English and Hindi Language: Grammar, Vocabulary and Usage
What is tested
The language domain carries separate English and Hindi segments. English covers error spotting, sentence improvement, fill-in-the-blanks, synonyms and antonyms, idioms, one-word substitution and comprehension. Hindi covers संधि, समास, उपसर्ग-प्रत्यय, पर्यायवाची, विलोम, मुहावरे-लोकोक्तियाँ, तत्सम-तद्भव and वाक्य-शुद्धि.
English rules
- Subject-verb agreement: 'one of the + plural noun' takes a singular verb - 'One of the boys is absent.'
- Fixed prepositions: 'comprise' takes no 'of'; 'discuss' takes no 'about'; we say 'married to' and 'composed of'.
- Articles: 'a' before consonant sounds, 'an' before vowel sounds - 'an hour', 'a university'.
- Idioms: 'to bite the bullet' means to endure pain; 'a bolt from the blue' means a sudden shock.
Hindi rules
- संधि: दो स्वर मिलने पर स्वर संधि होती है - विद्या + आलय = विद्यालय (दीर्घ संधि)।
- समास: तत्पुरुष में उत्तर पद प्रधान होता है - राजपुत्र = राजा का पुत्र।
- उपसर्ग अर्थ बदलता है - 'अन' + 'पढ़' = अनपढ़ (नकारात्मक अर्थ)।
- मुहावरा वाक्य में क्रिया की तरह प्रयुक्त होता है; लोकोक्ति स्वतंत्र वाक्य होती है।
Worked example
English: Choose the correct sentence. (A) One of my friends are a doctor. (B) One of my friends is a doctor. (C) One of my friend is a doctor. (D) One of my friends were a doctor. Reasoning: The subject is 'one', which is singular; 'friends' is the plural object of 'of'. The verb must be 'is', and 'friends' must be plural. Answer B.
Hindi: सूर्य + उदय = सूर्योदय। यहाँ 'अ' और 'उ' मिलकर 'ओ' बनते हैं, इसलिए यह गुण संधि है।
Traps
- English: confusing 'affect' (verb) with 'effect' (noun), and 'its' with 'it's'.
- Hindi: taking a मुहावरा literally; 'अंधे की लाठी' means 'एकमात्र सहारा', not a walking stick.
- In comprehension, answering from memory rather than from the passage.