TOEFL Grammar Essentials: A Focus in Exam Preparation

A focused preparation for any language eligibility exam brings with it the challenge of grammatical accuracy in that language. So, preparing for the TOEFL exam and scoring high in it, would obviously be difficult without having TOEFL grammar accuracy or required knowledge of English grammar for the TOEFL exam. In this article, we shall check some important English grammar for TOEFL exam concepts that you should be clear with and also in which module of TOEFL exam they are most useful and applicable.

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1. Top 10 Grammar Rules to Ace Your TOEFL Exam
2. Use of English Grammar for TOEFL exam:
3. TOEFL eBooks

Top 10 Grammar Rules to Ace Your TOEFL Exam

TOEFL Grammar Rules: To score well the candidate must work on their grammar as grammar holds immense weight in achieving a desirable score on the TOEFL exam. The four sections of the TOEFL exam are reading, listening, speaking and writing assess the candidate's understanding and application of different grammar rules. The usage of incorrect grammar can significantly impact the candidate’s overall performance. Therefore, focusing on key grammatical areas can significantly strengthen the candidate’s preparation and pave the way for TOEFL success.
Here are some essential TOEFL grammar rules and concepts to keep in mind during the preparation and in the exam.

1. Verbs and Tenses

It is essential to know what verbs are and how they should be used. One should know the accurate way of presenting verbs in past, present and future forms so that the sentence is understood in the right way.

2. Subject-verb- agreement

Most of the non-native English users suffer from this particular aspect. Students get confused in using have/had in the right way, using plural verbs and also matching the subject of the sentence with the verb to make correct sense.

For example: If you have to write something in past and you write it using the present tense of verbs, the language accuracy falls down and so does your score.

Giving an example of something in past, you would write it as:

“I had a meeting yesterday” … now if the same is written as “I have a meeting yesterday” – the sentence and its meaning go completely wrong.

3. Appropriate knowledge of parts of speech

While you dedicatedly prepare for the TOEFL exam considering the requirements of TOEFL grammar, you should have a glance at all parts of speech to recapitulate all the concepts.

Parts of speech are:

· Noun- the naming words

· Pronoun- check the difference between personal pronouns ( I, you, he, she, it, we, they), possessive pronouns (mine, your, his, her, our, their), reflexive pronouns (myself, yourself, himself) and relative pronouns (who, whom, whose, which, that) and remember that in academic writing you should always avoid using personal and possessive pronouns and must use the 3rd form of pronouns to write the sentence.

· Verb- understand the relation of verbs with helping verbs to make suitable sentences.

· Adjective- make a list to add better description to your writing

· Adverb- a mix of adjectives and adverbs used properly gives you a high score

· Preposition- understand the proper use of positional words to be used for places, to express time, movement and relationship.

· Conjunction- the effective practice of using coordinating conjunctions (but, and, or), subordinating conjunctions (although, while, since, because) and correlative conjunctions (either…or, neither…nor) helps you develop and organize your ideas in a perfect manner

· Interjection- A little less used, however, it makes your speaking part very impressive.

4. Importance of Using Continuous Aspect

To refer to a temporary or progressive action you can use the continuous aspect. Generally, the continuous aspects the past and present continuous, are particularly useful for describing actions that are ongoing at or around a specific point in time. But in TOEFL speaking or writing tasks, it’s important to carefully consider the specific action you’re aiming to convey through your verb choice. You should be sure that the chosen verb tense accurately reflects the ongoing nature of the action within the specified time frame.

Example:

• Ramesh is climbing that mountain right now.

• He has been reading for the past 30 minutes.

5. Usage of Definite Articles

Definite articles, or ‘the’ are used for denoting things/people/places.

Example:

• I bought a new bike yesterday. The bike broke down halfway through the journey.

• Thanks for giving me the novel. The novel was quite interesting.

6. Use Adjectives To Describe People/Places/Things

While describing some place/ something/someone you can use adjectives.

Let’s understand with the help of the sentence: I love action movies.

Here, the term ‘action’ describes the noun, i.e., ‘movies’. That being said, you can follow the following structure while using the adjectives: ‘(Noun) + to be + Adjective’

Examples:

• The egg curry is delicious.

• The play is boring

In the above examples, the terms ‘Delicious’ and ‘Boring’ describe the nouns, i.e egg curry and play.

7. Use Adverbs

To describe verbs, adjectives and other adverbs use can use adverbs. Adverbs are formed by adding ‘ly’ to adjectives. To understand better look at the example below:

‘Dannish plays golf energetically’. Here, the adverb ‘energetically’ describes the verb ‘plays’. You can even use adverbs to describe other adverbs. For example: He scorned her very harshly.

Here, the adverb ‘verb’ describes the adverb ‘harshly’.

8. Avoid Changing “Who,” “Whom” and “Which”

The interchanging of the terms ‘who’, ‘whom’ and ‘which’ can change the meaning of the sentence. You can use ‘who’ for referring to people, ‘which’ for things and ‘that’ for both people and things. For a better understanding check the examples below :

• The article which you wrote is lying on the table.

• The article that you wrote is lying on the table.

Both the above examples are grammatically correct as you can use either ‘which’ or ‘that’ for inanimate objects.

Now let’s understand the usage of who vs whom. You can use ‘who’ while referring to the subject of a clause and ‘whom’ for referring to the object of a clause.

For example:

• Whom are you going to call?

• Who wrote the message?

You must implement ‘who’, ‘which’, and ‘whom’ correctly in the TOEFL sections.

9. Avoid using Conditional or Time Clauses While Referring to the Future

While referring to the future you should avoid using time or conditional causes. For example, you should refrain from using ‘would’ or ‘will’ to refer to the future. Similarly, you can use present simple tenses instead of future simple tenses to refer to the future. Let us understand by the example given below:

‘After he return, we can talk’

This is a grammatically incorrect sentence. To correct this, what you can do is change the future simple with the present simple tense.

For example: After he returns, we can talk.

This is a correct example of using present simples for referring to the future. Instead of this, you may even use present continuous tenses rather than future continuous to refer to the future. This practice helps you during the TOEFL Speaking assessments wherein you may be asked to talk or describe about the future.

10. Sentences

Understanding the use of different types of sentences such as conditional, simple, complex helps you show and understand a range of grammar.

Also Read:

• TOEFL Exam Preparation: Balancing Work and Study Commitments

• TOEFL Exam Preparation in 10 Days: A Quick Guide

• TOEFL Preparation Time

• TOEFL Vocabulary Building

Now let's analyze the use of English grammar for the TOEFL exam in its different modules.

Use of English Grammar for TOEFL exam:

1. TOEFL Reading Section:

The TOEFL reading section has many types of questions wherein you are required to summarize, infer the meaning of the context, judge the tone of the author, understand the explanation of the point in the passage, so you must have proper knowledge of

· Tenses- helps to understand the timeline of events, and the relationship between past, present and future.

· Adjectives and Adverbs: Also known as modifiers, adjectives and adverbs helps you analyze the description of nouns and verbs.

2. TOEFL Listening Section:

Here, you are required to focus on the audio and then express certain ideas, thoughts and also make inferences, in doing so, you will need to be clear on the usage of

· Subject-verb-agreement- You will need to recognise the error made and correct it.

· Sentence structure- As you have to infer the thought or the audio, you will need to be clear in framing the right kind of sentence.

· Conjunctions- connecting the ideas with right words like but, since, although – will add value to your sentences.

· Prepositions- You need to pay attention to the timeline, so positioning words accurately help to express/identify when, what and where it (event) happened.

3. TOEFL Writing Section:

The TOEFL writing section has both integrated and independent writing task and the writing has to strictly be in formal language context so

· Sentence structure- usage of simple, complex and compound sentences helps you organize ideas in a better way.

· Connecting words- connecting words like in addition, furthermore… help you elaborate your points in an impressive manner.

· Comparative words- Making comparisons in specially argumentative topics is required so you must know the accurate usage of adjectives, adverbs and conjunctions.

4. TOEFL Speaking Section:

The TOEFL speaking exam has two major tasks wherein you are required to express your thoughts, opinions and views, not just this, but also to showcase your feelings in the right natural manner, you are required to have enough knowledge of

· Interjections: expressing sudden feelings

· Pronouns: coherence is a must when you attempt your speaking task, right usage of pronouns is an essential step here.

· Tenses- expressing what you feel and at what stage you felt something can only be done when you correct the usage of past, present and future tense.

Finally, to be well equipped with the TOEFL English grammar rules you should:

1. Understand and review the general grammar concepts.

2. Identify the common errors you are making and take help from authenticated books or web portals.

3. Practice regularly so that you are in a habit of using correct grammar.

4. Attempt the TOEFL exam practice tests to analyze the grammar requirements in each question that is asked.

We hope you have acquired the essential elements of English grammar for the TOEFL exam and now will be more focused in your preparation.

TOEFL eBooks

Achieving a high TOEFL score with the help of TOEFL preparation books can open doors to academic opportunities such as scholarships and admissions to English-speaking universities, as well as career advancement in international contexts.