COMSATS NTS-based Test English Syllabus

What is a conjunction? Give examples.

A word that joins words, phrases, or clauses (e.g., and, but, or, because, although).

What is an interjection?

A word expressing sudden emotion, usually standing alone (e.g., Oh!, Wow!, Alas!).

How is the simple present tense formed and used?

Base verb (add -s/-es for he/she/it); used for habits, general truths, and routines (e.g., 'She writes daily').

How is the present continuous tense formed?

am/is/are + verb-ing; used for actions happening now (e.g., 'They are playing').

How is the present perfect tense formed and used?

has/have + past participle; used for actions completed at an unspecified time or continuing up to now (e.g., 'I have finished').

How is the simple past tense formed?

Verb in past form (-ed for regular verbs, or irregular form); used for completed past actions (e.g., 'He walked', 'She went').

How is the past continuous tense formed?

was/were + verb-ing; used for an ongoing past action (e.g., 'I was reading when he called').

How is the future simple tense formed?

will/shall + base verb (e.g., 'I will go tomorrow').

How is the past perfect tense used?

had + past participle; shows an action completed before another past action (e.g., 'She had left before I arrived').

What is the basic rule of subject-verb agreement?

A verb must agree with its subject in number: a singular subject takes a singular verb, and a plural subject takes a plural verb.

In subject-verb agreement, which verb form does a singular subject take in the present tense?

The verb with -s/-es (e.g., 'The boy runs').

When two subjects are joined by 'and,' is the verb singular or plural?

Plural (e.g., 'Ali and Sara are friends').

When subjects are joined by 'or'/'nor,' which subject does the verb agree with?

The verb agrees with the subject nearer to it (e.g., 'Neither the boys nor the teacher is here').

Do indefinite pronouns like 'each,' 'everyone,' and 'nobody' take singular or plural verbs?

Singular (e.g., 'Everyone is present').

What is a preposition? Give examples.

A word that shows the relationship of a noun/pronoun to another word, usually of time, place, or direction (e.g., in, on, at, under, between).

Which preposition is used for a specific point in time (e.g., a clock time)?

'at' (e.g., 'at 5 o'clock').

Which preposition is used with days of the week and dates?

'on' (e.g., 'on Monday', 'on 5th June').

Which preposition is used with months, years, and seasons?

'in' (e.g., 'in July', 'in 2026', 'in winter').

When are 'a' and 'an' used?

Indefinite articles for singular, non-specific nouns: 'a' before a consonant sound, 'an' before a vowel sound (e.g., 'a book', 'an apple', 'an hour').

When is the definite article 'the' used?

Before a specific or already-known noun, or a unique thing (e.g., 'the sun', 'the book I bought').

What is the main use of a comma?

To separate items in a list, set off clauses/phrases, or mark a pause (e.g., 'I bought apples, bananas, and grapes').

What is the function of a semicolon (;)?

To join two closely related independent clauses without a conjunction (e.g., 'It was late; we went home').

What is the function of an apostrophe?

To show possession ('Ali's book') or to mark a contraction ('don't' = do not).

What is the difference between a colon (:) and a semicolon (;)?

A colon introduces a list, explanation, or quotation; a semicolon links two related independent clauses.

What does a sentence-completion question test?

Your ability to choose the word(s) that best fit the meaning and grammar of a sentence with one or more blanks.

What is the recommended strategy for sentence-completion items?

Read the whole sentence for context clues (signal words like 'although', 'because'), predict the answer, then match it to the best option.

What is sentence correction in the NTS test?

Identifying and fixing grammatical, structural, or usage errors in a given sentence to make it correct.

Correct the sentence: 'He don't like tea.'

'He doesn't like tea.' (subject-verb agreement: he takes 'doesn't').

What does an error-identification question ask you to do?

Find the single underlined part of a sentence that contains a grammatical or usage error (or mark 'No error').

Identify and correct the error: 'Each of the students have a book.'

Error is 'have'; it should be 'has' because 'Each' is singular: 'Each of the students has a book.'