How the task looks
Each item is one sentence or a short dialogue with one gap and four options:
“My new flat is three times as ______ as my old one.” — a) bigger b) big c) biggest d) more big
Only one option is correct. The items do not follow one topic: one question checks an article, the next one a pronoun, the next one a comparison. So the first job is to recognise the topic.
Step-by-step method
- Compare the four options. What is different between them? That is the topic of the question (see the table below).
- Read the whole sentence, both sides of the gap, and in a dialogue — both lines. The second line often answers the first one, so its grammar depends on it.
- Find the key word that controls the gap: the noun after it, the verb before it, than or as later in the sentence, a negative word.
- Put each option in the gap and read the full sentence. Usually two options are clearly wrong, and you choose between the other two using the rule.
- Check that the sentence is grammatically complete and makes sense.
| If the options differ in… | The topic is… |
|---|---|
| a / an / the / – | articles |
| himself / itself / themselves / them | pronouns |
| much / many / few / little | quantity |
| heavy / heavier / heaviest | comparison |
| good / well | adjective or adverb |
| So do I / Neither do I | short answers |
Symbols used below
S = subject; V1 = base form (go); V3 = past participle (gone); V-ing = -ing form (going).
Articles: a / an / the / no article
| Article | When | Example |
|---|---|---|
| a / an | one thing of a kind, not specific; first mention; job | I saw a dog. She is a doctor. |
| the | a specific thing, already known, the only one | The dog was black. The sun is hot. |
| no article | general plural or uncountable nouns; names; meals; school, home, work (as activity) | Dogs are friendly. Water is important. |
A or an depends on the sound, not the letter: an hour, an honest man, an MP3 — but a university, a European, a one-way ticket.
Fixed expressions with a: have a good time, have a difficult time, a lot of, a few, a little, such a, what a…!, twice a week.
✗ She found a good work. → ✓ She found a good job. (work is uncountable; job is countable)
✗ My brother goes to the school by bus. → ✓ My brother goes to school by bus. (school as learning, not a particular building)
Articles with names
| No article | With the |
|---|---|
| most countries: Armenia, France | countries with a plural or “state/kingdom/republic”: the USA, the UK, the Netherlands |
| single mountains: Ararat, Mount Everest, Mount Kilimanjaro | mountain ranges: the Alps, the Caucasus |
| lakes: Lake Sevan | rivers, seas, oceans: the Nile, the Black Sea, the Pacific |
| cities, streets, squares: Yerevan, Oxford Street | deserts, groups of islands: the Sahara, the Canaries |
| continents: Europe, Asia | hotels, museums, theatres: the Louvre, the Hilton |
| people’s names: Tolstoy | one of several people with the same name: the Smith who lives next door (not the other Smith) |
✗ the Mount Ararat → ✓ Mount Ararat or Ararat.
Countable and uncountable nouns, quantity words
Uncountable nouns have no plural and do not take a/an: information, advice, news, furniture, luggage, money, work, knowledge, progress, weather, homework, equipment. To count them: a piece of advice, an item of news.
| With plural countable nouns | With uncountable nouns | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| many | much | a large amount (often in questions and negatives) |
| a few | a little | some, enough (positive) |
| few | little | almost none (negative) |
| fewer | less | a smaller number / amount |
| a number of | an amount of | a quantity |
| a lot of / lots of / plenty of | a lot of / lots of / plenty of | both |
I have a few friends here — I am not alone. I have few friends here — I am lonely.
All, every, each, both, either, neither, none
| Word | Used with | Verb | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| every | singular noun, a group of 3+ | singular | Every student has a book. |
| each | singular noun / each of + plural noun; one by one | singular | Each of the girls has her own room. |
| all | plural or uncountable; all (of) the… | plural / singular for uncountable | All the tickets were sold. |
| both | two things | plural | Both brothers are tall. |
| either / neither | one of two / none of two | singular | Neither answer is correct. |
| none of | none from a group | singular or plural | None of the students knew it. |
✗ every of tickets → ✓ each of the tickets / all the tickets. (every never takes of)
Pronouns
| Subject | Object | Possessive + noun | Possessive alone | Reflexive |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | me | my | mine | myself |
| you | you | your | yours | yourself / yourselves |
| he | him | his | his | himself |
| she | her | her | hers | herself |
| it | it | its | — | itself |
| we | us | our | ours | ourselves |
| they | them | their | theirs | themselves |
- A reflexive pronoun is used when the subject and the object are the same person: She hurt herself. We enjoyed ourselves. After everyone / no one / nobody the pronoun is usually they / them / themselves: Everybody enjoyed themselves.
- Each other / one another = mutual action between two or more people: They looked at each other. (A looked at B, and B at A.)
- Its (no apostrophe) = possessive; it’s = it is / it has.
- After a preposition use the object form: between you and me, not between you and I.
Possessive ’s with two people: Tom and Mary’s house — one house that belongs to both. Tom’s and Mary’s cars — each has his or her own car.
Short answers: so, neither, too, either
To agree with a positive sentence: So + auxiliary + subject or … too. To agree with a negative sentence: Neither / Nor + auxiliary + subject or … not … either.
The auxiliary must match the first sentence: be → be, a modal → the same modal, no auxiliary → do/does/did.
“I couldn’t sleep last night.” — “Neither could I.” (negative → neither; could → could)
“I love jazz.” — “So do I.” (no auxiliary in Present Simple → do)
“She has been to Rome.” — “So have I.”
“I don’t like horror films.” — “I don’t like them, either.” (negative → either, not too)
✗ Nor I can. → ✓ Nor can I. (inversion after so/neither/nor)
Reply questions show interest or surprise and repeat the auxiliary of the first sentence: “They moved to Canada.” — “Did they?” “I’m not tired.” — “Aren’t you?”
Adjective or adverb?
An adjective describes a noun: a careful driver, she is happy. An adverb describes a verb, an adjective or another adverb: she drives carefully, extremely cold.
After linking verbs — be, become, seem, look, feel, sound, smell, taste, get — use an adjective, because it describes the subject: The soup smells good. She looks tired.
| Adjective | Adverb | Be careful |
|---|---|---|
| good | well | She speaks English well. I feel well = I am healthy |
| hard | hard | hardly = almost not: I can hardly hear you. |
| late | late | lately = recently |
| fast | fast | ✗ fastly |
| friendly, lovely, lonely, silly | in a friendly way | these -ly words are adjectives |
Fixed phrase: as usual (✗ as usually).
Comparison
| Form | Short adjectives | Long adjectives | Irregular |
|---|---|---|---|
| comparative | cheaper, bigger, easier | more expensive | better, worse, farther/further, more, less |
| superlative | the cheapest, the biggest | the most expensive | the best, the worst, the most, the least |
| Pattern | Example |
|---|---|
| comparative + than | This road is shorter than that one. |
| as + adjective + as | He is as tall as his father. |
| not as/so + adjective + as | It is not as cold as yesterday. |
| twice / three times + as + adjective + as | My room is three times as big as yours. |
| the + comparative…, the + comparative… | The more you practise, the better you get. |
| the + superlative + of / in | the best of all; the tallest in the class |
| of all + plural noun, superlative | Of all the films I have seen, this one is the funniest. |
✗ more easier, ✗ the most cleverest → never double the comparison.
✗ three times bigger as → ✓ three times as big as.
Strengthen a comparative with much, far, a lot, even: much better (✗ very better).
Verb patterns that appear often
- used to + V1 — a past habit that no longer exists: He used to play football every Sunday.
- be / get used to + V-ing or noun — be accustomed: I am used to getting up early.
- make / let + object + V1 (no to): What made you change your mind? (✗ made you to change)
- would like + to + V1 / noun — a polite offer: Would you like more tea?
- had better + V1 — advice: You had better go.
- It’s worth + V-ing, can’t help + V-ing, look forward to + V-ing.
More verb patterns are in Section 5.
Inversion after negative and limiting words
When a sentence starts with certain words, the auxiliary comes before the subject, as in a question:
| Beginning | Example |
|---|---|
| Not only … but also | Not only is she clever, but she is also very kind. |
| Never / Rarely / Seldom | Never have I seen such a view. |
| Hardly / Scarcely … when | Hardly had we arrived when it began to rain. |
| No sooner … than | No sooner had she left than the phone rang. |
| Only then / Only after | Only then did I understand. |
| So + adjective | So cold was the water that nobody went swimming. |
| Such | Such was his anger that he could not speak. |
Fixed phrases worth learning
at the age of five · on foot · by bus / by car · in time / on time · on purpose · by chance · as usual · in the end / at the end of · everyone but (= except) Tom · make a mistake · make a decision · do homework · do your best · take part in · pay attention to · give up (= stop) · put up with (= tolerate) · take up (= start a hobby) · put on (clothes) · look after · look for
Relative words: a short reminder
who — people; which — things; whose — possession (the man whose car was stolen); where — place; when — time; that — people or things in defining clauses. Full rules are in Section 5.
The most common traps
| ✗ Wrong | ✓ Correct | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| an university | a university | a/an by sound |
| the Mount Ararat | Mount Ararat | no article with single mountains |
| a good work | a good job | work is uncountable |
| every of them | each of them | every never takes of |
| Nor I can. | Nor can I. | inversion after nor |
| I don’t want, too. | I don’t want to, either. | negative → either |
| She speaks English very good. | She speaks English very well. | adverb for a verb |
| more easier | easier | no double comparative |
| three times bigger as | three times as big as | as … as |
| made me to wait | made me wait | make + object + V1 |
| at age of five | at the age of five | fixed phrase |
| between you and I | between you and me | object form after a preposition |
Worked examples
1. “The guests served ______ from the big table.”
a) himself b) itself c) themselves d) them
The subject and the object are the same people → reflexive. Guests is plural → themselves. Them would mean other people.
2. “I can’t swim.” “______.”
a) So can I b) Neither can’t I c) Neither can I d) I can’t too
Negative sentence → neither. Can → can. Neither already makes it negative, so no not after it.
3. Of the two sisters, Mary is ______.
a) the tallest b) the taller c) taller d) more tall
With exactly two people, formal English uses the comparative with the: the taller of the two.
4. We went to ______ Louvre when we were in ______ Paris.
a) the / the b) – / the c) the / – d) – / –
Museums take the; cities take no article.
Final checklist
- What is different between the four options? Which rule is tested?
- Have I read the whole sentence and, in a dialogue, both lines?
- Articles: countable or uncountable? specific or general? a/an by sound?
- Quantity: countable (many, few) or uncountable (much, little)?
- Short answer: positive (so, too) or negative (neither, either)? the same auxiliary?
- After a linking verb — adjective; with an action verb — adverb?
- Comparison: than / as … as / the … the — no double comparative?
- Does the full sentence sound complete and logical?