English Language & Comprehension for DSSSB PRT
Twenty questions check grammar, vocabulary and reading comprehension. The paper rewards elimination: many items contain one clear rule violation, so identify the rule before reading all options.
Grammar rules that repeat
- Subject–verb agreement: the verb follows the subject, not an intervening phrase. 'The teacher, along with the students, was present.'
- One of + plural noun takes a singular verb: 'One of the boys is absent.'
- Neither…nor / either…or: the verb agrees with the nearer subject.
- Each, every, either, neither, everyone are singular.
- since marks a starting point (since 2019); for marks duration (for three years).
- Reported speech: back-shift the tense and adjust pronouns and time words.
- Passive voice: object becomes subject, verb becomes past participle, agent is optional.
Worked example
Choose the correct verb: 'Neither the principal nor the teachers ___ present at the assembly.' Step 1: spot the correlative pair 'neither…nor'. Step 2: apply the proximity rule - the verb agrees with the subject nearest to it. Step 3: the nearer subject is 'teachers' (plural), so the answer is were. If the sentence read 'Neither the teachers nor the principal', the answer would be 'was'. This single rule resolves a whole family of error-spotting questions.
Traps that cost marks
- Phrases such as 'along with', 'as well as' and 'together with' do not change the subject's number.
- Using simple past after 'since' instead of present perfect: 'He has lived here since 2015.'
- Third conditional: 'If I had known, I would have come' - not 'would know'.
- Idioms are figurative: 'to let the cat out of the bag' means to reveal a secret.
- In comprehension, choosing an option that is true in general but not stated in the passage, or an extreme option with words like 'always' and 'never'.