English Grammar

120 Grammar Rules — Part 4: Question Tags, Parallelism & Advanced Usage (Rules 73 × 96)

18 min read Omprakash Maury March 2026

Part 4 of our 5-part grammar series covers Rules 73 to 96 — focusing on question tag exceptions, conjunction rules (Both/And, Lest, Until/Unless), parallelism, prepositions (in/on/at), optative sentences, pseudo subjects, conditional sentences, and more.

🔬 Why Advanced Grammar Rules Matter More Than Basics

Most students preparing for Bank (IBPS PO, SBI PO, RRB PO), SSC CGL, or Railway NTPC exams master the basics — subject-verb agreement, tenses, and articles. But they lose the topper rank because they skip advanced rules like parallelism, pseudo subjects, and conditional sentences.

Part 4 covers the rules that separate a 80-percentile student from a 99-percentile topper. These rules cover nuanced grammar areas that require deeper understanding and appear in Error Spotting, Sentence Improvement, and Para Jumbles. Let's break each rule down with examples from actual exam questions.

✅ Question Tag Exceptions — Every/Each, Let's, Nobody, seldom used in exams
✅ Parallelism — IBPS PO Prelims 2023 had 3 questions on this alone
✅ Conditional Sentences — Type 1, 2, 3 confusion is a common trap
✅ Conjunction Rules — Lest, Until, Unless, Both/And appear every year

📌 Quick Navigation — Rules in this Part:

Rule 73: "Each/Every" in Question Tags — Use Plural

In the main sentence "each/every" takes singular noun, but in the question tag we use plural (they/haven't they).

? Every girl is very talented, isn't she?
? Every girl is very talented, aren't they?
? Each one has to work hard, hasn't he?
? Each one has to work hard, haven't they?

Rule 74: Collective Noun in Question Tags

Working together ? singular tag (it). Working separately ? plural tag (they).

? The jury has taken the decision, hasn't it? (one decision together)
? The audience took their seats, didn't they? (separate seats)
? The army changed their uniforms, didn't they? (separate uniforms)

Rule 75: "Let Us" ? Tag = "Shall We"

For proposals with "Let us", the question tag is always "shall we".

? Let us go for a walk, don't we?
? Let us go for a walk, shall we?
? Let us go out to dinner, shall we?

Rule 76: Prepositions "In", "On", "At"

Preposition	Implies	Time Usage	Place Usage
At	Point	At 4 pm, At night	At Rohini, At the station
On	Surface / Day	On Sunday, On 15th Aug	On the table
In	Area / Volume	In 1947, In April, In the morning	In Delhi, In India

Note: No preposition before: last Monday, coming Monday, today, tomorrow, yesterday

? I am having dinner tomorrow night. (no preposition)
? I saw her yesterday afternoon. (no preposition)

            Rule 77: "Both-And" (Never "Both-As Well As")
            ? Both Ram as well as Shyam are good at English.
? Both Ram and Shyam are good at English.
? I felt both happy as well as sad.
? I felt both happy and sad at the same time.

        

            Rule 78: "Lest" — Followed by "Should" or No Helping Verb
            ? Work hard, lest you would fail.
? Work hard, lest you fail.
? Work hard, lest you should fail.

        

Rule 79: "Until" (Time) vs "Unless" (Action/Condition)

Until = Time-oriented (up to a certain time)
Unless = Action/Condition-oriented (if not)

? Wait for me until sunset. (time)
? Unless the government reduces tax, the base will not increase. (condition)
? I was up until three o'clock trying to finish! (time)

Note: "Till" and "Until" mean the same, but "till" cannot start a sentence.

Rule 80: Error of Parallelism

Sentence elements alike in function must be alike in grammatical form.

? I like singing, dancing, and to walk.
? I like singing, dancing, and walking.
? He asked his mother to cook, to rest and prepare the dish.
? He asked his mother to cook, to rest and to prepare the dish.
? Tom is known for his honesty and original ideas.
? Tom is known for his honesty and originality.
? To learn is understanding the world.
? To learn is to understand the world.

Rule 81: Use of Proper Prepositions

Each word requires its correct preposition. Don't drop any:

? He is superior to and older than me.
? This book is different from and better than that book.
? Responsibility for | Reason for | Changes in | Increase in
? Reaction to | Response to | Attempt at | Inquiry into
? Example of | Awareness of | Congratulations on

            Rule 82: "Too Much" (Adjective + Noun) vs "Much Too" (Adverb + Adjective)
            "Too much" + noun (adjective function)
"Much too" + adjective (adverb function)

            ? He is too much strong. ? ? He is much too strong.
? There is much too sugar. ? ? There is too much sugar.
? He drank too much alcohol last night. (noun)
? This car is much too expensive. (adjective)

        

Rule 83: Possessive Case Always Followed by a Noun

? His belongings were lost. (noun follows possessive)
? His earnings are not enough.
? His surroundings are not clean.

Always-plural nouns: belongings, earnings, surroundings, spectacles, scissors, trousers, goods, wages, riches, premises, alms, proceeds

Rules 84 & 85: "Politics", "Mathematics", "Statistics" — Singular or Plural?

As a subject/field ? Singular verb. As beliefs/calculations/data ? Plural verb.

? Politics is a very dirty game. (field)
? His politics have become more liberal. (political beliefs)
? Mathematics is an interesting subject. (field)
? Mathematics are telling that he made money. (= calculations)
? Statistics is difficult to understand. (field)
? Statistics tell us it will rain today. (= data)

Note: "Data" is plural (singular = "Datum"). "Summons" is singular (plural = "Summonses").

            Rule 86: "A" = One of Many; "The" = Only One
            ? The brother of me is a scientist. (only one brother)
? A brother of mine is a scientist. (one among many brothers)
"A" with possessive case | "The" with objective case

        

Rule 87: "Too", "As Well", "Also" — Placement Rules

"Also" cannot be used at the end. "Too" and "As well" can be used at the end.

? I have brought a bag too.
? I have brought a bag as well.
? I have brought a bag also.
? I have also brought a bag.

Note: "Too" with high intensity meaning needs a complement:

? She is too beautiful. (incomplete)
? She is very beautiful.
? It is too hot to go outside. (complete)

Rule 88: Optative Sentences — Use Base Form (V1)

Sentences expressing prayer, wish, or curse use base form of verb (V1) regardless of singular/plural subject.

? May God bless you!
? Long live the king.
? May the almighty help in this tragedy!

Rule 89: Pseudo Subjects — Use "It" When Needed

When the participial phrase does NOT relate to the main subject, add "It" as a pseudo subject.

? Being a rainy day, I did not go to school.
? It being a rainy day, I did not go to school.
? Being ill, he did not come to class. (no pseudo needed — "ill" relates to "he")
? Being vacant, I did not enter the room.
? It being vacant, I did not enter the room.

            Rule 90: Infinitive Talking About a Noun — Add Preposition
            ? The child has no bed to sleep in.
? I have a pen to write with.
? The child wanted a toy to play with.

        

            Rule 91: Two Different Helping Verbs — Use Main Verb in Both
            ? I have never and will never watch this movie.
? I have never watched and will never watch this movie.

        

Rules 92 & 93: Always-Plural & Always-Singular Words

Always PLURAL (take plural verb): belongings, savings, congratulations, scissors, proceeds, surroundings, regards, pliers, tongs, jeans, pyjamas, shorts, contents, outskirts, glasses, clothes, thanks, goggles, premises, earnings

? These scissors are for cutting paper.
? Your clothes are dirty.
? His regards were conveyed.

Always SINGULAR (take singular verb): Mathematics, Physics, Statistics, News, Economics, Innings, Politics, Athletics, Gymnastics, Gallows, Mechanics, Summons

? These news were broadcast.
? This news was broadcast.

Rule 94: Uncountable Nouns — No Plural Form

equipment, furniture, jewellery, luggage, machinery, poetry, scenery, information, advice, baggage, hair — do NOT have plural forms.

? His luggages was booked. ? ? His luggage was booked.
? The poetries Society... ? ? The Poetry Society...
? Furnitures set off... ? ? Furniture sets off the beauty.

            Rule 95: Conditional Sentences (Complete Chart)
            
                
                    Condition (If-clause)
                    Result (Main clause)
                
Simple Presentwill/shall/can/may/must + V1
Simple Pastwould/could/might/should + V1
Past Perfectwould/could/might/should + have + V3

            ? As soon as he comes, I will ask him this question.
? If he studied, he would pass the exam.
? Had he come earlier, I would have asked him.

        

Condition (If-clause)	Result (Main clause)
Simple Present	will/shall/can/may/must + V1
Simple Past	would/could/might/should + V1
Past Perfect	would/could/might/should + have + V3

            Rule 96: Possessive Case After "All" and "Both"
            ? My all students are very talented.
? All my students are very talented.
? My both friends are talented.
? Both my friends are talented.

        

🚨 Top 5 Mistakes in Advanced Grammar (Rules 73–96)

These are the most frequent errors observed in exam answer sheets — each one costing students 1 precious mark:

❌ Mistake 1: "Every student must submit their assignment, hasn't he?"
✅ Fix: With "Every/Each", the tag uses they/haven't they, not "hasn't he".

❌ Mistake 2: "He works hard lest he will fail."
✅ Fix: After "Lest", always use "should" → "lest he should fail". Never use will/would/can/may.

❌ Mistake 3: "She likes swimming, cooking, and to sing."
✅ Fix: Parallelism — all items in a list must follow the same grammatical form. Say: "swimming, cooking, and singing".

❌ Mistake 4: "Unless you don't study, you will fail."
✅ Fix: "Unless" already contains negation. Don't add "not/don't". Say: "Unless you study, you will fail."

❌ Mistake 5: "If I would have money, I would buy a car."
✅ Fix: Type 2 Conditional = If + Past Tense + would + V1. Say: "If I had money, I would buy a car."

🎯 Cracking Advanced Grammar in Bank Exams: The Topper's Method

Advanced grammar rules (Part 4) require a different mental approach than basic rules. Top rankers use this proven strategy:

Identify the "trigger word": Words like lest, unless, until, neither, not only are "trigger words" — the moment you spot them, you know which rule applies. Train yourself to spot these instantly.
Check for parallelism in all lists: Any time you see a list of 3+ items (using "and" or "or"), check if they all match in structure (all V-ing, all V1, all nouns, etc.).
Conditional tense chart: Memorize the 3 conditional types as a mental formula — Type 1 (real): If + Present → will. Type 2 (unreal present): If + Past → would. Type 3 (past regret): If + Past Perfect → would have.

💡 Pro Tip: In the exam, whenever you see "Both...and", "Not only...but also", or "Either...or" — immediately check if the elements on both sides of the conjunction are grammatically parallel. This catches 3–4 marks every year!

📋 Quick Revision: Rules 73–96 at a Glance

Use this table to revise all rules from Part 4 in under 5 minutes before your exam:

Rule Area	Key Rule	Quick Tip
Question Tags	Each/Every → they/haven't they	Singular subject, plural tag
Let's Tag	Let's go → shall we?	"Let's" always → "shall we"
Lest	Lest + should + V1	No will/can/may after lest
Unless	No "not" with unless	Unless = if not (already negative)
Both/And	Both + plural verb	"Both Ram and Shyam are" (not is)
Parallelism	Same grammatical form in lists	swim, run, jump ✅ \| swim, ran, jumping ❌
In/On/At (Time)	In=months/years \| On=days \| At=time	In July \| On Monday \| At 9 AM
Conditional Type 1	If + Present → will + V1	Real/possible future
Conditional Type 2	If + Past → would + V1	Unreal present/future
Conditional Type 3	If + Past Perfect → would have + V3	Past regret/impossible