English and Verbal Ability

Subject-Verb Agreement; Common Errors in English; Vocabulary Building — Prefixes and Suffixes

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Subject-Verb Agreement

16.1 Basic Rule

Singular subject → Singular verb Plural subject → Plural verb

16.2 Special Cases

SituationRuleExample
Two subjects joined by 'and'Plural verbRam and Shyam are friends
Two singular subjects joined by 'or/nor'Singular verbRam or Shyam is responsible
Subject + (along with / together with)Verb agrees with main subjectThe teacher, along with students, was present
Collective nouns (acting as unit)Singular verbThe committee has decided
Collective nouns (acting as individuals)Plural verbThe team are arguing
Every/EachSingular verbEvery student likes the teacher
Either/NeitherSingular verbNeither of them is correct
NoneGenerally singular (but plural accepted)None of the students has come
Percentage/FractionVerb depends on noun after 'of'60% of the water is consumed
'There is/there are'Verb agrees with noun followingThere are many apples

Common Errors in English

17.2 Commonly Confused Words

WordMeaning
AcceptTo receive; to agree
ExceptTo exclude; other than
AffectTo influence (verb)
EffectA result (noun)
ThenAt that time / next
ThanComparison
TheirBelonging to them
ThereLocation
They'reThey are
ItsBelonging to it
It'sIt is
YourBelonging to you
You'reYou are
LayTo place/put (transitive)
LieTo recline (intransitive)
RiseTo go up (intransitive)
RaiseTo lift (transitive)
BesideNext to
BesidesIn addition to
AdviceNoun (a suggestion)
AdviseVerb (to give suggestions)
FartherPhysical distance
FurtherAdditional/metaphorical
FewerCountable nouns
LessUncountable nouns
PrincipalHead of institution; main
PrincipleA rule or belief

Vocabulary Building — Prefixes and Suffixes

18.1 Common Prefixes

PrefixMeaningExamples
un-Notunhappy, unable, unfair
dis-Not/oppositedisagree, disable, dishonest
im-/in-/ir-/il-Notimpossible, incorrect, irregular, illegal
mis-Wrongmisuse, mistake, mislead
re-Againredo, return, rebuild
pre-Beforepreview, predict, prepay
post-Afterpostwar, postpone
over-Too muchoverdo, overlook, overeat
under-Too little / belowunderestimate, underground
anti-Againstantidote, antisocial
inter-Betweeninternational, interact
multi-Manymulticultural, multilingual
semi-Halfsemicircle, semifinal
sub-Under/belowsubmarine, subway
super-Above/moresupernatural, superhuman
tele-Fartelephone, television
trans-Acrosstransport, translate
bi-Twobicycle, bilingual
mono-Onemonologue, monopoly
auto-Selfautobiography, autopilot

18.2 Common Suffixes

SuffixMeaningExamples
-fulFull ofhelpful, cheerful, beautiful
-lessWithouthelpless, careless, hopeless
-nessState ofhappiness, sadness, darkness
-mentAct/result ofmovement, enjoyment, development
-tion/-sionAct/state ofeducation, expansion, pollution
-er/-orPerson whoteacher, actor, writer
-able/-ibleCan be donereadable, flexible
-istPerson practicingdentist, artist, journalist
-ismDoctrine/beliefcapitalism, nationalism
-ifyTo makepurify, simplify, classify
-izeTo make/becomeorganize, realize, minimize
-ologyStudy ofbiology, psychology, geology
-ity/-tyQuality/stateability, safety, necessity
-alRelating tonatural, personal, national
-ous/-iousHaving qualityfamous, curious, ambitious
-lyIn a mannerquickly, happily, carefully

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