National MDCAT English Syllabus

What are the main types of adverbs?

Adverbs of manner, place, time, frequency, and degree.

Which prepositions of time are used with points in time versus longer periods? Give examples.

'At' for precise times (at 5 o'clock), 'on' for days/dates (on Monday), and 'in' for months, years, and longer periods (in June, in 2026).

What is the function of a semicolon (;)?

A semicolon joins two closely related independent clauses without a conjunction, or separates items in a list that already contains commas.

What are transitional devices and give three examples of contrast transitions.

Transitional devices (linking words) connect ideas to show relationships; contrast examples: however, nevertheless, on the other hand.

What punctuation is used before a list, an explanation, or a quotation introduced formally?

A colon (:), e.g., 'She bought three things: bread, milk, and eggs.'

What transitional words signal addition, and which signal cause-and-effect?

Addition: moreover, furthermore, in addition. Cause-and-effect: therefore, thus, consequently.

What is sentence inversion in English?

Inversion is reversing the normal subject-verb order, usually placing the verb/auxiliary before the subject for emphasis, questions, or after negative adverbials.

Give an example of inversion after a negative adverbial.

'Never have I seen such a sight.' (Normal: 'I have never seen...') Inversion follows negatives like never, seldom, rarely, hardly, no sooner.

What are the four basic sentence structures by clause composition?

Simple (one independent clause), compound (two+ independent clauses), complex (one independent + one+ dependent clause), and compound-complex.

How is the passive voice formed?

Form of 'to be' (am/is/are/was/were/been) + past participle (V3), with the object of the active sentence becoming the subject (e.g., 'The letter was written by him').

How do you convert an active sentence to passive?

Make the active object the new subject, change the verb to 'be + past participle' matching tense, and optionally add the original subject after 'by'.

In passive voice, what happens to the agent (doer of the action)?

The agent is introduced by 'by' and is often omitted when unknown, unimportant, or obvious (e.g., 'The window was broken').

What are the key changes when converting direct speech to indirect (reported) speech?

Remove quotation marks, often add 'that', back-shift the tense, and change pronouns and time/place words (e.g., now to then, today to that day).

In reported speech, how does 'present simple' back-shift?

Present simple becomes past simple (e.g., 'I work' to 'He said that he worked').

How are questions reported in indirect speech?

Use the reporting verb 'asked', keep statement word order (subject before verb), drop the question mark; yes/no questions use 'if'/'whether', wh-questions keep the question word.

What reporting verb and structure are used for commands and requests in indirect speech?

Use 'told'/'ordered'/'asked' + object + to-infinitive (e.g., 'He told me to sit down'); negatives use 'not to'.

What is proofreading in the writing process?

Proofreading is the final careful reading of a text to catch and correct surface errors in spelling, punctuation, grammar, and capitalization.

How does editing differ from proofreading?

Editing improves content, clarity, organization, word choice, and sentence flow; proofreading only corrects surface mechanical errors at the final stage.

What is a sentence fragment and why is it a faulty structure?

A fragment is an incomplete sentence lacking a subject, a complete verb, or a complete thought; it cannot stand alone as a sentence.

What is a run-on sentence and a comma splice?

A run-on joins two independent clauses with no punctuation/conjunction; a comma splice joins them with only a comma — both are faulty and need a period, semicolon, or conjunction.

What is a dangling modifier?

A dangling modifier is a descriptive phrase that does not clearly or logically modify any word in the sentence (e.g., 'Walking home, the rain started').

State the basic rule of subject-verb agreement.

A verb must agree with its subject in number and person: singular subjects take singular verbs, plural subjects take plural verbs.

When subjects are joined by 'or'/'nor', how is the verb made to agree?

The verb agrees with the subject nearer to it (e.g., 'Neither the teacher nor the students were late').

Do subjects joined by 'and' usually take a singular or plural verb?

Plural (e.g., 'Tom and Jerry are friends'), unless the two nouns refer to a single unit (e.g., 'Bread and butter is my breakfast').

What verb form do collective nouns (team, family, committee) take?

Singular when acting as one unit ('The team wins'); plural when members act individually ('The team are arguing among themselves').

How do words like 'each', 'either', 'neither', and 'everyone' affect the verb?

They are singular and always take a singular verb (e.g., 'Each of the boys is present').

What is an 'error of function' in grammar correction questions?

An error of function is using a word as the wrong part of speech (e.g., using an adjective where an adverb is needed: 'He runs quick' instead of 'quickly').

Give a common spelling error pattern tested in MDCAT English and its rule.

The 'i before e except after c' rule (believe, receive); and doubling the final consonant before adding -ing/-ed in stressed CVC words (run to running, stop to stopped).

What is parallel structure (parallelism) and why does breaking it cause faulty sentences?

Parallelism means using the same grammatical form for items in a series; mixing forms (e.g., 'She likes reading, to swim, and dancing') creates a faulty, non-parallel sentence.

What is the difference in usage between 'few/fewer' and 'little/less'?

'Few/fewer' modify countable nouns (fewer books); 'little/less' modify uncountable nouns (less water). Misusing them is a common function error.

How do you correct a misplaced modifier?

Place the modifying word or phrase directly next to the word it is meant to describe (e.g., 'She almost drove for six hours' to 'She drove for almost six hours').