English Language
English Language checks standard written English: grammar, vocabulary, sentence correction, cloze passages, para jumbles and reading comprehension. The paper rewards close reading of small differences, not obscure literary knowledge.
Core rules
- Subject-verb agreement: the verb agrees with the subject, not the nearest noun. 'One of the clerks is absent' uses 'is' because the subject is 'one'.
- Prepositions are fixed by usage: 'comply with', 'consist of', 'differ from', 'capable of'.
- In error spotting, check articles, tense consistency, pronoun reference and countable/uncountable agreement.
- In cloze and comprehension, predict the meaning before looking at options; eliminate options that change tone or scope.
- In para jumbles, find the opening sentence (often a general statement) and look for pronoun and connector links.
Worked example
Spot the error: 'One of my friend are coming to the bank.' Reasoning: 'One of' is followed by a plural noun ('friends'), and the main verb agrees with 'one', so it should be 'is'. Corrected: 'One of my friends is coming to the bank.'
Traps
Do not choose a word because it sounds formal. Do not ignore the singular/plural after 'one of', 'each of' and 'neither of'. In comprehension, do not import outside facts. In para jumbles, do not fix the first sentence by topic alone; test pronoun continuity.