General English
The English section of the Mukhya Sevika paper is a standard objective test of grammar, vocabulary and usage. Expect error spotting, sentence improvement, fill-in-the-blanks with prepositions and articles, synonyms and antonyms, one-word substitutions, idioms and spellings.
Grammar rules that repeat
- Subject-verb agreement: a singular subject takes a singular verb; intervening phrases do not change it.
- Articles: 'a' before consonant sounds, 'an' before vowel sounds - 'an hour', 'a university'.
- Prepositions of time: in (months, years), on (days, dates), at (clock time).
- Comparisons: use the comparative for two items, the superlative for three or more; never double the comparative.
- Tenses in reported speech shift one step back when the reporting verb is past.
Vocabulary
Learn words in families - 'benign/beneficial', 'eminent/imminent' - and revise idioms such as 'to burn the midnight oil' (to work late) and 'a bolt from the blue' (a sudden shock).
Worked example
Choose the correct verb: "The number of Anganwadi workers who attended the training ___ high." Reasoning: the subject is 'the number', which is singular; 'of Anganwadi workers' is a prepositional phrase, and 'who attended the training' is a relative clause modifying 'workers'. The verb must agree with 'the number' - so 'was', not 'were'. Note the contrast: 'A number of workers were present' takes a plural verb.
Traps that cost marks
Ignoring the 'one of the + plural noun + singular verb' pattern; missing that 'each', 'every', 'either' are singular; confusing 'its' with "it's"; and picking a synonym that fits the dictionary but not the sentence's tone.