Vocabulary and Word Usage
Vocabulary and word-usage items are short but decisive: they appear inside the reading section and as separate one-mark items. Expect synonyms and antonyms, one-word substitution, idioms and phrases, phrasal verbs, word formation and commonly confused words.
Core rules
- Match the part of speech: a synonym for the verb 'book' is 'reserve', not 'volume'.
- Fit the sentence: choose the option that is grammatical in context, not merely close in meaning.
- Learn idioms as whole units and give their meaning, not a literal translation.
- Phrasal verbs change meaning with the particle: 'give in' (surrender), 'give up' (quit), 'give away' (distribute or reveal).
- Word formation: a prefix changes meaning (un-, dis-, in-, mis-), a suffix usually changes word class (-ness, -ment, -ful, -less, -ly).
- One-word substitution comes from set lists, e.g. 'a person who loves books' - bibliophile; 'one who cannot read or write' - illiterate.
Worked example
Sentence: 'She let the cat out of the bag about the surprise party.' Question: What does the underlined idiom mean? Answer: 'She revealed the secret by accident.' Reasoning: the idiom is fixed; 'cat' and 'bag' carry no literal meaning here. 'By accident' matters, because the idiom implies an unintended slip, not a deliberate announcement.
Traps
Translating an idiom word for word from Hindi; picking a synonym with the wrong connotation ('famous' for 'notorious'); confusing 'affect' and 'effect', 'advice' and 'advise'; giving the meaning of a phrasal verb with the wrong particle; misspelling the answer word when spelling is being checked.