Grammar (Integrated & Error-Based)

Grammar (Integrated & Error-Based)

Good grammar is what earns the Expression marks in every Section B task, and error-based/editing items appear in integrated writing contexts. This section is a quick, exam-focused revision of the areas most often tested. (Note: in the current Class 12 English Core paper, grammar is assessed through your writing rather than as a standalone section - but control over these rules directly protects the accuracy marks in notices, letters, articles and reports.)

1. Tenses - Keep tense consistent. Reports and completed events use the past ("the function was held"); articles stating general truths use the present ("social media affects students"). Avoid shifting mid-sentence: He came and sees -> He came and saw.

2. Modals - can/could (ability), may/might (permission, possibility), should/ought to (advice), must (obligation), would (politeness). In a formal letter prefer "I would be grateful" over "I want".

3. Determiners - Correct use of a/an/the, some/any, much/many, little/few. Use a before consonant sounds, an before vowel sounds (an hour, a university).

4. Subject-verb agreement - The verb agrees with the subject's number: The list of items is long (subject = list). Each/every/everyone take a singular verb.

5. Reported speech - Backshift the tense and change pronouns/time words: He said, "I am busy today." -> He said that he was busy that day. Questions become statements: She asked where I lived.

6. Active/Passive voice - Shift the object to the subject and use be + past participle: The committee organised the event -> The event was organised by the committee. Reports often use the passive.

7. Gap-filling - Read the whole sentence first; fill with the word (article, preposition, verb form) the grammar demands, not the first word that sounds right.

8. Editing / Omission - Spot one error per line (wrong tense, missing article, wrong preposition) and give the incorrect word -> correct word pair. In omission, show where the missing word goes. …