LET Elementary English — Grammar and Correct UsageRevision Notes

Exam Tips

• Always ask: 'What is this word DOING in the sentence?' before labeling it.
• In error-identification items, misidentifying a part of speech leads to a chain of wrong decisions — get the function right first.
• LET multiple-choice items sometimes ask you to identify the part of speech of a specific underlined word — practice with sentences from DepEd instructional materials.

Key Points

• A word's part of speech depends on its FUNCTION in the sentence, not the word itself.
• Noun: names a person, place, thing, or idea (e.g., teacher, Manila, honesty, DepEd).
• Pronoun: replaces a noun (e.g., he, they, who, this, each).
• Verb: expresses action or state of being (e.g., writes, is, become, teaches).
• Adjective: modifies a noun or pronoun (e.g., diligent, three, Filipino, public).
• Adverb: modifies a verb, adjective, or another adverb (e.g., quickly, very, quite, always).
• Preposition: shows the relationship of a noun or pronoun to another word (e.g., in, on, between, of, for).
• Conjunction: joins words, phrases, or clauses (e.g., and, but, because, although, so).
• Interjection: expresses strong feeling (e.g., Oh! Wow! Aray! Bravo!).
• Classic LET trap: 'light' can be a verb ('She will light the lamp'), an adjective ('the light rain'), or a noun ('Turn on the light') — same word, three different parts of speech.

Definitions

Section Title

The Eight Parts of Speech

Common Mistakes

• Labeling a word by what it 'looks like' rather than what it does in the sentence (e.g., calling 'fast' always an adjective, when in 'She runs fast' it is an adverb).
• Forgetting that pronouns like 'this,' 'that,' 'these,' 'those' can be adjectives when they modify nouns (e.g., 'this book').
• Confusing prepositions and conjunctions: prepositions are followed by noun phrases, while subordinating conjunctions are followed by full clauses.

Exam Tips

• In the error-identification format, always locate and underline the TRUE subject before checking the verb.
• Cross out intervening phrases mentally: 'The principal [along with the department heads] ____ attending the seminar.' → 'The principal IS attending.'
• Memorize two lists: SINGULAR indefinite pronouns (each, either, neither, everyone, one, someone, no one) and PLURAL (both, few, many, several).
• The 'one of the + plural noun + who' structure always appears at the higher difficulty level of the LET — practice it until it is automatic.
• When you see 'there' or 'here,' flip the sentence: 'There are many reasons' = 'Many reasons are there' → 'reasons' (plural) → ARE.

Key Points

• RULE 1 — Intervening phrases: Prepositional phrases, participial phrases, and expressions like 'together with,' 'along with,' 'as well as,' 'including,' and 'in addition to' placed between subject and verb do NOT change the subject. 'The box of books IS heavy' — subject is 'box,' not 'books.'
• RULE 2 — Compound subjects with AND: Use a plural verb. 'The principal and the teacher ARE present.' Exception: when two nouns name one thing, use singular. 'Rice and fish IS my favorite meal.'
• RULE 3 — OR / NOR / EITHER...OR / NEITHER...NOR: Agree with the NEARER subject. 'Neither the teachers nor the principal WAS absent.' 'Neither the principal nor the teachers WERE absent.'
• RULE 4 — Indefinite pronouns: Singular — each, either, neither, everyone, everybody, someone, somebody, anyone, anybody, no one, nobody, one. Always take singular verbs. 'Everyone HAS a book.' Plural — both, few, many, several, others. Variable (depend on the noun they refer to) — some, all, none, most, more, any.
• RULE 5 — Collective nouns (class, team, jury, family, committee, faculty, group): Singular when acting as one unit. 'The class IS ready.' Plural when members act individually. 'The committee ARE divided in their opinions.'
• RULE 6 — Inverted sentences and THERE/HERE openers: Verb still agrees with the true subject. 'There ARE many reasons.' 'Here IS your certificate.'
• RULE 7 — 'The number' (singular) vs. 'A number' (plural): 'The number of pupils IS increasing.' 'A number of pupils ARE absent.'
• RULE 8 — Nouns plural in form but singular in meaning: news, mathematics, physics, economics, ethics, measles, mumps, politics (when used as a subject of study). 'Mathematics IS difficult for some learners.'
• RULE 9 — Titles, amounts, distances, time periods: Treated as singular units. 'Five hundred pesos WAS donated.' 'Ten years IS a long time.' 'The Noli Me Tangere IS required reading.'
• RULE 10 — Gerund and infinitive subjects: Always singular. 'Reading broadens the mind.' 'To teach IS to touch a life forever.'
• RULE 11 — 'One of the + plural noun + who/that': The relative clause verb agrees with the plural noun. 'She is one of the teachers who WERE honored.' But 'the only one of': 'She is the only one of the teachers who WAS honored.' This is a top-difficulty LET item.

Definitions

Section Title

Subject-Verb Agreement

Common Mistakes

• 'The teacher, together with her students, WERE preparing the lesson' — wrong. 'Together with' is not a conjunction; the subject 'teacher' is singular → WAS.
• 'Each of the Grade 3 pupils HAVE submitted their work' — wrong. 'Each' is singular → HAS.
• 'Neither the head teacher nor the teachers WAS informed' — wrong. The nearer subject 'teachers' is plural → WERE.
• 'The news ARE alarming' — wrong. 'News' is singular in meaning → IS.
• 'A number of pupils IS absent' — wrong. 'A number of' is plural → ARE.
• 'One of the teachers who WAS given the award' (without 'only') — wrong. The relative clause modifies 'teachers' (plural) → WERE.

Formulas

Exam Tips

• Memorize the LIE/LAY table: lie–lay–lain (no object) and lay–laid–laid (takes an object). Ask: Is there something being placed? → Use 'lay/laid/laid.'
• When two past events appear in a sentence, use PAST PERFECT (had + participle) for the earlier one.
• For the present perfect, clue words include: already, yet, just, ever, never, since, for, recently, lately.
• Watch for the word 'when' — it usually signals simple past on both sides, not past perfect.
• In tense-consistency items, read the whole sentence/passage for context clues like 'yesterday,' 'last year,' 'now,' 'currently,' 'in the future.'

Key Points

• Simple present: habitual action, general truth, or fact. 'She teaches Grade 4 at Rizal Elementary School.'
• Simple past: completed action at a specific past time. 'She received her LET results last month.'
• Simple future: action that will happen. 'She will report to her school division next week.'
• Present perfect (HAVE/HAS + past participle): links past action to the present, or action at an unspecified past time. 'She HAS TAUGHT for ten years' (and still does).
• Past perfect (HAD + past participle): the EARLIER of two past actions. 'The bell HAD RUNG before we ARRIVED.' — the ringing happened first.
• Future perfect (WILL HAVE + past participle): action completed before a future time. 'By June, she WILL HAVE FINISHED her demo lesson.'
• Progressive forms use BE + present participle to show ongoing action: 'She IS TEACHING now'; 'She WAS TEACHING when the supervisor arrived.'
• TENSE CONSISTENCY (Sequence of Tenses): Do not shift tense without reason. 'He opened the door and SEES the guest' — error; should be 'opened... and SAW.'
• KEY IRREGULAR VERBS tested on the LET: lie–lay–lain (to recline) vs. lay–laid–laid (to place an object); rise–rose–risen vs. raise–raised–raised; sit–sat–sat vs. set–set–set; go–went–gone; bring–brought–brought; take–took–taken; write–wrote–written; teach–taught–taught; choose–chose–chosen; break–broke–broken.
• LIE vs. LAY is the most recycled irregular verb item: 'Yesterday, she LAY down to rest.' (past of 'lie') vs. 'She LAID the books on the table.' (past of 'lay').

Definitions

Section Title

Verb Tenses and Sequence of Tenses

Common Mistakes

• 'She has went to the division office' — wrong. 'Has gone' is correct (past participle of 'go' is 'gone,' not 'went').
• 'I seen the memo this morning' — wrong. 'I SAW' (simple past) or 'I HAVE SEEN' (present perfect).
• 'Yesterday, she lied the books on the table' — wrong. 'Lied' means to tell a falsehood. To place = 'lay' (past of 'lay') → 'She LAID the books on the table.'
• 'She was laying on the bench' — wrong. 'Lie' (to recline) → 'She was LYING on the bench.'
• Shifting tense mid-sentence: 'The teacher explained the lesson and then asks the pupils to answer' — should be 'asked.'

Exam Tips

• For WHO/WHOM: substitute HE/SHE (subjective) or HIM/HER (objective). If 'him/her' fits → use WHOM. 'Whom did you call?' → 'You called HIM' → WHOM.
• For comparisons: finish the clause. 'She sings better than [I/me]' → 'better than I [sing]' → I (subject).
• For possessive vs. contraction pairs (its/it's, their/they're, your/you're, whose/who's): try expanding the contraction. If 'it is' makes sense → use IT'S. Otherwise → ITS.
• When checking pronoun-antecedent agreement, always identify the antecedent FIRST, determine its number, then check the pronoun.
• Remember: 'his or her' is the traditional LET standard for singular gender-neutral antecedents, though current English accepts 'their' for informal contexts.

Key Points

• A pronoun must AGREE with its antecedent in NUMBER, GENDER, and PERSON.
• Singular antecedents take singular pronouns: 'Each pupil must bring HIS OR HER book.' (not 'their')
• Singular indefinite pronoun antecedents (everyone, each, either, neither, one, someone, anyone, nobody) take singular pronouns: 'Everyone did HIS OR HER best.'
• CLEAR REFERENCE: every pronoun must have one obvious antecedent. Vague reference ('When Maria met Ana, SHE was nervous' — who?) is a tested error.
• SUBJECTIVE CASE (used as subject): I, he, she, we, they, who, whoever.
• OBJECTIVE CASE (used as object of verb or preposition): me, him, her, us, them, whom, whomever.
• POSSESSIVE CASE: my/mine, his, her/hers, our/ours, their/theirs, whose.
• After a preposition, always use OBJECTIVE CASE: 'between you and ME' (not 'I'); 'for him and ME'; 'with her and US.'
• In comparisons with THAN or AS, mentally complete the clause: 'She is taller than I [am]' — 'I' is subject of the understood verb.
• WHO vs. WHOM: WHO = subjective (Who called?); WHOM = objective (Whom did you call? = You did call WHOM? → 'whom').
• Classic confusable pairs: ITS (possessive) vs. IT'S (it is); THEIR vs. THERE vs. THEY'RE; YOUR vs. YOU'RE; WHOSE vs. WHO'S.
• REFLEXIVE pronouns (myself, himself, herself, ourselves, themselves) are used only when the subject and object are the same person, or for emphasis. 'The teacher himself graded the papers.' NOT 'Please give it to myself.'

Definitions

Section Title

Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement and Case

Common Mistakes

• 'Between you and I' — wrong. After a preposition, use objective case → 'between you and ME.'
• 'Everyone should do their best' — technically a number agreement error on the LET (singular antecedent 'everyone' → 'his or her' is the exam standard).
• 'The supervisor told the teacher that she needed to improve' — vague reference: who needs to improve?
• 'Who did you invite to the seminar?' — wrong case. Whom did you invite? (object of 'invite') → WHOM.
• 'Its a great day to teach' — wrong. 'ITS' is possessive; 'IT'S' = 'it is' → 'It's a great day.'
• 'The principal herself said that myself should lead the activity' — wrong. 'Myself' should only be used reflexively or for emphasis when the subject is 'I' → 'I should lead.'

Exam Tips

• For dangling modifiers: the SUBJECT of the introductory phrase must be the SAME as the subject of the main clause. Check this first.
• For adjective vs. adverb: test the verb. Is it a linking verb? → adjective. Is it an action verb? → adverb.
• Look-out words for misplaced modifiers in LET items: 'only,' 'just,' 'nearly,' 'almost,' 'even,' 'hardly,' 'merely' — place them immediately before the word they limit.
• For degrees of comparison: count the items being compared. Two items → comparative (-er / more); three or more → superlative (-est / most).
• A quick check for dangling modifiers: read only the opening phrase and ask 'Who or what is doing this action?' Then check if that word appears as the subject of the main clause.

Key Points

• ADJECTIVE: describes or limits a noun or pronoun. Answers: What kind? Which one? How many?
• ADVERB: modifies a verb, adjective, or another adverb. Answers: How? When? Where? To what extent?
• After a LINKING VERB (is, am, are, was, were, seem, appear, become, feel, smell, taste, sound, look), use an ADJECTIVE: 'The soup tastes GOOD' (not 'well'); 'She looks HAPPY' (not 'happily').
• After an ACTION VERB, use an ADVERB: 'She teaches EFFECTIVELY.' 'He runs QUICKLY.'
• GOOD vs. WELL: 'good' is always an adjective; 'well' is usually an adverb (but 'well' as an adjective means 'in good health': 'She is well again').
• DEGREES OF COMPARISON: Positive (one item) → 'tall, careful'; Comparative (two items) → 'taller, more careful'; Superlative (three or more items) → 'tallest, most careful.'
• DOUBLE COMPARATIVE ERROR: 'more taller,' 'more better,' 'more faster' are all wrong.
• ABSOLUTE ADJECTIVES cannot be compared because they already express a complete quality: unique, perfect, dead, infinite, complete, absolute, empty, full. 'More unique' and 'most perfect' are errors.
• MISPLACED MODIFIER: sits too far from the word it describes, causing confusion. 'She served sandwiches to the children ON PAPER PLATES' — were the children on paper plates? Fix: 'She served sandwiches on paper plates to the children.'
• DANGLING MODIFIER: an introductory phrase that has no logical word to modify in the sentence. '*Walking to school, the rain fell*' — the rain was not walking. Fix: '*Walking to school, I was caught in the rain.*'
• Dangling and misplaced modifiers in LET items are almost always OPENING PARTICIPIAL PHRASES ('Having studied hard, the test was easy' — wrong; 'the test' did not study).

Definitions

Section Title

Modifiers: Adjectives, Adverbs, and Modifier Placement

Common Mistakes

• 'She sings good' — wrong. 'Good' is an adjective. Action verb 'sings' needs an adverb → 'She sings WELL.'
• 'The test was more easier than I expected' — double comparative → 'easier' OR 'more easy' (but 'easier' is preferred).
• 'Running to catch the jeepney, my bag fell' — dangling modifier. 'My bag' was not running → 'Running to catch the jeepney, I dropped my bag.'
• 'Only she told him the truth' (misplaced) vs. 'She told only him the truth' — 'only' must be placed directly before the word it modifies.
• 'The flag ceremony is more unique this year' — 'unique' is absolute; it cannot be compared.

Exam Tips

• For A/AN: SOUND the word, not spell it. 'An hour,' 'an LRT ride' (el-ar-tee), 'an MRI' (em-ar-eye), 'a unit,' 'a European.'
• Memorize the high-frequency idiomatic prepositions as a list. They appear in both usage and error-identification formats.
• For correlative conjunctions: after writing or reading the first half, always check that the second half matches AND that the elements after each half are grammatically parallel.
• FANBOYS memory aid: For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So — these are the only coordinating conjunctions. All others are subordinating.

Key Points

• PREPOSITIONS are largely IDIOMATIC — the correct preposition is fixed by convention. Key tested combinations: agree WITH a person; agree TO a proposal; agree ON a plan; different FROM (preferred in formal usage); capable OF; interested IN; responsible FOR; married TO; comply WITH; prefer one thing TO another; independent OF; in accordance WITH.
• Do not omit needed prepositions: 'She is capable and interested in the project' is ambiguous — 'capable OF and interested in the project.'
• ARTICLES: Use A before consonant SOUNDS, AN before vowel SOUNDS (determined by sound, not spelling): an hour (silent h), an honest man, an MBA graduate (vowel sound /em/), but a university (/y/ sound), a European trip (/y/ sound), a one-peso coin (/w/ sound), a historic moment (aspirated /h/).
• THE: used for specific or already-identified nouns. No article: used for plural or uncountable nouns in a general sense. 'Honesty is a virtue' (general); 'The honesty of the teacher inspired her pupils' (specific).
• The A/AN-by-SOUND rule is one of the most reliably recycled LET items. 'An MBA' is correct because 'M' is pronounced 'em.'
• CORRELATIVE CONJUNCTIONS come in fixed pairs: not only...but also; either...or; neither...nor; both...and; whether...or. Never mix pairs ('neither...or' is wrong → 'neither...nor').
• PARALLELISM with correlative conjunctions: the grammatical structure after each half of the pair must match. 'She is not only INTELLIGENT but also DILIGENT' (adjective + adjective) — correct. 'She is not only intelligent but also WORKS HARD' — wrong (adjective ≠ verb phrase).
• FANBOYS — coordinating conjunctions: For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So. These join independent clauses and require a comma before them.

Definitions

Section Title

Prepositions, Articles, and Correlative Conjunctions

Common Mistakes

• 'She is different THAN her sister' — formal usage requires 'different FROM her sister.'
• 'He complied TO the school rules' — wrong idiom. 'Comply WITH the rules.'
• 'She prefers reading THAN writing' — wrong. 'Prefer...TO': 'She prefers reading TO writing.'
• 'She received an university scholarship' — wrong. 'University' starts with /y/ sound → 'A university scholarship.'
• 'Neither the principal or the teachers were informed' — wrong pair. 'Neither...NOR.'
• 'She is not only hardworking but also she is creative' — wrong parallelism. 'Not only hardworking but also CREATIVE.'

Exam Tips

• For the error-identification format, use the FOUR-STEP CHECK in order: (1) Verb — agreement and tense; (2) Pronoun — case and reference; (3) Modifier — placement and adjective/adverb form; (4) Idiom or word choice. Stop as soon as you find the error.
• 'No error' IS a valid answer on the LET. Do not force an error if all four parts are correct.
• For FEWER vs. LESS: ask 'Can I count them?' Yes → FEWER (fewer students, fewer books). No → LESS (less time, less information).
• For AFFECT vs. EFFECT: remember 'RAVEN' — Remember Affect is a Verb, Effect is a Noun. (Note rare exceptions: 'to effect change' = to bring about; 'affect' as a psychology noun.)
• For parallelism: identify the first item in the series and match every subsequent item to that same grammatical form.

Key Points

• SENTENCE FRAGMENT: a group of words punctuated as a sentence but (1) lacking a subject, (2) lacking a complete verb, or (3) being only a dependent clause. 'Because she was late for the flag ceremony.' — fragment. Fix: attach it to an independent clause or rewrite it.
• RUN-ON SENTENCE: two independent clauses with no punctuation between them. 'The teacher distributed the activity sheets the pupils started immediately.' Fix: use a period, a semicolon, or a comma + coordinating conjunction.
• COMMA SPLICE: two independent clauses joined with only a comma. 'The pupils finished early, they went out to recess.' Fix: same as run-on — period, semicolon, or comma + FANBOYS conjunction.
• FAULTY PARALLELISM: items in a series must share the same grammatical form. 'She enjoys reading, writing, and to swim' — wrong. Fix: 'reading, writing, and SWIMMING' (all gerunds).
• DOUBLE NEGATIVE: using two negative words to express one negation is nonstandard. 'I don't have nothing' → 'I don't have ANYTHING' or 'I have nothing.'
• FAULTY COMPARISON: comparing unlike things. 'Her scores are higher than Ana' — wrong. You compare scores to scores. Fix: 'higher than ANA'S [scores].'
• WRONG WORD / USAGE PAIRS: affect (verb, to influence) vs. effect (noun, a result); fewer (count nouns: fewer pupils) vs. less (uncountable: less time); between (two items) vs. among (three or more); amount (uncountable) vs. number (countable); principal (school head or most important) vs. principle (rule or belief); accept (to receive) vs. except (to exclude); lay vs. lie; capital (city, money, letter) vs. capitol (government building).
• SHIFT IN PERSON: keep person consistent. 'One should submit ONE'S application on time' — not 'your application.'
• SHIFT IN VOICE: avoid needless shifts between active and passive. 'She submitted the report and the documents were filed by her' — inconsistent. Fix: 'She submitted the report and FILED the documents.'

Definitions

Section Title

Common Structural Errors

Common Mistakes

• 'Although she prepared thoroughly for the LET.' — fragment; needs an independent clause.
• 'She studied all night, she passed the exam.' — comma splice; use a period, semicolon, or 'and.'
• 'The new teacher is responsible, hardworking, and she cares' — faulty parallelism; fix: 'responsible, hardworking, and CARING.'
• 'I can't hardly wait for the results' — double negative ('can't' + 'hardly') → 'I can HARDLY wait.'
• 'She has less pupils than expected' — wrong. Pupils are countable → 'FEWER pupils.'
• 'The effect of poverty EFFECT learning outcomes' — wrong; 'affect' is the verb. 'Poverty AFFECTS learning outcomes.'

Exam Tips

• Always apply the four-step check in ORDER: Verb → Pronoun → Modifier → Idiom/Word. This sequence covers 95% of LET grammar items.
• Practice with past LET items. The LET recycles the same rule sets — bait-and-switch with intervening phrases, one of the...who, dangling modifiers, and affect/effect are the most recycled.
• Use elimination: if you can verify three parts are correct, the fourth MUST be the error (or the answer is 'No error' if all four are correct).
• Bring a mental checklist to the exam: SVA → tense → pronoun case → pronoun reference → adjective/adverb → placement → idiom → word choice.

Key Points

• THE FOUR-STEP CHECKING ORDER: (1) VERB — Is there a subject-verb agreement error? Is the tense correct and consistent? (2) PRONOUN — Is the case correct (subjective/objective)? Is the reference clear and number agreement maintained? (3) MODIFIER — Is it an adjective where an adverb is needed (or vice versa)? Is there a misplaced or dangling modifier? (4) IDIOM/WORD CHOICE — Is the preposition correct? Is the right word used (affect/effect, fewer/less, etc.)?
• Read the ENTIRE sentence before choosing an answer. The LET places the error in a contextually confusing position.
• The BAIT STRATEGY of the LET: (a) A plural noun is inserted between a singular subject and its verb to bait agreement errors; (b) A compound subject with 'and' is used but names one idea (bait: should be singular, but 'and' tempts plural); (c) An inverted sentence hides the true subject after the verb; (d) An opening participial phrase hides a dangling modifier.
• WORKED EXAMPLE 1: 'The teacher, (A) together with her students, (B) were preparing the props (C) carefully (D) for the school play.' → Check verb first: Subject = 'teacher' (singular); 'together with her students' is an intervening expression, not part of the subject. 'Were preparing' must be 'WAS preparing.' → Answer: B.
• WORKED EXAMPLE 2: 'Each of the (A) Grade 6 pupils (B) have submitted (C) their research (D) on time.' → Check verb: 'Each' is singular → 'HAS submitted.' → Answer: B. Then check pronoun: 'their' refers to 'each' (singular) → 'his or her.' Two possible answers — on the LET, go with the verb first; B is the primary error.
• WORKED EXAMPLE 3: '(A) Having finished the exam early, (B) the remaining time (C) was used (D) by her to review her answers.' → Dangling modifier: 'Having finished the exam early' — who finished? 'She' did, not 'the remaining time.' → Answer: A.
• WORKED EXAMPLE 4: 'She is (A) not only (B) intelligent but (C) also works (D) hard.' → Correlative conjunction parallelism: 'not only INTELLIGENT (adjective) but also WORKS HARD (verb phrase)' — not parallel. Fix: 'not only intelligent but also diligent.' → Answer: C.
• WHEN IN DOUBT: Read the sentence aloud in your head. Grammatical errors often 'sound wrong.' Trust your trained ear, but always verify with the rule.

Definitions

Section Title

LET Error-Identification Strategy and Worked Examples

Common Mistakes

• Answering based on the FIRST suspicious word rather than checking all four parts — the real error may be at D while A only looks unusual.
• Never choosing 'No error' because 'there must be something wrong' — 'No error' is a valid and frequently correct option.
• Changing a correct idiomatic expression because it sounds informal — trust the rules over casual speech intuition.
• Spending too much time on one difficult item — if the four-step check does not reveal an obvious error in 60 seconds, mark 'No error' and move on.