Glossary
qualifier
A qualifier is a word that limits a claim — all, some, most, only, never, always. Swapping one qualifier for another changes the meaning, and comprehension questions test exactly that.
A qualifier is a word that softens or limits a claim: all, some, most, only, never, always, usually, may, tends to. The sentence's meaning lives partly in the qualifier rather than in the main verb, which is why a comprehension question can offer a choice that has the right topic and still be wrong.
The common swap is from a limited word to an absolute one. A passage says a fee did not reduce attendance in its first season; a choice says attendance never fell. Every content word agrees and the claim is still false, because the passage hedged where the choice did not. The same trap runs in the other direction: a passage states a general rule and a choice turns it into a possibility.
So the check is mechanical rather than interpretive. Find the line that answers the question, read it for its qualifiers, then read the candidate choice for its own — and compare the two words directly. In practice this removes one or two choices on a paragraph comprehension question, and it takes seconds.
Taught in
Related terms
- scope — Scope is how much a statement claims — which things it covers and how much of them. A choice that widens or narrows the passage's scope is wrong even when its topic is right.
- inference — An inference is a conclusion the passage supports without stating it: one step from the words on the page, not an added fact and not your own opinion.
Source: Official ASVAB — subtest descriptions (what each subtest asks) and the CAT-ASVAB scored-question counts (accessed 2026-09)