A PMA entrance exam English reviewer becomes more useful when it explains the difference between a correct sentence and a plausible distractor. Reading an answer key can show what you missed; explaining the sentence tells you what to practise next.
The Philippine Military Academy’s entrance-examination guidance identifies grammar, composition, and reading comprehension within English. The following exercises are independently written examples. They are not official PMA items or predictions of the questions you will receive.
Grammar: find the subject that controls the verb
Choose the correct verb: The list of required documents is / are on the desk.
The answer is is. The subject is “list,” which is singular. “Of required documents” describes the list; the plural word “documents” does not control the verb in this sentence.
To review the error, remove the descriptive phrase: “The list is on the desk.” Then restore it without changing the subject. Try a variation: “The folders containing the applications are on the desk.” Here, “folders” is the plural subject, so the verb changes.
This exercise shows why choosing a verb to match the nearest noun is unreliable. Identify the grammatical structure before deciding.
The PMA entrance exam study guide can help you keep English review connected to the rest of the entrance-exam preparation.
Composition: name the person performing the action
Compare these original sentences:
Sentence A: After reviewing the application, the clerk returned it to the applicant.
Sentence B: After reviewing the application, it was returned to the applicant.
Sentence A clearly identifies the clerk as the reviewer. In sentence B, the opening phrase does not connect cleanly to a person performing the action. Revising the sentence by naming the actor makes the sequence easier to follow.
Do not assume that a longer sentence is more formal or more accurate. Good revision preserves meaning while removing ambiguity. Ask who acted, what they acted on, and which event happened first.
Reading: distinguish the stated reason from an invented one
Read this short passage:
The student group moved its review session from Monday to Wednesday because the classroom was unavailable. Members received the revised schedule by email. The session’s length did not change.
Why was the session moved? The classroom was unavailable. The passage does not say that members requested more preparation time or that attendance had been low.
What stayed the same? The length of the session. The new day does not imply a new duration. A strong answer preserves the exact relationship stated in the passage.
Build a review page from your errors
Continue with Philippine PMA entrance exam practice questions and keep three headings in your notebook: grammar, clarity, and passage evidence. Place each mistake under the heading that describes its cause.
For a grammar error, write the subject and verb. For an unclear sentence, rewrite it with an explicit actor. For a reading error, underline the words that justify the answer. Review these short corrections before your next set, then test the skill on a new sentence instead of repeatedly selecting a familiar answer.