General English
What this section tests
General English checks functional grammar and vocabulary: subject–verb agreement, articles, prepositions, tense, active–passive voice, direct–indirect speech, error spotting, sentence improvement, synonyms–antonyms, idioms, one-word substitution and cloze passages.
Core rules
- Subject–verb agreement: a singular subject takes a singular verb. Phrases such as "one of the boys", "neither of", "each of" take a singular verb.
- Articles: "a" before consonant sounds, "an" before vowel sounds (an hour, a university), "the" for something already specified or unique.
- Prepositions: since + point of time, for + duration; between for two, among for more than two.
- Passive voice: move the object to subject position, add the correct form of "be" plus past participle, and use "by" for the doer.
Worked example
Question: Change to passive voice - "The clerk typed the letter."
Reasoning: the object "the letter" becomes the subject. The tense is simple past, so the passive needs "was" (singular) plus the past participle "typed". The doer is kept with "by". Result: "The letter was typed by the clerk." Checking the tense of the original before writing the helping verb is what prevents errors here.
Traps that cost marks
- "One of the boys is" - candidates write "are" because the plural noun sits next to the verb.
- Confusing "fewer" (countable) with "less" (uncountable).
- Idioms judged literally: "to let the cat out of the bag" means to reveal a secret.
- Changing the tense while transforming voice or narration.
- In cloze tests, choosing the word that sounds right rather than the one that fits the grammar of the sentence.