AFCAT (Air Force Common Admission Test) Verbal Ability in English Syllabus

Verbal Ability in English syllabus — full chapter and topic list

Expand any chapter to see its topics and sub-topics. This is the whole examinable outline for Verbal Ability in English in AFCAT (Air Force Common Admission Test), not a summary of it.

1. 1

   Vocabulary

   4 topics

   • Synonyms and antonyms
   • Idioms and phrases
   • One-word substitution
   • Spelling and commonly confused words
2. 2

   Grammar and Usage

   5 topics

   • Parts of speech
     • Nouns, pronouns and articles
     • Verbs, tenses and subject-verb agreement
   • Sentence correction and error spotting
     • Common grammatical errors
     • Misplaced modifiers and parallelism
   • Prepositions and conjunctions
   • Active and passive voice
   • Direct and indirect speech
3. 3

   Comprehension and Cloze

   3 topics

   • Reading comprehension passages
     • Main idea and inference
     • Vocabulary in context
   • Cloze test
   • Sentence completion (fill in the blanks)
4. 4

   Sentence Structuring

   3 topics

   • Sentence rearrangement (para jumbles)
   • Sentence improvement
   • Ordering of words in a sentence

Verbal Ability in English flashcards for AFCAT (Air Force Common Admission Test)

23 of 50 cards from the Verbal Ability in English deck — real questions with worked answers.

1. What is the difference between a synonym and an antonym?

   A synonym is a word with the same or nearly the same meaning as another word (e.g., happy/glad). An antonym is a word with the opposite meaning (e.g., happy/sad).

2. Give a synonym and an antonym for the word 'Benevolent'.

   Synonym: kind, generous, charitable. Antonym: malevolent, cruel, unkind.

3. What does the word 'Ephemeral' mean, and give one antonym?

   Ephemeral means lasting for a very short time; short-lived. Antonym: permanent (or eternal/everlasting).

4. Give a synonym for 'Candid' and a synonym for 'Frugal'.

   Candid: frank, honest, straightforward. Frugal: thrifty, economical, sparing.

5. What is an idiom?

   An idiom is a fixed expression whose meaning cannot be understood from the literal meanings of its individual words (e.g., 'kick the bucket' means to die).

6. What does the idiom 'to bite the bullet' mean?

   To force oneself to endure or face a difficult or unpleasant situation with courage.

7. What does the idiom 'a blessing in disguise' mean?

   Something that seems bad or unlucky at first but results in something good later.

8. What does the idiom 'to let the cat out of the bag' mean?

   To reveal a secret carelessly or by mistake.

9. What does the idiom 'once in a blue moon' mean?

   Something that happens very rarely.

10. What is meant by 'one-word substitution'?

    Replacing a phrase or group of words with a single precise word that conveys the same meaning (e.g., 'a person who eats everything' = omnivore).

11. Give the one-word substitution for 'a person who knows many languages'.

    Polyglot.

12. Give the one-word substitution for 'a place where birds are kept'.

    Aviary.

13. Give the one-word substitution for 'one who studies the stars and planets'.

    Astronomer.

14. Give the one-word substitution for 'a government run by a single person with unlimited power'.

    Autocracy (the ruler is an autocrat).

15. Give the one-word substitution for 'words written on a tomb'.

    Epitaph.

16. Distinguish between the commonly confused words 'stationary' and 'stationery'.

    Stationary (with 'a') means not moving / fixed in place. Stationery (with 'e') means writing materials such as paper and pens.

17. Distinguish between 'principal' and 'principle'.

    Principal = the head of a school, or main/most important. Principle = a fundamental rule or belief.

18. What is the correct spelling: 'accomodate' or 'accommodate', and how is it spelled?

    The correct spelling is 'accommodate' (double c and double m).

19. Distinguish between 'affect' and 'effect'.

    Affect is usually a verb meaning to influence (it affects me). Effect is usually a noun meaning the result (the effect of rain).

20. Distinguish between 'complement' and 'compliment'.

    Complement = something that completes or goes well with another. Compliment = an expression of praise.

21. Name the eight parts of speech in English grammar.

    Noun, pronoun, verb, adjective, adverb, preposition, conjunction, and interjection.

22. What is the function of an adjective and an adverb?

    An adjective modifies/describes a noun or pronoun (a fast car). An adverb modifies a verb, adjective, or another adverb (he runs fast).

23. What is a conjunction? Give two examples.

    A conjunction joins words, phrases, or clauses. Examples: and, but, or, because, although.

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