English
What the English section tests
The KPPSC PMS screening English paper checks control of standard written English rather than literary criticism. Expect sentence correction, subject–verb agreement, tense choice, prepositions, articles, active/passive voice, direct/indirect speech, synonyms and antonyms, idioms, and short comprehension.
Core rules
- A verb agrees with its subject, not with a phrase between them: The list of items is long.
- With either…or and neither…nor, the verb agrees with the nearer subject.
- Use the past perfect for the earlier of two past actions: He had left before I arrived.
- After prepositions, use an object pronoun: between you and me.
- Avoid double comparatives: more better is wrong; write better.
- In reported speech, backshift the tense when the reporting verb is past: She said that she was tired.
Worked example
Choose the correct verb: Neither the chairman nor the members ___ present. Reasoning: the compound subject is joined by nor. Under the proximity rule, the verb follows the nearer noun, members, which is plural. The correct form is were. If the order were reversed - Neither the members nor the chairman was present - the singular was would be correct.
Traps that cost marks
- Treating each, everyone, nobody as plural; they are singular.
- Missing a misplaced modifier: Walking to the office, the rain started suggests the rain was walking.
- Confusing affect (verb) with effect (noun).
- Using since for a point in time and for for a duration.
- Ignoring parallel structure in lists: reading, writing, and to calculate should be reading, writing, and calculating.