General English and Odia Language
What is tested
The language paper assesses English grammar and usage and Odia grammar, comprehension, and translation. Expect error spotting, sentence improvement, fill-in-the-blanks, idioms, one-word substitution, comprehension, and Odia questions on ସନ୍ଧି, ସମାସ, କାରକ, ବିଭକ୍ତି, ଉପସର୍ଗ and ଲୋକୋକ୍ତି.
English rules
- Subject–verb agreement: with “neither … nor”, the verb agrees with the nearer subject.
- “One of the + plural noun” takes a singular verb: “One of the plaintiffs was present.”
- Articles: use “an” before vowel sounds, not vowel letters: “an FIR”, “a university”.
- Reported speech: shift tense back unless the reporting verb is present or the statement is a universal truth.
Odia anchors
- ସନ୍ଧି: ରାମ + ଆଶ୍ରମ = ରାମାଶ୍ରମ (ଅ + ଆ = ଆ).
- ସମାସ: ରାଜପୁତ୍ର = ରାଜାଙ୍କ ପୁତ୍ର (ଷଷ୍ଠୀ ତତ୍ପୁରୁଷ).
- କାରକ: କର୍ତ୍ତା, କର୍ମ, କରଣ, ସମ୍ପ୍ରଦାନ, ଅପାଦାନ, ସମ୍ବନ୍ଧ, ଅଧିକରଣ.
- ଲୋକୋକ୍ତି: ଅର୍ଥ literal ନୁହେଁ, ପ୍ରୟୋଗିକ ଅର୍ଥ ଦେଖନ୍ତୁ.
Worked example
“Neither the plaintiff nor the defendants ___ present.” The subjects are singular and plural, joined by “neither … nor”. The verb agrees with the nearer subject, “defendants”, so use “were”. If the order were reversed - “Neither the defendants nor the plaintiff ___” - the correct form would be “was”.
Traps
- “One of the …” followed by a plural verb.
- Odia ବନାନ errors with ଇ/ଈ, ଉ/ଊ and ଅନୁସ୍ୱାର.
- Translating idioms word-for-word; ଲୋକୋକ୍ତି needs an equivalent sense.
- Ignoring the passage’s tone in comprehension answers.