General English
General English tests grammar, vocabulary, sentence correction, comprehension and basic composition. The paper rewards rule-based accuracy rather than literary flair.
Core rules
- Subject-verb agreement: a singular subject takes a singular verb. In 'One of the officers has submitted the report', the subject is 'one', not 'officers'.
- Articles: 'a' before consonant sounds, 'an' before vowel sounds, 'the' for specific or unique items.
- Prepositions: depend on, insist on, capable of, married to, prefer X to Y.
- Tenses: keep sequence consistent; use present perfect for a past action with present relevance.
- Voice: change object to subject and use the past participle with the correct form of 'be'.
- Comprehension: read the question first, locate the relevant sentence, and avoid options that are true but not stated.
Worked example
Choose the correct verb: 'Neither the accountant nor the clerks ___ (was/were) present.' Rule: with 'neither...nor', the verb agrees with the nearer subject, 'clerks', which is plural. Answer: were. If the order were reversed ('Neither the clerks nor the accountant'), the answer would be 'was'.
Traps
- 'One of the' is followed by a plural noun but a singular verb.
- Collective nouns take a singular verb when acting as one unit.
- 'Since' is used with a point of time, 'for' with a duration.
- Do not confuse 'affect' (verb) with 'effect' (noun).
- In sentence correction, the error may be in a small preposition, not the main verb.
- In comprehension, an option copied word-for-word from the passage can still be wrong if it distorts the meaning.