English or Hindi Language: 40 Marks of Precision
Candidates choose English or Hindi at application, and the chosen language paper carries 40 questions and 40 marks. The section tests comprehension and grammatical precision, not literary flair - most questions turn on one word.
Question mix
Reading comprehension (often two passages), cloze test, error spotting, sentence improvement, para jumbles, fillers, and synonym/antonym or idiom questions. In the Hindi version the same weight goes to गद्यांश, रिक्त स्थान, वाक्य में त्रुटि, मुहावरे, संधि and समास.
Rules that decide marks
- In 'one of the + plural noun', the verb agrees with 'one': 'One of the officers has submitted the report.'
- 'Since' takes a point of time, 'for' takes a duration.
- Fixed pairs: 'hardly … when', 'no sooner … than', 'scarcely … when'.
- In para jumbles, the opening sentence carries no back-reference pronoun and no connector like 'however' or 'therefore'.
- In cloze, read the whole sentence for the logical connector before looking at options - contrast versus addition decides the answer.
Worked example
Spot the error: 'The manager, along with his staff, were present.' The subject is 'the manager'; 'along with his staff' is a parenthetical phrase and does not change number. So the verb should be 'was'. Reason: identify the head noun, then check agreement.
Traps that cost marks
Answering RC questions from outside knowledge instead of the passage; choosing an option that is true but not stated; treating 'the committee/the staff' as plural in Indian exam convention; and in Hindi, reading मुहावरे literally instead of by conventional meaning.