General Hindi (व्याकरण, शब्द ज्ञान, मुहावरे, वाक्यांश, अपठित गद्यांश)
General Hindi in Lower PCS tests prescribed school-level व्याकरण and applied language: संधि, समास, उपसर्ग-प्रत्यय, शब्द भेद, पर्यायवाची/विलोम, मुहावरे-लोकोक्तियाँ, वाक्यांश के लिए एक शब्द and अपठित गद्यांश. The paper rewards rule-based recognition, not literary interpretation.
Core rules
- संधि: join two sounds and name the change. स्वर संधि has five broad types - दीर्घ, गुण, वृद्धि, यण and अयादि. व्यंजन and विसर्ग संधि follow separate rules.
- समास: identify the dominant पद. तत्पुरुष has the उत्तर पद प्रधान; द्वंद्व joins two equal पद; बहुव्रीहि denotes a third meaning; अव्ययीभाव begins with an अव्यय.
- उपसर्ग changes meaning; प्रत्यय follows the root. Learn common pairs rather than isolated lists.
- मुहावरा is idiomatic - its meaning is not the literal sum of words. लोकोक्ति is a complete saying with a moral.
- वाक्यांश के लिए एक शब्द: replace a phrase with a single precise term, e.g., जिसका कोई शत्रु न हो - अजातशत्रु.
Worked example
सूर्य + उदय = ? The final अ of सूर्य combines with the initial उ of उदय; अ + उ = ओ. This is गुण संधि, so the answer is सूर्योदय. Checking the vowel pair prevents guessing दीर्घ संधि.
Traps
Do not assign a literal meaning to a मुहावरा; do not label every two-word compound as द्वंद्व; in अपठित गद्यांश, answer from the passage, not outside knowledge; and distinguish तत्सम from तद्भव by sound change, not by familiarity.