English (Grammar, Comprehension and Vocabulary)
The English section is short but decides cut-offs through accuracy. It tests grammar (tense, subject–verb agreement, articles, prepositions, voice, narration), vocabulary (synonyms, antonyms, one-word substitution, idioms), and comprehension of a short passage, along with error spotting, cloze tests and sentence improvement.
Rules that appear every year
- Subject–verb agreement: "one of + plural noun" takes a singular verb; each, every, either and neither are singular; with fractions and "none", the verb follows the noun after "of".
- Articles: 'a' before consonant sounds, 'an' before vowel sounds - an hour, a university.
- Prepositions: since + point of time, for + duration; married to, composed of, comply with, prefer to.
- Voice: only transitive verbs form a passive; keep the tense of the original.
- Idioms: learn them in context - "to burn the midnight oil" means to study or work late.
Worked example
"One of the boys ___ absent yesterday." Options: was / were / have been / are. Reasoning: the real subject is "one", which is singular; "of the boys" is a prepositional phrase and cannot change the number of the verb. "Yesterday" fixes the past tense. Answer: was.
Traps
- Being guided by the nearest noun instead of the actual subject.
- Confusing lie/lay, affect/effect, principal/principle, its/it's.
- Answering comprehension questions from general knowledge rather than from the passage.
- Assuming a sentence must contain an error; "No improvement" is often correct.
- Missing singular nouns ending in -s, such as news, mathematics and measles.