English Language Knowledge
The English Language Knowledge domain checks functional grammar and vocabulary at the level expected of a matriculate constable: tense and subject–verb agreement, articles and prepositions, active and passive voice, direct and indirect speech, synonyms and antonyms, one-word substitutions, idioms, spelling, and a short comprehension passage.
Rules that appear every year
- Subject–verb agreement: a singular subject takes a singular verb, and phrases between subject and verb do not change it - "One of the boys was present".
- 'Since' marks a point of time, 'for' a duration - since 2010, for five years.
- Articles: 'a' before consonant sounds, 'an' before vowel sounds - an hour, a university.
- Comparatives take 'than', superlatives take 'the' - better than, the best.
- Passive voice: the object becomes the subject, and the verb becomes be + past participle.
Worked example
Choose the correct sentence: (a) He has gone to Delhi yesterday. (b) He went to Delhi yesterday. "Yesterday" is a finished past time, so the simple past "went" is required. Option (a) breaks the rule that the present perfect cannot be used with a definite past time marker. The answer is (b).
Traps that cost marks
- Confusing affect (verb) with effect (noun), and advice with advise.
- Missing the pattern after "one of the": the noun is plural, the verb singular.
- Taking idioms literally - "to let the cat out of the bag" means to reveal a secret.
- In comprehension, choosing an option that is generally true but not stated in the passage.