Grammar

🟢 Lite — Quick Review (1h–1d)

Rapid summary for last-minute revision before your exam.

Grammar — Quick Facts

Parts of Speech (Quick Recap):

• Noun: Person, place, thing, or idea
• Pronoun: Replaces a noun (he, she, it, they, which)
• Verb: Action or state of being
• Adjective: Describes a noun
• Adverb: Modifies a verb, adjective, or another adverb (how, when, where, to what extent)
• Preposition: Shows relationship (in, on, at, to, for)
• Conjunction: Joins words, phrases, or clauses (and, but, or, because, although)
• Interjection: Expresses emotion (Wow! Alas!)

Subject-Verb Agreement Rules:

• Singular subject → singular verb: “He runs” (not “run”)
• Plural subject → plural verb: “They run”
• Collective nouns (jury, team, committee) — can be singular or plural depending on context
• None of + plural noun → plural verb: “None of the students were”
• Neither… nor / Either… or → verb agrees with the noun nearest to it

Article Usage:

• a/an: Before singular countable nouns; “a” before consonant sounds, “an” before vowel sounds
• the: Specific items, unique things, superlatives, nationalities (the Indians)
• No article: General categories, abstract nouns, with some expressions

⚡ CAT Exam Tip: In error-identification questions, watch for “subject-verb mismatches” where a long phrase comes between subject and verb, and for collective nouns used in plural sense.

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🟡 Standard — Regular Study (2d–2mo)

For students who want genuine understanding.

Grammar — Study Guide

Common Error Patterns in CAT:

Error Type 1: Tense Errors

• Wrong: “She has went to the market.”

• Correct: “She has gone to the market.”

• Wrong: “He yesterday finished the report.”

• Correct: “He finished the report yesterday.”

Error Type 2: Modifier Errors

• Misplaced modifier: “He served drinks to guests sitting on the couch” → awkward Better: “He served drinks to guests who were sitting on the couch.”

• Dangling modifier: “Looking through the telescope, the stars were bright.” Correct: “Looking through the telescope, she saw that the stars were bright.”

Error Type 3: Parallel Structure Errors occur when joining with “and,” “but,” “or,” or correlatives (either…or, neither…nor, both…and):

• Wrong: “She likes dancing and to sing.”

• Correct: “She likes dancing and singing.” OR “She likes to dance and to sing.”

• Wrong: “Either you study hard or you fail.”

• Correct: “Either you study hard or you will fail.” (both clauses same structure)

Error Type 4: Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement

• Wrong: “Each student must bring their book.” (if singular “each”)

• Correct: “Each student must bring his/her book” OR better rephrase: “All students must bring their books.”

• Collective nouns: “The team is playing well” (singular) vs “The team are arguing among themselves” (plural — British English)

Error Type 5: Comparison Errors

• Wrong: “She is taller than any girl in the class.”

• Correct: “She is taller than any other girl in the class.” (comparing to self is illogical)

• Wrong: “India’s GDP is more than Pakistan.”

• Correct: “India’s GDP is higher than Pakistan’s.” (GDP vs GDP, not GDP vs country)

⚡ Common Student Mistake: In “which/wich/that” questions, use “that” for defining (restrictive) clauses and “which” (with commas) for non-defining (non-restrictive) clauses. CAT often tests the comma difference.

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🔴 Extended — Deep Study (3mo+)

Comprehensive coverage for students on a longer study timeline.

Grammar — Comprehensive Notes

Sentence Structure and Clause Analysis:

Simple Sentence: S + V + O “He plays cricket.”

Compound Sentence: Two independent clauses joined by coordinating conjunction (FANBOYS: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so) or semicolon. “He plays cricket, and she plays tennis.”

Complex Sentence: One independent clause + one dependent clause. “He plays cricket because he loves the sport.”

Subordinate Clause Types:

Type	Function	Example
Noun clause	Subject or object	”What he said surprised me”
Relative clause	Describes noun	”The man who won”
Adverbial clause	Modifies verb	”When it rained, we stayed inside”

Relative Pronouns:

• who/whom — people
• which — things and animals
• that — people, things, animals (in defining clauses)
• whose — possession

Conditional Sentences:

Type	Structure	Usage
Zero	Present simple + present simple	General truths
First	If + present → will + base	Real future possibilities
Second	If + past → would + base	Hypothetical present
Third	If + past perfect → would have + past participle	Hypothetical past

Example:

• Zero: “If you heat ice, it melts.”
• First: “If it rains tomorrow, I will stay home.”
• Second: “If I had more money, I would buy a car.”
• Third: “If I had studied harder, I would have passed.”

Conjunctions and Subordinators:

Coordinating conjunctions (FANBOYS): join elements of equal importance Correlative conjunctions: pairs that work together (either…or, neither…nor, not only…but also, both…and)

Subordinating conjunctions: introduce adverbial clauses

• Time: when, while, before, after, since, until
• Cause: because, since, as
• Condition: if, unless, provided that, in case
• Contrast: although, though, even though, whereas, while

Double Negatives: Wrong: “I don’t have no money.” (two negatives = positive in standard English) Correct: “I don’t have any money.” OR “I have no money.”

Idiomatic Usage (Common in CAT):

• “She was boreD” NOT “She was boreN”
• “I am interesteD in” NOT “I am interesting in”
• “He is afraiD of” NOT “He is afraid from”
• “Consist of” NOT “Consist from”
• “Prefer X to Y” NOT “Prefer X than Y”
• “In spite of” NOT “Despite of”
• “Because of” followed by noun; “Because” followed by clause

JAMB Pattern Analysis (CAT 2015-2024):

• 2015: Subject-verb agreement with collective nouns
• 2017: Tense consistency in complex sentences
• 2019: Parallel structure with correlative conjunctions
• 2021: Relative pronoun usage (that vs which)
• 2023: Modifier placement errors
• 2024: Pronoun-antecedent agreement

⚡ Exam Strategy: In sentence correction questions, read the original sentence aloud. If it sounds wrong, it probably is. In grammar questions, trust your ear but verify with rule-based checking when unsure.