Substitution Table — Rules, Method & Exercise

A substitution table is a grid whose columns hold sentence parts — subjects, verbs, objects and extensions. You make sentences by taking one item from each column, moving left to right. Not every combination is correct: the sentence must agree in number and tense and must make real sense, so check each one you build rather than combining mechanically.

Where it is set: SSC & HSC English 2nd Paper — Grammar

How a substitution table works

A substitution table is a grid. Each column holds a part of a sentence, and you build a sentence by taking one item from each column in order, left to right. The question normally asks for five sentences.

The mistake to avoid is treating it as a puzzle with one solution. Many combinations are correct; your job is to produce five that are grammatical and sensible, not to find the "right" arrangement.

A simple table and what it yields

• ✓ Rahim goes to school every day. — singular subject with singular verb
• ✓ The students go to the library in the morning. — plural subject with plural verb

Agreement is where the marks are

Tables are deliberately built so that some combinations break subject-verb agreement. A singular subject in column A must be paired with the singular verb in column B, not with whichever verb is on the same row of the printed grid.

This is the whole point of the item, and it is why copying across a printed row is the commonest error: the rows are laid out to look like sentences, but they are not sentences.

• Singular subject → verb with -s: Rahim goes, My sister reads.
• Plural subject → base verb: The students go, We read.
• I takes the base form, never the -s form: I go, not I goes.
• Check the tense across all columns — a past-tense verb needs a past-compatible time phrase.
• Check that an object in column C actually suits the verb in column B.

• ✗ The students goes to school every day. ✓ The students go to school every day.
• ✗ My sister read her lessons at night. ✓ My sister reads her lessons at night.

Make each sentence mean something

A grammatically correct sentence that says something absurd will not earn full marks. Read each combination as a statement about the world before you write it down.

• My sister goes to the library in the morning — plausible, so acceptable.
• The students read newspapers after breakfast — plausible.
• Rahim reads to school every day — grammatical shape but meaningless, so reject it.
• Where the table allows an odd but possible sentence, prefer the natural one; you have five to write and there are usually far more than five sensible options.

• ✓ We read newspapers after breakfast. — natural and correct
• ✗ We goes newspapers to school. ✓ We read newspapers after breakfast.

Copy the words exactly as printed

Substitution tables test accuracy as much as construction. Marks are lost for changing a word, adding one that is not in the table, or dropping the full stop that is printed as part of the final column.

• Do not add words such as the or very that are not in a column.
• Do not change a word’s form beyond what the columns offer — if the table gives both go and goes, choose; do not invent going.
• Copy capital letters from column A and the full stop from the last column.
• Write each sentence on its own line, numbered.
• Do not repeat a whole sentence; five different sentences are expected.

• ✗ Rahim goes to the school every day. ✓ Rahim goes to school every day. — the was not in the column
• ✓ Number the five sentences and end each with the printed full stop.

Working method

With five sentences to produce and a few minutes to do it, a fixed procedure prevents both the agreement error and the repetition error.

• Split the subjects in column A into singular and plural before you begin.
• Note which verbs in column B go with each group.
• Build two or three sentences from singular subjects and two or three from plural ones — this guarantees variety and shows the examiner you understood the agreement point.
• Vary the later columns too, so the five sentences do not share the same ending.
• Read all five back before moving on; agreement errors are easy to see and easy to fix.

• ✓ Three singular-subject sentences and two plural-subject ones is a good spread.
• ✓ Five sentences that differ only in the last column look like one sentence written five times.

Practice

Work through these before you check the answers — the reasoning matters more than the answer.

1. Columns — A: He / They · B: is / are · C: playing football · D: in the field. Build two sentences.
2. Is “The boys goes to school” acceptable? Why?
3. Columns — A: My father · B: reads / read · C: the newspaper · D: every morning.
4. Is “I goes to college” acceptable?
5. Why is “Rahim reads to school every day” wrong?
6. How many sentences are normally asked for, and must they differ?
7. May I add a word that is not printed in any column?
8. Columns — A: We / She · B: have / has · C: finished the work. Build both sentences.

Answers

1. He is playing football in the field. They are playing football in the field.
2. No — “boys” is plural and needs the base verb: “The boys go to school.”
3. My father reads the newspaper every morning — a singular subject takes the -s form.
4. No — “I” always takes the base form: “I go to college.”
5. It is grammatical in shape but meaningless — “reads” does not fit the phrase “to school”.
6. Five, and yes — repeating a sentence earns the mark only once.
7. No. Use only the words as printed, including the capital letter and the final full stop.
8. We have finished the work. She has finished the work.