English
What this domain tests
English tests grammar accuracy, vocabulary in context, sentence correction, error spotting and reading comprehension. For officer cadets, the paper rewards clear standard English, not literary flourish.
Core rules
- Subject–verb agreement: the verb agrees with the head noun, not the nearest noun. 'One of the officers is...' not 'are'.
- Tense consistency: use past for finished past, present perfect for past linked to present, and keep sequence in reported speech.
- Articles and prepositions: learn fixed combinations such as depend on, capable of, married to, rather than translating from Nepali.
- Modifiers: a participial phrase at the start modifies the subject of the main clause.
- Reading comprehension: answer from the passage, not from general knowledge; locate the sentence that supports the option.
Worked example
'One of the cadets ___ selected for the parade.' Reasoning: The subject is 'one', singular; 'of the cadets' is a prepositional phrase. The verb must be singular. Answer: 'was' or 'is', depending on tense. 'Were' is the trap because 'cadets' is plural and nearest to the blank.
Traps
Collective nouns such as team and committee usually take singular verbs in standard written English; 'neither...nor' agrees with the nearer subject; avoid double negatives; do not choose a word only because it sounds formal. In error spotting, check one error per segment and read the whole sentence before deciding.