N(T) Language Use: The Questions Worth Easy Marks
Language Use is the friendliest part of the N(T) paper. The question types repeat year after year, and unlike comprehension there is usually one right answer that you either know or you do not.
That makes it worth drilling, because everything you learn stays learnt.
What keeps coming up
Verb tense
Choosing the right form for the time being described.
Subject–verb agreement
Singular subject takes a singular verb.
Prepositions
The small words: in, on, at, for, since, by.
Connectors
because, although, however, so that — joining ideas correctly.
Word forms
Turning one word into another: decide → decision.
Prepositions: learn them in pairs
Prepositions cannot be worked out logically. They have to be learnt as fixed pairs, which is good news — the list is short.
Learn these as whole phrases
Word forms: the four endings
Change the ending, change the job
They made a decide.
They made a decision.
She sang beautiful.
She sang beautifully.
The room was full of excite children.
The room was full of excited children.
His honest impressed everyone.
His honesty impressed everyone.
How to drill it
- Ten questions a night, always the same five types. Repetition is the point.
- Keep a single page of every preposition pair you get wrong. Reread it weekly.
- Say the whole phrase aloud, not the single word. Prepositions stick as sound patterns.
This is the section where four weeks of steady work shows up most clearly on the paper — and it is available to every candidate regardless of how strong their English is.
In preparation
The Sentence Repair Kit
Four editions built separately for Lower Secondary N(T), N(T), N(A) and O-Level — every error type in this article, drilled with worked repairs and exam-style practice. Ready in time for prelims.
Browse the Secondary range →
