PSEB Class 12 General English cheat sheet

Skim the passage once for the global topic, then read each question before re-reading the relevant lines; most answers are located in one or two adjacent sentences.

Main-idea questions ask for the writer's central claim, not the first sentence; the topic sentence often appears at the start or end of a paragraph, but the thesis may be restated in the conclusion.

Inference answers must be supported by textual evidence; if an option needs outside knowledge the passage never supplies, it is wrong even if true in general.

Vocabulary-in-context questions: substitute each option back into the sentence and keep only the one that preserves the passage's meaning and tone.

Tone and attitude questions use adjectives such as critical, ironic, nostalgic, objective, satirical; identify signal words (however, unfortunately, admirably) that reveal the writer's stance.

Pronoun and reference questions (what does 'this' refer to) require tracing back to the nearest preceding noun phrase that fits grammatically and logically.

True/False and 'not stated' items: an option is correct only if the passage states or directly implies it; plausible but unmentioned details are marked 'not given'.

Order-of-events and matching questions: number the paragraphs or label each with a keyword, then align the question's sequence to those labels rather than to memory.

Formal letter layout: sender's address, date, receiver's designation and address, subject line, salutation (Dear Sir/Madam), body in 3 paragraphs, subscription (Yours faithfully / Yours sincerely) and signature.

'Yours faithfully' pairs with 'Dear Sir/Madam'; 'Yours sincerely' pairs with a named recipient such as 'Dear Mr Sharma'; reversing the pair is a standard mark deduction.

Notice format: the word NOTICE centred at the top, name of the issuing institution, date, a bold heading, body under 50 words, and the writer's name and designation at the bottom.

Report format: title, byline (By ...), date and place, then a factual account in past tense, third person, passive where the doer is unknown; no personal opinion unless asked.

Paragraph writing requires one controlling idea: a topic sentence, three to five supporting sentences with examples or reasons, and a closing sentence that returns to the main point.

Essay structure: introduction stating the thesis, two or three body paragraphs each built on one argument with evidence, and a conclusion that restates the position without new points.

Word limits are part of the marking: a 120-150 word letter or 200-250 word essay should be counted roughly by lines; exceeding the limit by more than 10 percent invites penalty.

Cohesive devices (however, therefore, moreover, on the other hand, in conclusion) must connect ideas logically; a linker that contradicts the relation between sentences is worse than none.

Present perfect (has/have + past participle) is used for past actions with present relevance or unfinished time; simple past is used with a definite finished time marker such as yesterday or in 2019.

Past perfect (had + past participle) marks the earlier of two past actions; the later action takes simple past, e.g. 'The train had left before we reached the station.'

Passive voice = form of 'be' + past participle; the object of the active sentence becomes the subject, and the agent is introduced by 'by' only when relevant.

Passive transformation preserves tense: 'They are building a bridge' becomes 'A bridge is being built'; 'Someone has stolen my bag' becomes 'My bag has been stolen.'

Reported speech shifts tense one step back (present to past, past to past perfect, will to would) and changes pronouns and time/place words (now to then, here to there, tomorrow to the next day).

For reported questions, use 'asked' plus if/whether for yes-no questions or the question word for wh-questions, and restore statement word order: 'He asked where I lived.'

For reported imperatives, use 'told/ordered/requested' + object + to-infinitive: 'She told me to close the door'; negatives use 'not to'.

Conditionals: first (if + present, will), second (if + past, would), third (if + past perfect, would have + past participle); mixing them changes the time reference and is an error unless intended.

Subject-verb agreement: the verb agrees with the head noun, not with a phrase between them; 'One of the boys is' and 'Neither of the answers is' are singular, while 'The number of students is' differs from 'A number of students are'.

Vocabulary items test collocation and confusable pairs: affect (verb) vs effect (noun), principal (head) vs principle (rule), stationary (still) vs stationery (writing material), complement vs compliment.

Identify the author, title and genre for every prescribed text; questions often ask who wrote a given line or which text a character belongs to.

For poetry, name the form (sonnet, lyric, ode, ballad, free verse), the rhyme scheme (e.g. abab cdcd efef gg for a Shakespearean sonnet) and the metre where it is regular iambic pentameter.

Poetic devices to label with an example from the text: simile, metaphor, personification, alliteration, assonance, onomatopoeia, hyperbole, irony, symbolism.

Character questions require a trait plus textual evidence: state the quality, then cite an action or line that shows it, rather than offering a bare adjective.

Theme answers must be stated as a full claim about the text (e.g. the poem treats time as both destroyer and preserver) and supported by at least one quoted or paraphrased detail.

Value-based and 'message of the text' questions should connect the ending or climax to the author's implied attitude, not to a general moral unattached to the story.

Context questions (explain with reference to the context) need three parts: who speaks or narrates, to whom and when, and what the lines mean in plain prose.

Supplementary reader questions distinguish plot fact from inference: know the sequence of events, the setting, and the outcome for each major character before attempting evaluative questions.