General English
What General English tests here
The JK Police SI English section rewards precision, not vocabulary display: error spotting, sentence improvement, fill in the blanks, synonyms and antonyms, idioms, one-word substitutions and a short comprehension passage.
Rules that carry most questions
- Subject–verb agreement. The verb follows the subject, not the nearest noun. One of the constables is absent. Neither of the two accused was present. The number of FIRs has risen, but A number of FIRs have been filed.
- Nor/or rule. With either…or and neither…nor, the verb agrees with the nearer subject.
- Tense. Use past perfect for the earlier of two past actions; since and for normally take perfect forms (He has been on duty since 6 a.m.).
- Articles. An before vowel sounds (an FIR, an hour, an SDO), a before consonant sounds (a university, a one-rupee note).
- Fixed prepositions. Deprived of, comply with, averse to, consist of, insist on, married to.
Worked example
Neither the inspector nor the constables ___ at the checkpoint. Reasoning: the nor rule makes the verb agree with constables (plural, nearest), so were - not was, even though the sentence opens with a singular noun.
Traps that cost marks
- Collective nouns take a singular verb when acting as one body (The jury has decided), plural when members act individually.
- A few (some) versus the few (all that remain) versus only a few (a small number) changes meaning in cloze items.
- Idioms are literal: to bury the hatchet = to make peace; a white elephant = costly but useless.
- In comprehension, answer only from the passage; outside knowledge often marks the wrong option.