CSS English key facts

Grammar · Verbs and tenses

Tenses and sequence of tenses

• Simple past for a finished time: yesterday, ago, last week, in 2010.
• Present perfect (has/have + past participle) with since, for, already, yet, just, so far.
• since + starting point (since Monday); for + length of time (for three days).
• Past perfect (had + past participle) for the earlier of two past actions, often with by the time, before, after.
• Simple present for facts, habits and fixed timetables: The sun rises in the east; The flight leaves at six.
• Hardly / Scarcely + had + subject + past participle ... when; No sooner had + subject + past participle ... than.
• After a past reporting verb (said, told), the verb in the reported clause moves one step back into the past.

Subject-verb agreement

• either ... or / neither ... nor: the verb agrees with the nearer subject.
• each, every, either, neither, everyone, one of the + plural noun: singular verb.
• along with, together with, as well as, in addition to: these do not change the number of the subject.
• the number of + plural noun: singular verb; a number of + plural noun: plural verb.
• Singular verb: news, mathematics, physics, economics, furniture, information, a book title, a pair of ...
• Plural verb: police, cattle, people; trousers and scissors when used without 'a pair of'.
• A collective noun (committee, jury, team) acting as one unit takes a singular verb.

Modals, voice, conditionals and narration

• Modals: can/could (ability), must/have to (obligation), may/might (possibility, permission), should/ought to/had better (advice), cannot (something logically impossible).
• should have + past participle: the right thing to do in the past, which was not done.
• Passive = form of be + past participle, same tense: is writing → is being written; has written → has been written.
• Zero conditional: if + present, present (always true). First: if + present, will + base form (real future).
• Second (unreal now): if + past simple, would + base form, with 'were' for all persons (If I were you; I wish I were).
• Third (unreal past): if + had + past participle, would have + past participle.
• Reported question: asked + if/whether or the question word, statement word order, no do/does/did, no question mark.

Grammar · Nouns, pronouns and determiners

Articles and determiners

• a before a consonant sound, an before a vowel sound: a university, a European, a one-rupee note; an hour, an honest man, an MA.
• the for something particular or already mentioned, for unique things and with superlatives: the sun, the best answer.
• the with rivers, seas, mountain ranges and names containing 'of': the Indus, the Arabian Sea, the Himalayas, the University of Karachi.
• No article with games, meals, languages, most cities and countries, and abstract or uncountable nouns in a general sense: play hockey; Patience is a virtue.
• many, few, a few, fewer + countable plurals; much, little, a little, less + uncountable nouns.
• few / little = almost none (negative sense); a few / a little = some (positive sense).
• some in positive sentences; any in negatives and most questions; each of + plural noun takes a singular verb (never 'every of').

Pronouns and reference

• Subject forms: I, he, she, we, they, who. Object forms: me, him, her, us, them, whom.
• Test for who/whom: if the answer would be 'he', use who; if 'him', use whom.
• After a preposition always use the object form: between you and me; to whom; for him and her.
• its = belonging to it; it's = it is or it has. whose = belonging to whom; who's = who is.
• Possessive pronouns take no apostrophe: mine, yours, hers, ours, theirs.
• Reflexive forms (myself, himself, themselves) are used when subject and object are the same person; by himself = alone.
• A pronoun agrees with its noun in number (the boys ... their; each boy ... his) and must point to one noun only.

Nouns: number, countability and forms

• Irregular plurals: child → children, ox → oxen, mouse → mice, tooth → teeth.
• Foreign plurals: criterion → criteria, phenomenon → phenomena, analysis → analyses, crisis → crises, thesis → theses.
• Compound nouns: the main word takes the plural: sons-in-law, passers-by, commanders-in-chief.
• Uncountable (no plural, no a/an): advice, information, furniture, luggage, scenery, poetry, machinery, equipment.
• Always plural, with a plural verb: trousers, scissors, spectacles, thanks; also cattle, police, people.
• Possessive: the girl's bag (one girl); the girls' bags (many girls); the men's room; my brother-in-law's shop ('s on the last word).
• A number + noun used as an adjective stays singular and takes a hyphen: a five-rupee note, a ten-year-old boy.

Grammar · Prepositions, conjunctions, adjectives, adverbs

Prepositions and dependent prepositions

• Time: at + clock time, night, noon; on + day or date; in + month, year, season, the morning. by = not later than.
• Place: at + a point (at the gate); in + an enclosed area, city or country; on + a surface. Arrive in a city, arrive at a station.
• between for two people or things; among for more than two taken as a group.
• Movement: into (entering), through (from one side to the other), across (over a surface), towards (in the direction of).
• Fixed pairs: depend on, insist on, rely on; fond of, proud of, jealous of, accused of; charged with, familiar with; prevent from, differ from.
• senior, junior, superior, inferior, prior and prefer take 'to', not 'than'.
• No preposition after discuss, reach, resemble, marry, order, or enter (a room).

Conjunctions and connectors

• Pairs: either ... or; neither ... nor; both ... and; not only ... but also; whether ... or.
• no sooner ... than; hardly / scarcely ... when; would rather ... than; the + comparative ..., the + comparative.
• Contrast: although, though, even though + clause; despite, in spite of + noun or -ing; whereas, while; however, nevertheless.
• Cause: because, since, as. Result: therefore, hence, consequently. Addition: moreover, furthermore, besides.
• Condition: if; unless (= if ... not); provided that; otherwise (= if not, then).
• Purpose: so that / in order that + may, might, can, could; lest + should.
• however, therefore, moreover and similar words between two sentences take a semicolon before and a comma after.

Adjectives, adverbs and comparison

• Adjective + noun (a careful driver); verb + adverb (drives carefully).
• After linking verbs (be, seem, look, feel, taste, smell, sound, become) use an adjective: The milk smells sour.
• good (adjective) / well (adverb); hard, fast, late are both; hardly = almost not; lately = recently.
• Two things: comparative + than (taller, more useful). Three or more: the + superlative (the tallest, the most useful). Never both forms together: not 'more better'.
• Compare like with like, using 'that of' or 'those of'; use 'any other' when a thing is compared with the rest of its own group.
• elder and eldest are for members of a family and never take 'than': my elder sister; she is older than I am.
• Order before a noun: opinion, size, age, shape, colour, origin, material (a fine old Kashmiri shawl).

Sentence correction

Spotting the error in a sentence

• Check in order: subject-verb agreement, tense, pronoun case, preposition, article and noun form, comparison.
• No preposition after discuss, tell, reach, order, resemble, marry: 'told the students', not 'told to the students'.
• suggest + that-clause or -ing form (never 'suggested me to'); explain + something + to + person.
• State verbs (know, believe, own, belong, understand) are not normally used in the continuous (-ing) tenses: 'I know', not 'I am knowing'.
• Fixed partners: hardly / scarcely ... when; no sooner ... than; prefer ... to; despite (without 'of') or in spite of.
• 'who' stays the subject of its verb even after 'I think' or 'we believe': the man who I think is honest.
• Third conditional: if + had + past participle; never 'if ... would have'.

Parallelism, modifiers and word order

• Items in a list or pair take the same form: reading, writing and speaking; to read, to write and to speak.
• The words after each half of a correlative pair match: speaks not only Urdu but also Sindhi.
• An opening -ing or -ed phrase describes the subject that comes straight after the comma.
• Place only, almost, nearly and even just before the word they limit.
• Indirect question: statement order (I asked where he was). After never, rarely, seldom, hardly: auxiliary before subject (Never have I seen).
• enough comes after an adjective or adverb (strong enough) and before a noun (enough money).
• Cut repeated meaning: return back, repeat again, merge together, free gift, 'in my opinion I think'; write 'the reason is that', not 'the reason is because'.

Sentence structure and punctuation

• A clause that begins with because, although, when or if cannot stand alone, and neither can an -ing phrase.
• Comma splice: two sentences joined by a comma only. Run-on: two sentences joined by nothing.
• Repair with a full stop, a semicolon, a comma + and / but / so / yet, or a subordinating word such as because or although.
• Semicolon before however, therefore, moreover and a comma after; a colon introduces a list or explanation after a complete statement.
• A pair of commas encloses extra information that could be removed: Mr Khan, our new director, spoke first.
• Apostrophe: the clerk's desk (one clerk); the clerks' desks (many); children's; none in plain plurals, in dates (the 1990s) or in its, hers, theirs.
• Direct speech: comma, inverted commas, capital letter, full stop inside. Indirect speech: no inverted commas and no question mark.

Vocabulary · Words

Synonyms

• Say the meaning in simple words first, then look for the option that matches it.
• The answer has the same part of speech as the given word: verb for verb, noun for noun.
• One option is often the antonym; cross it out at once.
• Look-alike words are traps: ingenuous is not ingenious, and prescribe is not proscribe.
• Roots help: bene = good (benevolent), mal = bad (malevolent), loqu = speak (loquacious), ver = truth (veracity).
• Check the tone: thrifty is approving, miserly is disapproving, although both concern saving money.
• In a sentence question, put your choice into the sentence; it must still make sense.

Antonyms

• Step 1: the meaning of the word. Step 2: the opposite of that meaning. Step 3: the options.
• If three options mean nearly the same as each other, the fourth is usually the answer.
• A true antonym lies on the same scale: hot and cold, not hot and wet.
• The antonym has the same part of speech as the given word.
• Prefixes often make opposites: un-, in-, im-, il-, ir-, dis-, non- (legal, illegal; regular, irregular).
• Not every in- is negative: invaluable means very valuable, and inflammable means easily set on fire.
• Match the strength: the opposite of love is hate, not dislike.

Pairs of words (commonly confused)

• affect (verb) = to influence; effect (noun) = a result. The verb effect means to bring about: to effect a change.
• principal = head of a college, or main; principle = a rule or belief.
• stationary = not moving; stationery = writing materials (e for envelope).
• council = a body of people who meet to decide; counsel = advice, or to advise.
• compliment = praise; complement = something that completes or goes well with another thing.
• imply = to suggest (the speaker implies); infer = to conclude (the listener infers).
• eminent = famous and respected; imminent = about to happen. Discreet = tactful; discrete = separate.

One-word substitutes and spelling

• omni- = all: omniscient (all-knowing), omnipotent (all-powerful), omnipresent (present everywhere).
• -cracy and -archy = rule: democracy (the people), autocracy (one person), oligarchy (a few), theocracy (religious leaders).
• -cide = killing: regicide (a king), patricide (one's father), fratricide (one's brother or sister), genocide (a whole people).
• Places: aviary (birds), apiary (bees), aquarium (fish), orphanage (orphans), granary (grain).
• People: philanthropist (helps mankind), misanthrope (hates mankind), atheist (believes there is no God), agnostic (holds that we cannot know).
• Double letters: accommodation (cc, mm), occurrence (cc, rr), committee (mm, tt, ee), embarrass (rr, ss).
• Often misspelt: separate, definitely, privilege, maintenance, supersede, bureaucracy, conscientious.

Vocabulary · Idioms and phrases

Idioms and their meanings

• Reject the literal option: an idiom never means what its words say one by one.
• The wording is fixed: learn the exact words, including the small ones (at the eleventh hour, in the nick of time).
• once in a blue moon = very rarely; a white elephant = a costly thing of little use.
• to let the cat out of the bag = to reveal a secret; to spill the beans = the same.
• to hit the nail on the head = to say exactly the right thing; to call a spade a spade = to speak plainly.
• a bone of contention = a cause of quarrel; to bury the hatchet = to make peace.
• to rest on one's laurels = to rely on past success and stop trying.

Phrasal verbs

• The particle changes the meaning: look after (care for), look into (investigate), look up to (respect), look down on (despise).
• turn down = reject; turn up = arrive or appear; turn out = prove to be.
• break down = stop working; break out = start suddenly (war, disease, fire); break into = enter by force.
• bring up = raise a child, or mention a subject; bring about = cause to happen.
• set up = establish; set off = begin a journey; set aside = keep for later, or cancel a court decision.
• get over = recover from; get along with = be friendly with; get away with = escape punishment for.
• A single-word verb can often replace a phrasal verb: put off = postpone, put out = extinguish.

Proverbs and foreign phrases

• A stitch in time saves nine = act early and you avoid more work later. A rolling stone gathers no moss.
• A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush = keep what you have instead of risking it for more.
• Rome was not built in a day = great work takes time. All that glitters is not gold = appearances deceive.
• ad hoc = for this particular purpose; bona fide = genuine, in good faith; status quo = the existing state of affairs.
• per se = in itself; de facto = in fact, in practice; de jure = by law; prima facie = at first sight.
• sine qua non = an essential condition; vice versa = the other way round; in camera = in private; inter alia = among other things.
• French: faux pas = a social mistake; fait accompli = a thing already done; en route = on the way; coup d'état = a sudden seizure of power.

Comprehension

Main idea, title and purpose

• Main idea = topic + what the writer says about it. A topic alone (water, libraries) is not a main idea.
• Look hardest at the first and last sentences; the point usually stands there.
• After but, yet and however comes the writer's real view; what stands before is often the view being answered.
• Too narrow = one detail or example. Too broad = a subject far wider than the passage.
• A good title is short, covers the whole passage and matches its tone.
• Purpose words: inform (facts), explain (how or why), describe (a scene), narrate (events), persuade (should, must), criticise (faults).
• An example or story in a passage serves the point; it is never the point itself.

Inference, tone and attitude

• A valid inference must be true if the passage is true; a merely possible statement is not enough.
• Reject options with all, never, always or only unless the passage is equally strong.
• Reject an option that only repeats a stated fact when the question asks what is implied.
• Tone words to know: objective (facts only), nostalgic (fond of the past), sceptical (doubting), indignant (angry at a wrong), ironic, optimistic, resigned, admiring.
• Figures and reports with no judging words give an objective or neutral tone.
• Praise that does not fit the facts described is irony; the writer is mocking.
• Cautious words such as may, perhaps and it remains to be seen show doubt, not hostility.

Vocabulary in context and details

• Example clue: a colon, such as or for example, followed by instances that show the meaning.
• Contrast clue: but, yet, unlike or although point to the opposite of the word.
• Restatement clue: the next sentence says the same thing in plainer words.
• Many words have several meanings; choose the one that fits this passage, not the commonest one.
• A fact can be proved true or false: figures, dates, names, measurements.
• An opinion judges: it uses value words (finest, dull, wrong) or should and ought.
• A sentence that reports an opinion (critics say, residents believe) is evidence of a view, not proof that the view is true.

Précis and composition skills

Précis writing principles

• Length: about one third of the original, so a passage of 300 words gives a précis of about 100 words.
• Read the whole passage first to find the central idea; then mark the main points; then write.
• Use your own words as far as possible; do not lift whole sentences.
• Third person and indirect speech: no I, we or you, and no direct quotations.
• Keep the tenses consistent: narrative and reported speech go into the past tense; general truths and statements about the present stay in the present tense.
• Leave out examples, illustrations, repetition, anecdotes and ornament.
• No personal opinion or comment, and no new information. Give a short title that states the central idea.

Essay structure and thesis statements

• Thesis = a clear position + the main reasons, placed at the end of the introduction.
• A thesis must be open to argument; a fact that nobody can dispute is not a thesis.
• Topic sentence = the one idea of the paragraph, general enough to cover every sentence in it.
• Addition: moreover, furthermore, in addition. Contrast: however, nevertheless, on the other hand.
• Result: therefore, consequently, as a result, hence. Example: for example, for instance.
• Sequence: firstly, secondly, then, finally. Summary: in conclusion, in short.
• A sentence that begins with a linking word or with this, these, it or such usually cannot open the paragraph. The conclusion restates the thesis and adds no new point.