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30 cardsCollege English Test Band 4 (CET-4) - China

CET-4 Grammar Rules to Remember

Thirty short grammar rules with examples for the CET-4 grammar and error-spotting questions. Original study material.

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Present perfect or past simple with a finished time like 'yesterday'
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1
Present perfect or past simple with a finished time like 'yesterday'
Past simple. I saw him yesterday. (Never 'I have seen him yesterday'.)
2
'Since' and 'for' with the present perfect
'Since' + starting point (since 2019); 'for' + length of time (for six years).
3
Time clause about the future
Use the present simple, not 'will': I will call you when I arrive.
4
Real condition (first conditional)
If + present simple, will + verb: If it rains, we will stay in.
5
Unreal present condition
If + past simple, would + verb; 'were' for all persons: If I were you, I would go.
6
Unreal past condition
If + past perfect, would have + past participle: If she had left earlier, she would have caught it.
7
'Wish' about the present
Wish + past form: I wish I had more time.
8
'It is high time that'
Followed by a past form: It is high time we left.
9
Subjunctive after 'suggest', 'insist', 'demand', 'require'
Bare verb in the that-clause: He insisted that she go.
10
'Each', 'every', 'either', 'neither' as subjects
Singular verb: Each of the rooms has a view.
11
'The number of' and 'a number of'
'The number of' takes a singular verb; 'a number of' takes a plural verb.
12
Nearest-subject rule
With 'neither...nor', 'either...or', 'not only...but also' the verb agrees with the nearer subject.
13
Uncountable nouns that are often mistaken
information, advice, news, furniture, luggage, equipment: no plural, singular verb.
14
Verbs followed by -ing
enjoy, suggest, avoid, finish, mind, practise, consider, can't help.
15
Verbs followed by to-infinitive
decide, hope, plan, refuse, manage, afford, pretend, promise.
16
'Look forward to', 'be used to', 'object to'
'To' is a preposition here, so an -ing form follows.
17
'Forget', 'remember', 'stop' with infinitive or -ing
to-infinitive for a task still to do; -ing for something already done.
18
Comparatives of three or more
Use the superlative: the tallest of the three, not 'the taller'.
19
'The more... the more...'
Both comparatives take 'the'.
20
'Prefer A to B'
Use 'to', not 'than': I prefer tea to coffee.
21
'Not only' and 'hardly' at the start of a sentence
Invert the verb: Hardly had she arrived when...; Not only did he win...
22
'Although' and 'but'
Never use them together in one sentence.
23
'Despite' and 'in spite of'
'Despite' is never followed by 'of'.
24
'Because' and 'because of'
'Because' + clause; 'because of' + noun phrase.
25
Relative pronouns
who for people, which for things, whose for possession, that in restrictive clauses (not after a comma).
26
Indirect questions
Statement word order: She asked where I bought it.
27
'Boring' and 'bored'
-ing describes the cause (a boring film); -ed describes the feeling (I am bored).
28
'Say' and 'tell'
'Tell' needs a person object (told me); 'say' does not (said that).
29
'Married to', 'interested in', 'good at', 'famous for'
Fixed preposition patterns, learn them as pairs.
30
Participle at the start of a sentence
It must describe the subject of the main clause: Seen from the hill, the city looks small.

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