AJKPSC Test English (Precis & Composition) Syllabus

What does it mean to 'infer' something from a passage?

To infer is to reach a logical conclusion or understand an implied meaning based on evidence and reasoning in the text, rather than from information stated directly.

What is the difference between inference and interpretation?

Inference is a logical conclusion drawn from textual evidence (reading 'between the lines'); interpretation is explaining the meaning or significance of the text, including the author's tone, purpose, or intent ('beyond the lines').

What does 'vocabulary from context' (contextual meaning) mean?

It means working out the meaning of an unfamiliar word from the surrounding words, sentence, and overall sense of the passage rather than from a dictionary.

What are the eight parts of speech in English?

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

What is the function of a conjunction, and give two examples?

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

Name the three main tenses and their four aspects/forms in English.

Tenses: Present, Past, Future. Each has four forms: Simple (Indefinite), Continuous (Progressive), Perfect, and Perfect Continuous.

Give the structure of the Present Perfect tense with an example.

Subject + has/have + past participle (V3). Example: 'She has written a letter.'

What is the basic rule of subject-verb agreement?

A singular subject takes a singular verb and a plural subject takes a plural verb (e.g., 'He writes' vs 'They write').

List the main uses of the comma in punctuation.

To separate items in a list/series, to set off introductory words or phrases, to separate clauses joined by a conjunction, to set off non-essential (parenthetical) information, and to separate words in direct address.

When is the apostrophe used?

To show possession (e.g., 'John's book') and to mark omitted letters in contractions (e.g., 'don't', 'it's' = it is).

State three rules of capitalization in English.

Capitalize the first word of a sentence; capitalize proper nouns (names of people, places, days, months, countries); and capitalize the pronoun 'I' as well as titles when used with names.

What is the function of a semicolon?

A semicolon joins two closely related independent clauses without a conjunction (e.g., 'It was late; we went home') and separates items in a list when the items themselves contain commas.

What is the difference between active voice and passive voice?

In the active voice the subject performs the action (e.g., 'The boy kicked the ball'); in the passive voice the subject receives the action and the doer becomes optional (e.g., 'The ball was kicked by the boy').

What is the general rule for changing an active sentence into the passive voice?

The object of the active sentence becomes the subject; the verb is changed to the appropriate form of 'to be' + past participle (V3); and the original subject becomes the agent introduced by 'by' (and is often omitted).

Change to passive voice: 'They are building a house.'

'A house is being built (by them).'

What is direct narration and what is indirect (reported) narration?

Direct narration repeats the speaker's exact words within quotation marks (e.g., He said, 'I am tired'); indirect narration reports the words without quotation marks, with appropriate changes (e.g., He said that he was tired).

What changes occur when converting direct speech to indirect speech?

The reporting verb may change; quotation marks are removed; pronouns are adjusted; tenses usually shift back (present to past); and words denoting nearness/time change (e.g., now to then, today to that day, here to there, this to that).

In reported speech, how does 'tomorrow' change, and how does an imperative sentence change?

'Tomorrow' becomes 'the next day' / 'the following day'. Imperative sentences use 'told/ordered/asked/advised' + object + to-infinitive (e.g., He said, 'Go' becomes 'He told him to go').

How is a question in direct speech reported in indirect speech?

The reporting verb changes to 'asked/inquired'; the word order becomes that of a statement (subject before verb); 'if' or 'whether' is used for yes/no questions, and the question word (what, why, etc.) is retained for wh-questions; the question mark is dropped.

In 'correction of sentences', what error is in 'He is senior than me' and what is the correct form?

Error: wrong preposition with 'senior' and wrong pronoun. Correct form: 'He is senior to me.'

Correct the sentence: 'One of my friend is a doctor.'

'One of my friends is a doctor.' ('one of' takes a plural noun and a singular verb.)

Correct the sentence: 'He did not went to school.'

'He did not go to school.' (After the auxiliary 'did', the base form of the verb is used.)

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 (e.g., happy / glad); an antonym is a word with the opposite meaning (e.g., happy / sad).

Give a synonym and an antonym for the word 'abundant'.

Synonym: plentiful / ample. Antonym: scarce / scanty.

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).

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

To reveal a secret (often unintentionally).

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

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

What is a one-word substitution? Give the one word for 'a person who knows many languages.'

A one-word substitution is a single word used in place of a phrase or group of words. 'A person who knows many languages' = a polyglot (or linguist).

Give the one-word substitution for 'a government by the people, of the people, and for the people' and for 'a person who eats everything (both meat and plants).'

Government by the people = democracy. A person who eats everything = omnivorous (an omnivore).

Give the one-word substitution for 'words written on a tomb' and for 'one who cannot read or write.'

Words written on a tomb = epitaph. One who cannot read or write = illiterate.