Kerala Plus Two Communicative English (DHSE) cheat sheet

Skimming = reading for gist in 2–3 minutes; scanning = locating a specific word, date, or number without reading intervening text.

Main-idea questions ask what the passage is about as a whole; a correct option must cover the entire passage, not one paragraph.

Inference answers must be supported by textual evidence; if an option needs outside knowledge, reject it.

Vocabulary-in-context: substitute each option into the sentence and keep the one that preserves the surrounding logic and tone.

True/False/Not Given: 'Not Given' applies when the passage is silent, not when it contradicts.

Pronoun reference (it, they, this, the former) is resolved by the nearest preceding noun that agrees in number and sense.

Note-making/mind-mapping: use short noun phrases, not full sentences; keep one heading per paragraph and indent sub-points.

Author's tone is signalled by adjectives and adverbs (e.g. 'alarmingly', 'modest') rather than by the topic itself.

Order-of-events and sequence questions are answered by time markers: 'then', 'after', 'by the time', 'no sooner … than'.

Formal letter layout: sender's address, date, receiver's designation and address, subject line, salutation (Dear Sir/Madam), body, Yours faithfully + name.

Informal letter closes with 'Yours lovingly'/'Yours affectionately' plus first name; formal letters never use the recipient's first name.

Report format: headline, byline (name and designation), dateline (place and date), then past-tense third-person narration of what happened.

Reports avoid 'I' and 'we'; use passive or third-person constructions ('The event was inaugurated by …').

Notice: boxed, issued by an institution, includes date, event, venue, time, and a contact; word limit is typically about 50 words.

Article: title, writer's name, 3–4 paragraphs - introduction, development, conclusion; opinion is allowed and should be signalled by 'In my view'.

Speech opening: address the audience ('Respected Principal, teachers and friends'), state the topic, then use rhetorical questions and a call to action.

Circulars go to many recipients and are signed by an authority; notices are displayed publicly and are impersonal; memos are internal and brief.

Editing/drafting rule: one idea per paragraph, and every paragraph carries a topic sentence followed by support.

Reported speech backshift: present → past, past → past perfect, will → would, can → could; 'now' → 'then', 'today' → 'that day', 'tomorrow' → 'the next day'.

In reported questions use 'if/whether' for yes-no questions and statement word order: He asked me where I lived (not 'where did I live').

Conditionals: Type 1 if + present, will + base; Type 2 if + past, would + base; Type 3 if + past perfect, would have + past participle.

Passive voice = be + past participle; the object of the active clause becomes the subject, and 'by' is dropped when the agent is unknown or unimportant.

Subject-verb agreement: each/every/either/neither + singular verb; 'the number of' + singular, 'a number of' + plural.

Relative pronouns: 'who' for persons, 'which' for things, 'that' for defining clauses, 'whose' for possession; 'whom' after prepositions.

Modals: 'must' = obligation, 'should' = advice, 'may/might' = possibility, 'can' = ability, 'ought to' = moral duty.

Articles: 'a/an' for countable singular indefinite, 'the' for specific or previously mentioned nouns, zero article for uncountable general reference ('Water boils at 100°C').

Prepositions of time: in + months/years, on + days/dates, at + clock times; 'since' + point of time, 'for' + duration.

Noun suffixes: -tion (inform), -ment (judge → judgement), -ness (kind), -ity (able → ability), -ance/-ence (perform → performance).

Adjective suffixes: -ful, -less, -ous, -ive, -able, -al; verb suffixes: -ise/-ize, -ify, -en (strength → strengthen).

Prefixes: un-/in-/im-/ir-/il- = not; re- = again; pre- = before; mis- = wrongly; over-/under- = excess/deficit; dis- = reversal.

Spelling rule: drop final -e before a vowel suffix (write → writing) but keep it before a consonant suffix (careful).

Doubling rule: double the final consonant when a one-syllable word ends in consonant-vowel-consonant (run → running).

Synonyms share meaning but differ in register: 'begin' (neutral), 'commence' (formal), 'kick off' (informal).

Collocation is fixed partnership: 'make a decision', 'do justice', 'take measures', 'pay attention', 'commit a mistake' is wrong - 'make a mistake'.

Idioms must be learnt as units: 'a blessing in disguise', 'to burn the midnight oil', 'to turn a deaf ear', 'at the eleventh hour'.

Poetry analysis order: title, form (sonnet, ode, lyric, free verse), rhyme scheme, stanza pattern, then theme.

A sonnet has 14 lines; Shakespearean = 3 quatrains + couplet (abab cdcd efef gg), Petrarchan = octave + sestet (abbaabba + cdecde).

Figures of speech: simile uses like/as; metaphor states identity; personification gives human traits to non-human things; hyperbole exaggerates.

Alliteration = repetition of initial consonant sounds; assonance = repeated vowel sounds; onomatopoeia = words imitating sound.

Irony is a gap between what is said and what is meant (verbal) or between expectation and outcome (situational).

In prose answers, cite the text: quote a short phrase, then explain how it supports the stated theme.

Character questions require three elements: trait, textual evidence, and relevance of that trait to the theme.

A poem's tone is the speaker's attitude; the mood is the feeling created in the reader - these are not interchangeable.

Drama terms: soliloquy = alone on stage revealing thoughts; aside = short remark heard by the audience, not by other characters.

Tragic hero conventions: high status, a hamartia (fatal flaw), reversal of fortune (peripeteia), recognition (anagnorisis), and catharsis.

Dramatic irony occurs when the audience knows a fact that a character does not.

Plot structure: exposition, inciting incident, rising action, climax, falling action, denouement.

Fiction point of view: first person ('I'), third-person limited (one character's mind), third-person omniscient (all minds).

Setting answers where and when, and also carries mood and social context; it is never merely a backdrop.

Theme must be a full statement ('ambition unchecked destroys the self'), not a single word ('ambition').

Answers on drama should quote dialogue and note stage directions, since both carry meaning.

Communication process: sender → encoding → message → channel → receiver → decoding → feedback, with noise as interference at any stage.

Barriers: physical (noise), semantic (jargon, ambiguity), psychological (prejudice, emotion), and organisational (hierarchy, poor channel).

Types: verbal (words), non-verbal (kinesics = body movement, proxemics = space, paralanguage = tone, pitch, pace).

7 Cs of effective communication: clear, concise, concrete, correct, coherent, complete, courteous.

Active listening = attending, paraphrasing, questioning, and summarising; it is not merely hearing.

Formal channels are downward, upward, and horizontal; the grapevine is informal and fast but unreliable.

Telephone etiquette: identify yourself first, speak at a moderate pace, confirm and repeat key details, close courteously.

Email register: subject line states purpose, salutation matches relationship, one topic per message, no slang or SMS abbreviations in formal mail.

Group discussion roles: initiator, information giver, clarifier, summariser; interrupting and dominating lower the score.

Skimming = reading for gist in 2–3 minutes; scanning = locating a specific word, date, or number without reading intervening text.

Main-idea questions ask what the passage is about as a whole; a correct option must cover the entire passage, not one paragraph.

Inference answers must be supported by textual evidence; if an option needs outside knowledge, reject it.

Vocabulary-in-context: substitute each option into the sentence and keep the one that preserves the surrounding logic and tone.

True/False/Not Given: 'Not Given' applies when the passage is silent, not when it contradicts.

Pronoun reference (it, they, this, the former) is resolved by the nearest preceding noun that agrees in number and sense.

Note-making/mind-mapping: use short noun phrases, not full sentences; keep one heading per paragraph and indent sub-points.

Author's tone is signalled by adjectives and adverbs (e.g. 'alarmingly', 'modest') rather than by the topic itself.

Order-of-events and sequence questions are answered by time markers: 'then', 'after', 'by the time', 'no sooner … than'.

Formal letter layout: sender's address, date, receiver's designation and address, subject line, salutation (Dear Sir/Madam), body, Yours faithfully + name.

Informal letter closes with 'Yours lovingly'/'Yours affectionately' plus first name; formal letters never use the recipient's first name.

Report format: headline, byline (name and designation), dateline (place and date), then past-tense third-person narration of what happened.

Reports avoid 'I' and 'we'; use passive or third-person constructions ('The event was inaugurated by …').

Notice: boxed, issued by an institution, includes date, event, venue, time, and a contact; word limit is typically about 50 words.

Article: title, writer's name, 3–4 paragraphs - introduction, development, conclusion; opinion is allowed and should be signalled by 'In my view'.

Speech opening: address the audience ('Respected Principal, teachers and friends'), state the topic, then use rhetorical questions and a call to action.

Circulars go to many recipients and are signed by an authority; notices are displayed publicly and are impersonal; memos are internal and brief.

Editing/drafting rule: one idea per paragraph, and every paragraph carries a topic sentence followed by support.

Reported speech backshift: present → past, past → past perfect, will → would, can → could; 'now' → 'then', 'today' → 'that day', 'tomorrow' → 'the next day'.

In reported questions use 'if/whether' for yes-no questions and statement word order: He asked me where I lived (not 'where did I live').

Conditionals: Type 1 if + present, will + base; Type 2 if + past, would + base; Type 3 if + past perfect, would have + past participle.

Passive voice = be + past participle; the object of the active clause becomes the subject, and 'by' is dropped when the agent is unknown or unimportant.

Subject-verb agreement: each/every/either/neither + singular verb; 'the number of' + singular, 'a number of' + plural.

Relative pronouns: 'who' for persons, 'which' for things, 'that' for defining clauses, 'whose' for possession; 'whom' after prepositions.

Modals: 'must' = obligation, 'should' = advice, 'may/might' = possibility, 'can' = ability, 'ought to' = moral duty.

Articles: 'a/an' for countable singular indefinite, 'the' for specific or previously mentioned nouns, zero article for uncountable general reference ('Water boils at 100°C').

Prepositions of time: in + months/years, on + days/dates, at + clock times; 'since' + point of time, 'for' + duration.

Noun suffixes: -tion (inform), -ment (judge → judgement), -ness (kind), -ity (able → ability), -ance/-ence (perform → performance).

Adjective suffixes: -ful, -less, -ous, -ive, -able, -al; verb suffixes: -ise/-ize, -ify, -en (strength → strengthen).

Prefixes: un-/in-/im-/ir-/il- = not; re- = again; pre- = before; mis- = wrongly; over-/under- = excess/deficit; dis- = reversal.

Spelling rule: drop final -e before a vowel suffix (write → writing) but keep it before a consonant suffix (careful).

Doubling rule: double the final consonant when a one-syllable word ends in consonant-vowel-consonant (run → running).

Synonyms share meaning but differ in register: 'begin' (neutral), 'commence' (formal), 'kick off' (informal).

Collocation is fixed partnership: 'make a decision', 'do justice', 'take measures', 'pay attention'; 'commit a mistake' is wrong - 'make a mistake'.

Idioms must be learnt as units: 'a blessing in disguise', 'to burn the midnight oil', 'to turn a deaf ear', 'at the eleventh hour'.

Poetry analysis order: title, form (sonnet, ode, lyric, free verse), rhyme scheme, stanza pattern, then theme.

A sonnet has 14 lines; Shakespearean = 3 quatrains + couplet (abab cdcd efef gg), Petrarchan = octave + sestet (abbaabba + cdecde).

Figures of speech: simile uses like/as; metaphor states identity; personification gives human traits to non-human things; hyperbole exaggerates.

Alliteration = repetition of initial consonant sounds; assonance = repeated vowel sounds; onomatopoeia = words imitating sound.

Irony is a gap between what is said and what is meant (verbal) or between expectation and outcome (situational).

In prose answers, cite the text: quote a short phrase, then explain how it supports the stated theme.

Character questions require three elements: trait, textual evidence, and relevance of that trait to the theme.

A poem's tone is the speaker's attitude; the mood is the feeling created in the reader - these are not interchangeable.

Drama terms: soliloquy = alone on stage revealing thoughts; aside = short remark heard by the audience, not by other characters.

Tragic hero conventions: high status, a hamartia (fatal flaw), reversal of fortune (peripeteia), recognition (anagnorisis), and catharsis.

Dramatic irony occurs when the audience knows a fact that a character does not.

Plot structure: exposition, inciting incident, rising action, climax, falling action, denouement.

Fiction point of view: first person ('I'), third-person limited (one character's mind), third-person omniscient (all minds).

Setting answers where and when, and also carries mood and social context; it is never merely a backdrop.

Theme must be a full statement ('ambition unchecked destroys the self'), not a single word ('ambition').

Answers on drama should quote dialogue and note stage directions, since both carry meaning.

Communication process: sender → encoding → message → channel → receiver → decoding → feedback, with noise as interference at any stage.

Barriers: physical (noise), semantic (jargon, ambiguity), psychological (prejudice, emotion), and organisational (hierarchy, poor channel).

Types: verbal (words), non-verbal (kinesics = body movement, proxemics = space, paralanguage = tone, pitch, pace).

7 Cs of effective communication: clear, concise, concrete, correct, coherent, complete, courteous.

Active listening = attending, paraphrasing, questioning, and summarising; it is not merely hearing.

Formal channels are downward, upward, and horizontal; the grapevine is informal and fast but unreliable.

Telephone etiquette: identify yourself first, speak at a moderate pace, confirm and repeat key details, close courteously.

Email register: subject line states purpose, salutation matches relationship, one topic per message, no slang or SMS abbreviations in formal mail.

Group discussion roles: initiator, information giver, clarifier, summariser; interrupting and dominating lower the score.