English/Hindi Language and Grammar
English/Hindi Language and Grammar tests correctness and clarity in the language of the examination: sentence correction, subject-verb agreement, tense, articles and prepositions, spelling, punctuation, vocabulary, and, for Hindi, gender, number, case, matras, sandhi, samas, and common idioms.
Core rules
- Find the head of the subject before choosing the verb. Phrases beginning with "of" do not change the number of the head word.
- Keep tense consistent within a sentence unless the meaning requires a shift.
- Use "fewer" with countable nouns and "less" with uncountable nouns; do not confuse "principal" with "principle".
- In Hindi, match adjective and verb endings to the noun's gender and number; check matras such as ि and ी carefully.
- Punctuate according to the language: English full stop, comma, apostrophe; Hindi purna viram (।), alp viram (,), and question mark.
Worked example
"One of the clerks has submitted the report." The head of the subject is "One", which is singular, so "has" is correct; "of the clerks" is a prepositional phrase and does not make the verb plural. In Hindi, "एक कर्मचारी ने रिपोर्ट प्रस्तुत की" uses "की" because "रिपोर्ट" is feminine. Reasoning: agreement is with the head noun, and in Hindi the verb form agrees with the object's gender in this construction.
Traps
Plural verbs after "one of"; comma splices; missing apostrophes in possessives; Hindi matra slips that change the word; and mixing formal and informal address in the same letter.