Grammar

A. Commonly mistaken words

Go through this list a few times and make sure that you know them prior to the test

Here’s a quick-reference list of pairs of words that regularly cause people problems. The words follow the accepted British English spelling. Some of them do have alternative American spellings and you will find these at the main dictionary entry on this website.

Word 1	Meaning	Word 2	Meaning
accept	to agree to receive or do	except	not including
adverse	unfavourable, harmful	averse	strongly disliking; opposed
advice (n)	recommendations about what to do	advise (v)	to recommend something
affect	to change or make a difference to	effect	a result; to bring about a result
aisle	a passage between rows of seats	isle	an island
all together	all in one place, all at once	altogether	completely; on the whole
along	moving or extending horizontally on	a long	referring to something of great length
aloud	out loud	allowed	permitted
altar	a sacred table in a church	alter	to change
amoral	not concerned with right or wrong	immoral	not following accepted moral standards
appraise	to assess	apprise	to inform someone
assent	agreement, approval	ascent	the action of rising or climbing up
aural	relating to the ears or hearing	oral	relating to the mouth; spoken
bare	naked; to uncover	bear	to carry; to put up with
born	having started life	borne	carried
brake	a device for stopping a vehicle; to stop a vehicle	break	to separate into pieces; a pause
breach	to break through, or break a rule; a gap	breech	the back part of a gun barrel
broach	to raise a subject for discussion	brooch	a piece of jewellery
cereal	a grass producing an edible grain; a breakfast food made from grains	serial	happening in a series
chord	a group of musical notes	cord	a length of string; a cord-like body part
climactic	forming a climax	climatic	relating to climate
coarse	rough	course	a direction; a school subject; part of a meal
complacent	smug and self-satisfied	complaisant	willing to please
complement	to add to so as to improve; an addition that improves something	compliment	to praise or express approval; an admiring remark
council	a group of people who manage or advise	counsel	advice; to advise
cue	a signal for action; a wooden rod	queue	a line of people or vehicles
currant	a dried grape	current	happening now; a flow of water, air, or electricity
defuse	to make a situation less tense	diffuse	to spread over a wide area
desert	a waterless, empty area; to abandon someone	dessert	the sweet course of a meal
discreet	careful not to attract attention	discrete	separate and distinct
disinterested	impartial	uninterested	not interested
elicit	to draw out a reply or reaction	illicit	not allowed by law or rules
ensure	to make certain that something will happen	insure	to provide compensation if a person dies or property is damaged
foreword	an introduction to a book	forward	onwards, ahead
imply	to suggest indirectly	infer	to draw a conclusion
loath	reluctant, unwilling	loathe	to hate
loose	to unfasten; to set free	lose	to be deprived of; to be unable to find
meter	a measuring device	metre	a metric unit; rhythm in verse
militate	to be a powerful factor against	mitigate	to make less severe
pole	a long, slender piece of wood	poll	voting in an election
pour	to flow or cause to flow	pore	a tiny opening; to study something closely
prescribe	to authorize use of medicine; to order authoritatively	proscribe	to officially forbid something
principal	most important; the head of a school	principle	a fundamental rule or belief
sceptic	a person inclined to doubt	septic	infected with bacteria
sight	the ability to see	site	a location
stationary	not moving	stationery	writing materials

B. Who vs Whom

Who – Subject of Verb

The word who can only be used when it is the subject of a verb. That might sound confusing, but it just means it is like the words I, he, she, we, and they. Just like who, each of these words can only be the subject of a verb. 
Examples:

• Who paid for the meal? 
(Who is the subject of the verb to pay.) 
• I have not seen the man who lives in the hut by the beach for a week. 
(Who is the subject of the verb to live.)
• I wonder who is in charge. 
(Who is the subject of the verb to be; i.e., who is.)
• Sarah gave the tickets to who? 
(Sarah is the subject of to give, but who is not the subject of any verb. Therefore, you cannot use who. It should be whom. This is like saying Sarah gave the tickets to he. )
• Do you know the boy who rang the bell? 



Whom Is Never the Subject of a Verb

Whom is never the subject of a verb. (Who, on the other hand, is always the subject of a verb.)

Examples:
• You sat by whom all night? 
(In this example, whomis not the subject of any verb. You is the subject of to sit.) 
• She is a wistful recluse whom lives near the river. 
(Whom cannot be the subject of the verb to live. It should be who.)
• Claire saw whom yesterday? 
(In this example, whom is not the subject of any verb. Claire is the subject of to see.) 
• Kelvin was with whom? 

Whom after Prepositions

Always use whom after prepositions. 
• You have a child by whom? 
(by – preposition)
• With whom did you see Janice? 
(with – preposition)
• That is the lady to whom I made the promise. 
(to – preposition)
 
• That is the lady whom I made the promise to. 

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C. Raise or Rise?

The verbs raise and rise both refer to something going "up". The main difference between them is thatraise is transitive (it must have a direct object) and rise is intransitive (no direct object).

• Something raises something.
• Something rises.

We also note that:

• raise is regular: raise, raised, raised
• rise is irregular: rise, rose, risen

Raise

If you raise something, it means that you elevate it - you move it up or lift it to a higher level.

• The government plans to raise the age of retirement from 65 to 67.
• If you have a question, please raise your hand.
• Mary raises her voice when she's angry.
• He raised his eyebrows, as if surprised.
• They have raised their prices every year since they were founded.
• The king's men were raising the drawbridge when it collapsed.

Rise

If something rises, it means that it elevates itself - it goes up itself. No external force is needed to lift it. But note that there is not always a physical movement; sometimes the meaning is just "to increase".

• I like to rise at 6am, but my husband stays in bed until 8am.
• If it doesn't stop raining, the river will rise and overflow.
• Hot air rises.
• John rose from his chair when Mary walked in.
• Jane has risen in her company very quickly and is now CEO.
• Prices are rising all the time.

To help you compare the meanings, here are some examples with raise and rise in the same sentence:

• We raise the flag when the sun rises, and we lower it when the sun goes down.
• Whenever our commanding officer comes in, we rise from our chairs and raise our hands in salute.
• The helicopter rose into the air, raising the survivors out of the water.

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Beside

The word beside is a preposition. It means close to or next to.

Examples:

 Come and sit beside me. 

 Your hat is beside the dog basket. 

Besides

The preposition besides means in addition to or apart from.  As an adverb, it means furthermore or another thing.

Examples:

 Besides Craig, who else caught a bass? 
(Besides is a preposition in this example. Apart from Craig, who else...)

 Besides, it's not just about determination. 
(Besides is an adverb in this example. Furthermore, it's not just...) 

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Phrasal Verbs
Here is a link to a long list of common phrasal verbs that you should review and learn before taking the test: http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/phrasals.htm