STEP English Language Grammar and Vocabulary Review

This set covers key grammatical terms, parts of speech, and linguistic rules found in the STEP Academy English proficiency prep materials.

PhD

A Doctor of Philosophy degree mentioned in the context of academic achievement (e.g., a PhD in physics).

Capitalization Rules

The requirement to capitalize proper nouns such as countries (Malaysia, Morocco), institutions (Kingdom University), months (January), and names (Anna).

Comparative Adjectives

Adjectives used to compare two things, such as "bigger than" or "easier than," as seen in comparisons between Russia and Canada.

Superlative Adjectives

Adjectives used to compare one thing against a group, expressing the highest degree, such as "the strongest" or "the quickest."

Conditional Sentence (First Conditional)

A structure used to talk about possible future events, often using "if" + present simple followed by "will" (e.g., "If it rains tomorrow, I will wear my raincoat").

Conditional Sentence (Second Conditional)

A structure used for hypothetical or imaginary situations, using "if" + past simple followed by "would" (e.g., "If I were you, I would study art history").

Uncountable Nouns

Nouns that cannot be counted, such as "money," "bread," or "water," which are typically used with quantifiers like "much" or "a little."

Countable Nouns

Nouns that can be counted as individual units, such as "pages" or "books," often used with "many" or "a few."

Reflexive Pronouns

Pronouns used when the subject and object of the sentence are the same, such as "myself," "yourself," "yourselves," or "themselves."

Conjunctions

Words used to connect clauses or sentences, including "so" (result), "because" (reason), "but" (contrast), and "although" (concession).

Relative Pronouns

Words used to connect a clause to a noun, such as "who" for people (e.g., "the man who works on my car") or "which" for things.

Passive Voice

A grammatical construction where the subject is the recipient of the action, such as "The box was made from recycled paper" or "will be donated."

Past Perfect Tense

A tense used to describe an action that was completed before another action in the past (e.g., "The postman had already delivered the mail by the time I left").

Used to

A phrase used to describe past habits or states that are no longer true (e.g., "He used to be a good horse rider").

Present Continuous Tense

A tense used to describe actions happening right now, using "is/am/are" + verb-ing (e.g., "Adam is reading a book now").

Prepositions of Time

Words used to indicate when something happens, such as "in" for months, "on" for specific days, and "at" for exact times.

Modal Verbs

Auxiliary verbs that express necessity or possibility, such as "must," "should," "could," and "might."

Word Order

The conventional arrangement of words in a sentence, and a key focus of the STEP exam for identifying logically structured English sentences.

In Fact

A phrase used to emphasize a statement or provide more detail, as seen in the comparison of flight and road accident statistics.

Moreover

An adverb used to add information that supports or extends a previous point.