Grammar and correct usage

Verbal Ability is the largest part of the Sub-Professional exam, and grammar is its most learnable slice because the rules don't change. Lock down a handful and the "choose the correct sentence" items become quick points.

Subject-verb agreement

The verb must match the subject in number.

• "And" joins a plural subject: The clerk and the encoder were present.
• Singular words take a singular verb: Neither of the forms was signed. ("Neither," "each," "everyone," "one of" are all singular.)
• Ignore words between subject and verb: The list of applicants is long (subject is "list").

Pronouns

• Agreement: a pronoun matches what it replaces: Every employee submitted his or her report.
• Case: use I / he / she / they as subjects, me / him / her / them as objects: between you and me (never "between you and I").
• who vs whom: who does the action, whom receives it: the officer who filed it, the officer to whom you spoke.

Verb tense: keep it consistent

Don't switch tenses without reason.

• She received the letter and filed it. (both past)
• He has worked here since 2019. (present perfect for an action continuing to now)

Everyday usage traps (the exam's favorites)

• their / there / they're: belonging to them / a place / "they are"
• your / you're: belonging to you / "you are"
• its / it's: belonging to it / "it is"
• affect / effect: usually a verb (to influence) / usually a noun (a result)
• then / than: time / comparison
• to / too / two: direction / also / the number

Modifiers and parallelism

• Keep a modifier next to what it describes: "Running to the office, the report slipped" is wrong: the report wasn't running. Fix: "Running to the office, she dropped the report."
• Keep a list parallel: filing, encoding, and answering calls (all -ing), not filing, encoding, and to answer calls.

Punctuation quick hits

• A comma separates items in a series and joins clauses with a conjunction.
• An apostrophe shows possession (the manager's desk) or a contraction (it's = it is).

Exam-day habit

Read each option in your head: a wrong verb or pronoun usually "sounds off." When two sentences seem fine, check the exact rule (agreement, then pronoun case, then tense) rather than trusting feel alone.