Formal and Lexical Aspects of Language: MDCAT Notes and MCQs

Pronoun–antecedent agreement

• A pronoun agrees with its antecedent in number, gender and person. Each, every, either, neither, everyone, somebody → singular: "Each student must bring his or her book."
• Collective nouns acting as one unit → singular: "The committee gave its decision."

Tenses — quick map

Conditionals: If + present, will + V1; If + past, would + V1; If + had + V3, would have + V3. Time clauses use present for future: "I will call you when he arrives."

Infinitives & gerunds

• Infinitive = to + V1 ("To err is human"). After want, decide, hope, agree, plan, refuse. Bare infinitive after let, make, see, hear, help and modals ("He made me laugh").
• Gerund = V-ing as a noun ("Swimming is good exercise"). After enjoy, avoid, finish, mind, suggest, deny, keep and after prepositions ("He is fond of reading"; "I look forward to meeting you").

Adverbs & prepositions

• Adverbs of frequency go before the main verb but after "be": "She always comes late"; "He is never late". Manner–place–time order: "He worked hard in the lab yesterday."
• Time: at (clock time, night), on (days, dates), in (months, years, seasons). since (point of time) vs for (period). Position: in/on/at, between (two) vs among (more than two). Movement: into, onto, towards, across, through.
• Fixed prepositions: accused of, abstain from, agree with a person / to a proposal, comply with, die of a disease, superior to, prefer X to Y, congratulate on, married to, senior to.

Transitions & punctuation

• Addition: moreover, furthermore. Contrast: however, nevertheless, whereas. Cause/effect: therefore, consequently, hence. Example: for instance.
• Semicolon joins two related independent clauses ("It rained; however, we went"). Colon introduces a list/explanation. Apostrophe for possession (children's, boys').

Inversion

After negative/restrictive adverbs at the start: "Never have I seen such a sight." "Hardly had he arrived when it rained." "No sooner had she left than…" "Not only did he lie, but…" Also conditionals: "Had I known, I would have come."

Active & passive voice

Object becomes subject; verb → appropriate form of be + V3. "She writes a letter" → "A letter is written by her." "They are building a house" → "A house is being built." "He has finished the work" → "The work has been finished." Modals: "You must obey rules" → "Rules must be obeyed."

Direct & indirect speech

• Past reporting verb → backshift tenses: present → past, past → past perfect, will → would, can → could.
• Change pronouns and time/place words: now → then, today → that day, tomorrow → the next day, yesterday → the previous day, here → there, this → that.
• Questions: "Where do you live?" → He asked me where I lived (statement word order, no question mark). Yes/no → if/whether. Commands → told/ordered + to + V1. Universal truths keep present tense.