General English: Grammar in Use and Vocabulary
What the English section tests
The English section of the UPPSC AE paper is a standard proficiency test rather than a literature paper: reading comprehension, error spotting, sentence improvement, fill in the blanks, synonyms and antonyms, idioms and phrases, one-word substitutions, and spelling. Almost every item is decided by one rule, so the marks come from recognising the rule quickly.
Rules that repeat
- Subject-verb agreement: in 'one of + plural noun + relative clause', the verb is singular ('One of the clerks who works here').
- 'Neither of' and 'either of' take a singular verb in formal written English.
- 'Since' marks a point of time, 'for' marks a duration.
- Use 'an' before a vowel sound, not a vowel letter: an hour, an M.A., but a university, a European.
- In 'neither...nor' and 'either...or', the verb agrees with the nearer subject.
Worked example
'Neither of the two proposals ___ acceptable to the committee.' The options are are, is, were and have been. The phrase 'neither of' is treated as singular in formal usage, and the noun is plural only in the prepositional phrase, which does not control the verb. The answer is 'is'. If the sentence read 'Neither the manager nor the clerks ___', the verb would follow the nearer subject and become 'are'.
Traps that cost marks
Writing 'One of my friends live here' instead of 'lives'; swapping affect (verb) with effect (noun), or lie with lay; supplying an antonym where a synonym is demanded; ignoring the tense established by the rest of the sentence in fill-in items; and answering comprehension questions from general knowledge rather than from the passage.