Top 20 Grammar Rules Cheat Sheet & Quick Revision Notes

Short on time before your NIMCET mock test? This 10-minute grammar cheat sheet summarizes the top 20 high-frequency English rules tested in NIMCET Error Spotting and Sentence Correction questions.

Rules 1 to 5: Subject-Verb Agreement & Quantifiers

1. One of the + Plural Noun + Singular Verb:
   • Example: One of the students is absent today.
2. A Number of vs The Number of:
   • A number of + Plural Verb $\rightarrow$ A number of students were present.
   • The number of + Singular Verb $ightarrow$ The number of applicants is high.
3. Collective Nouns: Take singular verbs when acting as a single unit; take plural verbs when divided in opinion.
   • Example: The jury has reached a verdict. / The jury were divided in their opinions.
4. Distributive Pronouns: Each, Every, Either, Neither, Everyone always take singular verbs.
   • Example: Every boy and girl was given a certificate.
5. Neither / Either Count Rules: Use Neither/Either for exactly 2 persons/things; use None/Any for more than 2.
   • Example: Neither of his two sons (2) $\mid$ None of his five sons ($>2$).

Rules 6 to 10: Adverbs, Inversion & Conditionals

6. Negative Adverb Inversion: Placing restrictive adverbs (Hardly, Scarcely, Seldom, Barely, Rarely) at sentence start requires subject-auxiliary inversion.
   • Formula: $\text{Hardly} + \text{had} + \text{Subject} + \text{V3} \dots + \text{when} + \text{V2}$.
7. Correlative Adverb Pairing:
   • Hardly / Scarcely pairs with when (NEVER than).
   • No sooner pairs with than (NEVER when or then).
8. Third Conditional Rule:
   • Structure: $If + \text{had + V3}, \dots \text{would have + V3}$.
   • Example: If he had left early, he would have caught the train.
9. Lest... Should Rule: Lest means "for fear that" and is always followed by should (or subjunctive V1). It is inherently negative, so do not add not.
   • Example: Run fast lest you should miss the bus.
10. It is High Time Rule: It is time / It is high time followed by a subject takes a past subjunctive verb (V2).
    • Example: It is high time we started studying.

Rules 11 to 15: Adjectives, Comparatives & Modifiers

11. Double Comparatives: Avoid using double comparatives or superlatives.
    • Incorrect: He is more taller than me. $\rightarrow$ Correct: He is taller than me.
12. Comparative Preposition 'To': Adjectives ending in -ior (senior, junior, superior, inferior, prior) take to instead of than.
    • Example: He is senior to me by two years.
13. Hyphenated Compound Adjectives: Never pluralize compound adjectives.
    • Example: A five-year-old boy (NOT five-years-old); A ten-rupee note.
14. Prefer... To: Prefer takes to when comparing two nouns.
    • Example: I prefer tea to coffee.
15. Dangling Participles: Ensure opening participial phrases modify the correct main subject.

Rules 16 to 20: Prepositions, Pronouns & Uncountable Nouns

16. No Prepositions with Transitive Verbs: Omit prepositions after discuss, enter, order, resemble, accompany.
    • Correct: We discussed the plan (NOT discussed about).
17. Objective Case Pronouns: Use objective pronouns (me, him, her, us, them) after prepositions.
    • Example: Between you and me (NOT between you and I).
18. Uncountable Nouns: Nouns like information, furniture, advice, luggage, poetry, equipment are uncountable and strictly singular.
    • Incorrect: He gave me many advices. $\rightarrow$ Correct: He gave me much advice (or pieces of advice).
19. Quantifiers for Countable vs Uncountable:
    • Use Many / Few / Fewer with Countable nouns.
    • Use Much / Little / Less with Uncountable nouns.
20. Ordinal Articles: Use definite article the with ordinal numbers (the first, the second), but omit with cardinal numbers (chapter one).

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q1: What is the rule for "No sooner... than" in NIMCET error spotting?

A: "No sooner" requires subject-auxiliary inversion (did + V1 or had + V3) and must strictly pair with than (e.g., "No sooner had I arrived than the meeting started").

Q2: Is "information" ever used as "informations" in grammatically correct English?

A: No, "information" is an uncountable noun and has no plural form. To express plurality, use "pieces of information".

Q3: What verb follows "One of the students who..."?

A: When "who/that" relative pronoun is present, the verb agrees with the plural antecedent noun (students), taking a plural verb (e.g., "One of the students who were selected"). Without "who", it takes a singular verb ("One of the students is selected").

Q4: Why is "prefer coffee than tea" wrong?

A: The verb prefer strictly takes the preposition to when making comparisons between two items (e.g., "I prefer coffee to tea").