English Language
What this domain tests
English Language in the JSA paper checks functional grammar and comprehension: error spotting, sentence improvement, fill-in-the-blanks, synonyms and antonyms, idioms, one-word substitutions, para jumbles and short reading comprehension. The emphasis is on standard written English used in office correspondence, not literary criticism.
Core rules
- Subject-verb agreement: the verb agrees with the grammatical subject, not with a phrase after it. 'One of the boys was...' uses 'was'.
- With 'either...or' and 'neither...nor', the verb agrees with the nearer subject.
- Articles: use 'a' before consonant sounds and 'an' before vowel sounds; 'the' for definite or unique references.
- Prepositions: learn fixed pairs such as 'comply with', 'differ from', 'interested in', 'capable of'.
- For para jumbles, find the opening sentence, often a general statement, and pronoun links; check chronological or cause-effect order.
- In comprehension, answer only from the passage; do not import outside facts.
Worked example
Choose the correct sentence: (a) One of the clerks were absent. (b) One of the clerks was absent. The subject is 'One', which is singular; 'of the clerks' is a prepositional phrase and does not change the number. Therefore (b) is correct. If the sentence were 'The clerks were absent', the plural 'clerks' would control the verb. This single test resolves many error-spotting items.
Traps that cost marks
Do not assume a long sentence is wrong; locate the subject first. In 'hardly', 'scarcely' and 'no sooner' constructions, use 'when' or 'than' correctly: 'No sooner had he arrived than it rained.' Avoid mixing British and American spellings in one answer. In fillers, read the whole sentence for tone and tense before choosing a word that merely sounds familiar.