English Language
English Language
The paper checks reading comprehension plus standard usage: grammar, vocabulary, sentence completion, para jumbles, cloze tests and error detection. The aim is accuracy under sectional timing, not literary interpretation.
Core rules
- In reading comprehension, separate what is stated from what is merely suggested. Choose an inference only when the passage compels it.
- Apply subject-verb agreement: each/every/either/neither takes a singular verb; 'one of the + plural noun' takes a singular verb.
- Keep parallelism after correlatives such as not only...but also, either...or, and both...and.
- Place modifiers next to the word they modify; a dangling modifier usually opens with a participle.
- In para jumbles, find the opening sentence by looking for the least dependent idea, then track pronouns and connectors.
Worked example
Sentence: 'Each of the branches have submitted its report.' The subject is 'Each', which is singular; 'of the branches' is a prepositional phrase and does not change the number. The verb should be 'has', and the possessive 'its' already agrees. Corrected: 'Each of the branches has submitted its report.'
Traps
- Choosing an extreme option that goes beyond the passage.
- Ignoring 'EXCEPT' or 'NOT' in the question stem.
- Treating a familiar word as correct without checking the sentence’s logic.
- In para jumbles, forcing a sentence first just because it looks important.