III. Grammar & Vocabulary — Hub + Quick-Revision Sheet (20 marks) — English (Precis & Composition)

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Syllabus: Correct usage of Tense, Articles, Prepositions, Conjunctions, Punctuation, Phrasal Verbs, Synonyms and Antonyms, etc. The same rules are silently re-marked in your précis, comprehension and translation.

📂 Topic Subpages

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Each topic has its own detailed subpage with rules, traps and a self-marking exercise. Everything below the divider on this page is a one-page quick-revision sheet for the night before the exam.

#	Subpage	What's inside
1	1. Tenses, Sequence of Tense & Conditionals	12 tenses with signal words, stative verbs, sequence of tense, all conditionals, wish / it's time / used to, 28 exercises
2	2. Subject–Verb Agreement — 25 Rules	25 agreement rules, 15 exercises
3	3. Articles — A, An, The & Zero Article	a/an by sound, every "the" category, zero article, meaning changes, 30 blanks
4	4. Prepositions — Time, Place, Confusables & 90 Fixed Prepositions	time/place/movement, 90 fixed prepositions, no-preposition errors, 20 blanks
5	5. Conjunctions, Connectors & Sentence Combining	12 tested rules, connectors, relative pronouns, sentence combining
6	6. Punctuation — Every Mark, Rules & Punctuate-the-Passage Drills	every mark, apostrophe table, capitals, punctuate-the-passage drills
7	7. Active/Passive Voice & Direct/Indirect Narration	voice across all tenses and special cases; narration for all sentence types
8	8. Synonyms & Antonyms — 100 CSS-Standard Words	100 words with best synonym and antonym, 15-word practice
9	9. Phrasal Verbs — 70 Exam-Frequent Verbs with Meanings & Sentences	70 phrasal verbs grouped by base verb
10	10. Idioms & Idiomatic Expressions — 80 with Sentences	80 CSS-style idioms with meanings and sentences, literal-meaning traps

Study order: Tenses → Subject–Verb Agreement → Articles → Prepositions (these four cause most lost marks across the whole paper) → Punctuation → Conjunctions → Voice/Narration → Idioms, Phrasal Verbs and Synonyms daily in small doses.

⚡ Quick-Revision Sheet

1. Tense Traps

❌ Wrong	✅ Right	Rule
I have seen him yesterday.	I saw him yesterday.	A finished past time marker (yesterday, ago, in 2019, last week) takes simple past.
He is living here since 2015.	He has been living here since 2015.	since/for with a continuing action → perfect continuous.
I am knowing the answer.	I know the answer.	Stative verbs (know, believe, understand, own, seem, prefer, contain) avoid -ing forms.
He said that he is ill.	He said that he was ill.	Sequence of tense: past reporting verb → past in the subordinate clause.
The teacher said that the earth moved round the sun.	…that the earth moves round the sun.	Exception: universal truths stay present.
If I would have known, I would have come.	If I had known, I would have come.	Third conditional: if with past perfect, would have with V3.
It is high time we leave.	It is high time we left.	It is (high) time takes the past subjunctive.
I wish I was a bird.	I wish I were a bird.	Unreal wish → were for all persons.
No sooner did he arrive when it rained.	No sooner had he arrived than it rained.	no sooner … than; hardly/scarcely … when.
I will call you when I will reach.	I will call you when I reach.	Time clauses use present for future meaning.

2. Subject–Verb Agreement in 8 Lines

each / every / either / neither / everyone / nobody → singular
as well as / along with / together with → verb follows the first subject
either…or / neither…nor → verb follows the nearer subject
one of the (plural noun) → singular verb; one of those who → plural verb
the number of → singular; a number of → plural
amounts, distances, periods as one unit → singular (Ten thousand rupees is…)
police, people, cattle, scissors → plural; news, mathematics, economics → singular
information, advice, furniture, luggage, equipment, scenery → never take -s

3. Articles in 6 Lines

a/an by sound: an hour, an MBA, an FIR · a university, a European, a one-rupee coin
the: unique things, superlatives, rivers, seas, mountain ranges, deserts, plural countries (the Indus, the Himalayas, the Thar, the USA), instruments, holy books
no article: single mountains and lakes, countries, cities, languages, meals, games, abstract nouns in general (Honesty is the best policy)
go to hospital/school/prison (for its purpose) vs go to the hospital (to visit)
few (hardly any) vs a few (some); little vs a little
advice, information, scenery → no a/an

4. Prepositions — Top 20

abstain from · accused of · acquitted of · adhere to · averse to · charged with · comply with · congratulate on · consist of · deprived of · devoid of · dispense with · entitled to · indifferent to · insist on · married to · prefer / superior / senior to · prevent from · rely on · tired of

Never add a preposition after: discuss, reach, enter (a room), order, return, emphasise, request (verb), resemble, marry.

5. Conjunction Pairs

though … (never but) · no sooner … than · hardly / scarcely … when · lest … should (never not) · unless / until (never with not) · neither … nor · either … or · both … and · not only … but also (keep parallel) · the reason … is that (never because)

6. Punctuation Checklist

Comma after an introductory clause; before and/but/so joining two full clauses
Commas around non-defining clauses (My father, who lives in Quetta, …); none around defining ones
No comma splice: It was late; we went home.
Semicolon before however/therefore, comma after it
No colon straight after a verb (The provinces are Punjab, …)
its = possessive, it's = it is; students' (plural), children's, men's
Hyphen in a compound adjective before a noun: a well-known writer
No question mark after an indirect question: He asked where I lived.

7. Voice & Narration in Brief

Passive = be (in the right tense) with V3: is written, is being written, has been written, was written, had been written, will be written
Imperative: Let the door be shut. Question: By whom was this written?
Narration backshift: is → was, has → had, past → past perfect, will → would, can → could; now → then, today → that day, tomorrow → the next day, yesterday → the previous day
Questions become statements: He asked me where I lived.
Commands: ordered / requested / advised … to (not to)

🧪 Self-Test (10 quick items)

Try these, then open the key
1. He is one of the best players who (has/have) ever played for Pakistan.
2. I prefer tea (than/to) coffee.
3. She has been ill (since/for) a week.
4. (A/An) European and (a/an) honest man arrived.
5. Hardly had he left (than/when) the phone rang.
6. The committee (has/have) submitted its report.
7. Walk carefully lest you (fall/should fall).
8. He was accused (for/of) theft.
9. The news (is/are) encouraging.
10. If she (had worked/would have worked) harder, she would have won.
Key: 1 have · 2 to · 3 for · 4 A, an · 5 when · 6 has · 7 should fall · 8 of · 9 is · 10 had worked

1. Tenses, Sequence of Tense & Conditionals

2. Subject–Verb Agreement — 25 Rules

3. Articles — A, An, The & Zero Article

4. Prepositions — Time, Place, Confusables & 90 Fixed Prepositions

5. Conjunctions, Connectors & Sentence Combining

6. Punctuation — Every Mark, Rules & Punctuate-the-Passage Drills

7. Active/Passive Voice & Direct/Indirect Narration

8. Synonyms & Antonyms — 100 CSS-Standard Words

9. Phrasal Verbs — 70 Exam-Frequent Verbs with Meanings & Sentences

10. Idioms & Idiomatic Expressions — 80 with Sentences