already correct, say so. Roughly one in four or five such questions needs no replacement.
Verb patterns tested most often
| Pattern | Correct form |
|---|---|
| make / let / have (causative) + object + base verb | made him sign |
| with a view to / look forward to / be used to + -ing | with a view to increasing |
| is likely / is expected + to + base verb | is likely to announce |
| Perfect continuous with for or since | has been working for ten years |
| Third conditional | If he had checked, he would have spotted |
| Present perfect: has/have + past participle | has taken, have risen |
Other rules to remember
- senior to, junior to, superior to, inferior to, prefer to take to, not than.
- too + adjective (not too much angry): too angry to listen.
- Absolute phrase: It being a holiday, the branch remained closed (not Being a holiday, the branch..., which says the branch is a holiday).
- One is followed by one's: One should keep one's promises.
- As well as / along with do not change the subject: The officer, as well as his assistants, was arrested.
Worked example
"She [is working in] this bank for ten years." For ten years shows an action that started in the past and continues now, so the present perfect continuous is needed: has been working in.
Time target: 30-40 seconds. Read the options only after you have spotted the rule; otherwise the distractors will confuse you.