Word and Structure Knowledge
FANBOYS — Coordinating conjunctions: For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So. Use to join independent clauses or equal elements in sentences. Essential for punctuation and sentence structure questions.
A/AN article rule — Use 'an' before vowel *sounds* (an hour, an MBA), not just vowel letters. 'A' before consonant sounds (a university, a one-rupee coin). Sound matters, not spelling.
BISHAFC Prepositions — Place prepositions: Behind, In, Side, Here, Above, Front, Corner. Time: at specific times, on days/dates, in months/years/centuries. Direction: to, towards, into, through.
12 Tenses Formula — 4 aspects (Simple/Continuous/Perfect/Perfect Continuous) × 3 times (Past/Present/Future) = 12 tenses. Simple uses base verb forms; Continuous uses -ing; Perfect uses have/had/will have + past participle.
RAVEN parts of speech — Remembering adjectives: Red (color), Any (quantity), Very (intensity), Eight (number), New (quality/opinion). Adjectives answer: which one? what kind? how many? whose?
Reported Speech backshift — Direct to Indirect: Present Simple → Past Simple; Present Continuous → Past Continuous; Present Perfect → Past Perfect; Will → Would; Can → Could; Today → That day; Tomorrow → Next/Following day.
Common Homophone Pairs — Their/There/They're; Your/You're; Its/It's; To/Too/Two; Principle/Principal; Stationary/Stationery; Complement/Compliment; Affect (verb)/Effect (noun). Match spelling to meaning, not sound.
Order of Adjectives: OSASCOMP — Opinion, Size, Age, Shape, Color, Origin, Material, Purpose. Example: beautiful (opinion) small (size) old (age) round (shape) red (color) Italian (origin) leather (material) dancing (purpose) shoes.
Common Collocations Pattern — Strong tea (not powerful tea), heavy rain (not strong rain), make a decision (not do/take), do homework (not make), catch a cold, pay attention, take a chance/risk/break.
Phrasal Verb Separability — Transitive separable: turn off/on (can say "turn it off"). Transitive inseparable: look after (must say "look after him," not "look him after"). Intransitive: break down, grow up (no object).
Common One-Word Substitutions — Regicide (king killer), Matricide (mother killer), Omnipotent (all-powerful), Altruist (selfless person), Bibliophile (book lover), Gregarious (sociable), Misogynist (woman hater), Philanthropist (humanity lover). Link root words.