Grammar Rules

Grammar matters in the PTE reading test. Therefore, you have to build strong grammar skills. The
following ten crucial PTE grammar rules will help you:

Rule 1: Have/has/had + past participle tense (V3)

After have/has/had, choose the past participle of a verb with the form -ed or the third form.

Example:

The project has been accepted by the manager.

Alan had finished his project right before the deadline last week.

I have worked as a nurse for 15 years.

Rule 2: Am/is/are/was/were + past participle tense (V3)

After am/is/are/was/were, choose the past participle of a verb with the form -ed or the third form.

Example:

The customer team is assigned lots of tasks.

Our company was bought by a big corporation last month.

However, the verb is sometimes the first form after is/am/are/was/were.

Example:

Kim was sleeping when the bell rang.

My friends are coming to Lily’s wedding party.

Rule 3: Be/being/been+ past participle tense (V3)

After be/been/being, choose the past participle of a verb with the form -ed or the third form.

Example:

Her favourite vase has been broken by her little daughter.

Rule 4: Preposition ‘to’ + first form of the verb (V1)

After the preposition “to”, choose a verb in the present or first form of the verb.

Example:

She wants to register for a nursing course in Australia.

Rule 5: Preposition with, of, for, about + verb-ing

After the prepositions ‘with’, ‘of’, ‘for’, and ‘about’ (except for ‘to’), use verbs ending in ‘-ing’.

Example:

He was sorry for not picking me up.

My son dreamed of becoming an astronaut in the future.

There are two types of articles:

• The definite article ‘The’

• The indefinite article ‘a’, ‘an’

‘A’ or ‘an’ frequently appears before ‘the’ before the same noun in a paragraph.

Remember that nouns always come after articles. So, if the blank comes after a/an/the, you can
immediately identify the noun from the list of options.

Here are the 3 Article Rules:

1. “An” comes before words that begin with a vowel sound—five vowels” a, e, i, o, u.

Example: an aeroplane, an orange, an egg

1. “A” comes before words that begin with consonants.

Example: a cat, a house, a tree

1. ‘The’ appears before noun forms to emphasize that the reader knows the noun’s identity.

Example: “I will buy the car which comes with a high-class interior“. The speaker means a specific car
that is mentioned before.

Rule 7: Article a/an/the + adjective + noun

While rule 6 indicates that a/an/the comes with nouns, they may additionally occur with noun
phrases (adjective + noun).

If there is a space between an article and a noun, you can add an adjective to fill it.

Example: a high mountain, an unforgettable memory

Rule 8: Modal verb + first form of the verb

can/ could/shall/should/may/might/will/ would/must/have to + first verb form

A modal verb (or modal auxiliary verb) expresses the certainty and uncertainty of action.

Example:

You must park your car in the parking zone.

Jack can finish the task before this weekend.

My sister should prepare well before the exam date.

Rule 9: Many + Plural nouns

After ‘many’, use a plural noun to fill in the gap. The plural form of a noun will always end with “s or
es”.

Example:

Many birds were startled by the sound of gunfire.

The verb form must remain consistent before and after a conjunction

Example:

I will quit this job and start a new career in Australia.

Other rules

Remember the above ten key rules may help you score 80+ on the Reading test. Plus, note some
other common rules to maximize your score.

• Don’t use “with” with “being”.

• Use “in” for cars and taxis; “on” for bicycles and public transit.

• Use “at” for a specific address; at a general location (at the station); “in” for cities and towns
(in New York)

• Use “at” with times (at 5 am); “on” with dates and days (on 12th May); “in” for longer
periods (in 1999).

• Use “until or till” (until next year) to express how long a situation continues.

• Use “for a period of time” (for one year) to express how long something lasts.

• Use “during+noun” (during the exam) to describe when something occurs.

• Use a noun with a preposition (for example, the reason for).

• “Despite” or “in spite of” goes with a noun, a pronoun, or –ing. “Although” comes before a
clause.

• “In time” means early enough to do something. “On time” means not late, punctual.

Conclusion

Grammar rules are easy to memorize, but you need to spend time and practice.