Symbols in the patterns
S = subject; V1 = base form (write); V2 = past simple (wrote); V3 = past participle (written); V-ing = -ing form (writing). An auxiliary helps build a tense, negative or question: be, have, do. A modal includes can, could, may, might, must, should, will and would.
What this section tests
Find the subject, finite verb and clause boundaries. Compare what changes between the options: tense, auxiliary, relative word, article, quantity or meaning. This comparison tells you which rule to test.
Agreement and quantity
The head noun controls agreement: the list of names is long. Each/every normally takes a singular verb. Many/few modify plural countable nouns; much/little modify uncountable nouns. A few/a little mean some; few/little emphasize scarcity. Fewer is the usual choice for countable items; less for uncountable amounts.
Articles and reference
A/an introduces one non-specific singular countable item; choose by sound, not spelling: an hour, a university. The identifies something specific or already shared. General plural and uncountable nouns often take no article. Check the whole noun phrase, not only the next letter.
Relative clauses
Who refers to people, which to things, whose to possession. Where/when express a place/time relation; they do not replace a missing subject or object. That can introduce many defining clauses, but not a non-defining clause after a comma. What means “the thing that” and normally has no preceding noun.
Comparison and verb form
Use comparative + than and as + adjective/adverb + as. Do not double the comparative: more easier is wrong. After do/does/did or a modal, the main verb is V1. Use an adjective after a linking verb when describing the subject: the soup smells good.
Worked example
The relative clause already has the subject we and the object the map. The missing word expresses location, so where fits. In “the room which we painted”, which instead supplies the object of painted.
This is the room where we found the map.
Compare: This is the room which we painted.
Final checklist
- Is the sentence complete after inserting the choice?
- Does agreement follow the head noun?
- Is a subject or object missing in the relative clause?
- Do the form and the intended meaning both fit?